The Reunion
It’s good to hear The Reunion back on the air, Sundays at 11-15, repeated Friday at 9.00. For those who do not know the format Sue McGregor, the best female broadcaster the BBC has ever produced, gathers together a group reunited to recall some momentous event: a tragedy, launch or day of drama. Sue McGregor could teach today’s presenters a thing or two. She does not bang any feminist drums but asks the right questions ro maintain a high level of human interest.
This week featured the rescue of 346 Vietnamese Boat People in the South China Seas by British cargo ship MV Wellpark on October 1st 1978. A flare was spotted on a rotting vessel some 120 miles off Vietnam in the South China Seas by Training Officer Graham McQueen who featured on the programme with 4 of the survivors – Dr Philip Huynh, a doctor with his wife and 3 children; Diep Quan, a 9 year old girl; Dao Nguyen, another young girl; and James Huynh, a child then. Two weeks later they were safe and sound in Kensington Barracks.
As with most people prepared to risk their lives to escape, the regime they left behind was a repressive one. In Vietnam, after the winning of the war by the Communists, every aspect of South Vietnamese life changed – education, doctors had to prescribe contraception without the patient’s knowledge and those who served in the South Vietnamese army were “re-educated” in concentration camps. Bob Tickler, who has nothing but admiration for the country which he visited in December, recalls his travel guide telling the group that his father, in the army, was ordered to attend an overnight re-education camp. They did not see him for 8 years. The 4 Vietnamese participators began by recalling the regime and the furtive steps to flee. On the boat they thought they were done for and it was little short of a miracle that all 346 survived.
Except for one – Dao Nguyen who went to live in the States with her boyfriend – the other three settled well in Britain, Dr Huynh re-qualifying as a doctor at the Royal Free. They only had good to say of this country. One of the most moving parts was when James Huynh was taunted racially and hit back. His dad administered a proper thrashing on the grounds that these people had welcomed him to these shores and, unlike Vietnam, it was generally a liberal country. Not all of the contributors welcomed unconditional immigration. In the 1979 election the National Front fielded 300 candidates and racism was much more overt. Diep Quan she said she was not aware of this as her English was not good enough. The debate continues as immigration was such a live and determining issue in the Brexit referendum but as I listened to these extraordinary brave people who have made such a contribution and extol humane British values so resolutely I was reminded of the Neil Sedaka protest song There was a time when people were welcome here.
