Refugee Coordnator Concludes Troubles Linger in Indochina

Victor Palmieri, U.S. coordinator for refugee affairs, told a Kennedy School audience of 30 yesterday that there is no clear solution to the problem of relocating the large numbers of Indochinese refugees in Southest Asia.

Palmieri said the refugee dilemma is a "mirror reflection" of the world-wide economic crisis that forces each country to worry about self-preservation.

Since 1975, when Communist regimes took power in Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, more than a million Indochinese have fled those countries seeking asylum in neighboring countries, according to a State Department news release distributed at the speech.

Of the world's wealthy nations, the Western countries have been most responsive to the drive for resettlement, Palmieri said, adding that OPEC countries of the Middle East "have the attitude that the West is responsible for the problem, and is therefore responsible for solving it."

The major resettlement countries are the United States, which has admitted 300,000 refugees, and China which has accepted 250,000 of Chinese descent. France, Canada, and Australia follow with 60,000, 35,000, and 33,000 respectively.

Palmieri said although these numbers are impressive, they still are not proportionate to the large number of refugees in first-asylum countries, and the masses still arriving.

He added that refugees seeking resettlement may have a long wait. Large numbers of Indochinese are already in countries willing to accept refugees, and a sentiment is growing that countries like the United States should now allow Communist regimes to unload their unwanted citizens instead of dealing with them.

Mexican and Caribbean officials have criticized the United States for its acceptance of massive numbers of refugees, Palmieri said, adding that "it is hard to explain to these countries, all of whom are undergoing serious economic problems, why we have such strict immigration laws for them, yet let in the refugees so freely,"