Tuesday, July 27

JANE ARMSTRONG
British Columbia Bureau; With a report from Canadian Press
Thursday, July 22, 1999

CFB Esquimalt -- The 122 Chinese illegal immigrants intercepted by the Canadian Coast Guard off Vancouver Island paid up to $38,000 (U.S.) for a 39-day journey packed in the hold of a derelict fishing trawler strewn with human waste.

The 104 men and 18 women were coralled in a gymnasium last night at the Canada Forces Base at Esquimalt in suburban Victoria, where armed-forces personnel planned to feed, clean and examine them after their harrowing voyage aboard the barely seaworthy boat.

Citizenship and Immigration spokesman Jim Redmond said conditions aboard the vessel were abysmal.

"I don't work at sea but I'm amazed that a ship in that condition can cross the Pacific Ocean . . . and land on Canadian soil," he said. "It is amazing. . . . Think of your worst nightmare in a ship and that would be it."

Esquimalt base Commander Randy Maze was shocked that no one was seriously ill, given the filth and stench aboard the ship.

Immigration officials who boarded the ship early yesterday morning encountered passengers whose clothes were in tatters and whose shoes were falling apart. They were extremely fatigued and hungry. There had been chickens and rice on board but the water was contaminated and some had fallen ill after using it for cooking.

The passengers had been crammed into the vessel's cargo hold, with no toilets, little light, and only layered, wooden slats for beds. Human waste was evident on the deck and in the hold and buckets were overflowing, Mr. Redmond said.

RCMP also reported yesterday that they were investigating a so-called ghost vessel spotted three weeks ago off the west coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands. That boat was deserted and later sank before police could board it. It's believed the boat's passengers made it to land and have slipped into Canada.

Mr. Redmond, Immigration's Vancouver Island manager, said human smuggling has become a lucrative, well-organized business and is escalating among countries in the Pacific Rim.

As of last night, Immigration officials had not yet conducted official interviews with the passengers, believed to have come from China's province of Fujian on the southeastern coast. However, from brief conversations, they believe all the passengers paid large sums of money to make the treacherous journey.

And RCMP have separated 11 individuals from the passengers as possible ringleaders in the crossing.
Those men were seen being led into the gymnasium in handcuffs and shackles yesterday afternoon.

The listing, 55-metre boat was spotted Tuesday morning by a Fisheries and Oceans plane doing a routine patrol off the west coast of Vancouver Island, about 300 kilometres north of Victoria. Mr. Redmond said the boat sped up after it was spotted and headed directly toward land.

The plane alerted the Canadian Coast Guard, which sent a tug to tow the boat ashore. Mr. Redmond said the vessel was headed for Canada and none of its passengers had visas or proper documentation.

"People put these ships together," he said. "It wasn't a Sunday sail that got lost. They were coming to North America."

Other Pacific Rim countries have noticed an escalation of unwanted boats loaded with would-be Chinese refugees showing up on their shores. Hundreds of illegal immigrants have already arrived in Australia and the United States.

In fact, Immigration officials said they had been tipped off by U.S. officials and were actually expecting to encounter an illegal vessel soon.

Mr. Redmond said most of the immigrants were glad to set foot on land after 39 days at sea. The passengers were taken ashore early yesterday morning at Gold River, another coastal community north of Tofino, where they were promptly put on three school buses and taken to the Esquimalt base.

None of the passengers has indicated a desire to claim refugee status and, under the Immigration Act, they can be detained for as long as seven days. After that, another detention order must be sought if federal officials wish to keep them longer.

Despite their long and uncomfortable journey, many of the passengers smiled and waved to reporters as they were driven onto the base yesterday morning after their six-hour bus ride. Some clapped their hands in apparent glee.

However, once parked outside the gymnasium, they were forced to sit on the bus for at least another four hours. Armed forces spokesman Chris Henderson said the delay was caused because the X-ray and other medical equipment had still not arrived at the makeshift dormitory.

Throughout the morning, armed-forces personnel could be seen escorting individuals into the gymnasium to use the washrooms. Most appeared tired and a few had to be supported as they made their way to the gym.

Mr. Redmond said they are polite and co-operative and merely happy to be safe on solid ground for the moment. Two of the passengers made a failed bid for freedom on Tuesday by fashioning a makeshift raft from boards and ropes. However, two vacationing off-duty police officers from the United States picked them up and handed them over to RCMP in Gold River.

As for what will happen next, Mr. Redmond said his staff must first determine whether the arrivals wish to seek refugee status. If they do, then staff must weigh the risks of releasing them. If it's believed claimants won't show up for scheduled future hearings or are a risk to the community, they may be detained while their respective claims are dealt with.

Mr. Redmond said Canadian officials were not obliged to tow the vessel to land nor permit the illegal immigrants to enter Canada. Rather, the so-called rescue was done for humanitarian reasons.

Canada would not have breached any international laws by turning the boat away, but "that's not the Canadian way," Mr. Redmond said.
Peter Stockholder, a Vancouver immigration lawyer, said the Canadian Bar Association wants to ensure the Chinese immigrants get some sort of legal help.

"There are concerns," Mr. Stockholder said. "They would be completely in the dark and it's important to get some kind of help for them."

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