Since 1948, Israel has provided a home for millions of Jewish refugees from around the world – Morocco, Iraq, the former Soviet Union, Ethiopia.
What is not so well-known, however, is that Israel has also taken in and sheltered persecuted non-Jews seeking asylum from war-torn countries in the Balkans and most recently, Southern Sudan. A fascinating but little-known story is that of the “Vietnamese Boat People.”
In the late 1970s, after decades of civil war, the North Vietnamese totalitarian communists defeated the South Vietnam regime. In the aftermath of this Vietnam War and the fall of Saigon, hundreds of thousands became refugees. An estimated one million people were imprisoned without formal charges or trials. The new communist government sent masses to “re-education camps” which – rife with abuse, torture and executions – is where 165,000 people died.
Meanwhile, 145,000 South Vietnamese were brought to the United States. For the rest – hoping to escape Communist persecution and torture – there was no choice but to perilously attempt escape by sea. Read the rest on: Aish.com
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