VZCZCXRO7286
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHNH
DE RUEHHM #0599/01 1560514
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 050514Z JUN 06
FM AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0954
INFO RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI PRIORITY 0705
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 0999

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HO CHI MINH CITY 000599 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM SOCI PREL PREF KIRF PGOV VM
SUBJECT: RESULTS OF NEW VISAS-93 INTERVIEWS 
 
REF: HCMC 395; B) HCMC 29; C) 05 HCMC 1217 AND PREVIOUS 
 
HO CHI MIN 00000599  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: In mid-May, ConGen conducted private 
interviews in HCMC with four VISAS-93 (family reunification) 
ethnic minority beneficiary families from the Central Highlands. 
 The results are consistent with previous rounds of interviews 
and show improvement in the conditions for ethnic minorities, 
particularly with regard to religious freedom.  None of the 
families reported any official harassment, abuse or threats.  We 
continue to note contradictions between claims the petitioners 
made during the asylum-seeking process and the statements of the 
families made in HCMC.  Over seventy percent of VISAS-93 cases 
to date have received passports.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On May 16 and 17, ConGenOff met in private with four 
VISAS-93 applicants and their families in HCMC.  The petitioning 
husbands had fled to Cambodia following protests in the Central 
Highlands.  As in past processing cycles (reftels), we sought to 
develop unfiltered accounts of conditions for ethnic minorities 
in the Central Highlands. One ethnic Jarai family was from Gia 
Lai, one ethnic Ede family from Dak Lak, and two ethnic Mnong 
families from Dak Nong provinces in the Central Highlands. 
 
Demographics and Living Standards 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) All four families said their villages and homes were 
electrified.  Only one family from Dak Nong (Ton Ba village) had 
indoor plumbing; the rest obtained water from a village well or 
from streams in the area.  In contrast to their mothers, who had 
limited or no schooling and were illiterate, all children of 
eligible age attended school. 
 
¶4. (SBU) All of the applicants were farmers.  All said they 
received supplemental income from their husbands in the United 
States.  Remittances ranged from USD 60 to 400 quarterly.  Three 
of the families said money was sent through an ethnic Vietnamese 
(Kinh) courier/middleman; the other family received funds via 
other relatives.  None of the families reported interference 
from local authorities in receiving the money.  None of the 
families were aware of their anchor's occupation in the United 
States. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The Gia Lai and Dak Lak interviewees reported that 
villages in the area were segregated along ethnic lines.  The 
two Dak Nong interviewees said their villages were ethnically 
mixed.  The Gia Lai applicant noted that officials prohibited 
ethnic minorities from selling land to ethnic Vietnamese.  All 
four families said the police had a heavy footprint in their 
villages.  The bulk of police officers were ethnic Vietnamese. 
Ethnic minorities were used as informants and undercover agents. 
 
 
Discrimination in Government Assistance? 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) In contrast with prior interviews of VISAS-93 
applicants who said their received government assistance, three 
of the four families said they did not get government support 
that was distributed to other villagers.  They did not explain 
why, although they did not indicate that they were denied as 
punishment for their anchor's actions.   They said that poor 
villagers received government assistance consisting of rice, 
fish sauce, instant noodles, salt, blankets and clothes several 
times per year. 
 
No Police Harassment 
-------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) None of the families reported police harassment.  The 
families were visited by local police two to three times in the 
weeks following their anchor's departure to Cambodia.  Police 
asked about their whereabouts, reasons for their departure, and 
whether or the family had received funds from the United States. 
 None of the applicants reported any physical abuse or threat of 
abuse or arrest from local authorities since their husbands' 
flight.  The applicants said that they did not know why their 
anchor's had fled Vietnam; the anchor's had not participated in 
anti-GVN demonstrations in the Central Highlands nor were they 
affiliated with any separatist movement.  (Comment:  According 
to RRS records, in two cases these reports contradict the claims 
made by anchors in the United States, who said they were 
arrested for their involvement in anti-GVN protests.  End 
Comment.)  Additionally, one applicant from Dak Rlap village in 
Dak Nong province had a government-issued identification card 
that enabled her to travel freely across the 
Vietnamese-Cambodian border.  The applicant said she was unaware 
that she was authorized to do so. 
 
Religious Freedom 
----------------- 
 
 
HO CHI MIN 00000599  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶8.  (SBU) All families said that conditions for religious 
freedom had improved markedly in their respective villages in 
¶2005.  Villagers now are able to gather and worship without 
incident.  One applicant said that she and her husband followed 
no religion.  However, her application and sponsor's refugee 
adjudication notes stated that they were persecuted for their 
Protestant beliefs.  Another applicant stated that she and her 
family were Catholic and did not know why her husband would 
identify himself as Protestant in his refugee petition. 
 
Passports and Documentation 
--------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) None of the families knew how to apply for a passport; 
one applicant said she did not know what a passport was.  (Note: 
 RRS has provided the applicants with an introductory letter to 
local officials to guide them through the passport application 
process.  End Note.)  There were no reported problems with local 
and provincial officials in obtaining civil documentation or 
permission to travel to HCMC.  All families paid normal 
application fees of approximately USD 2 to 3 USD per document. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Comment:  The results of these four interviews 
reinforce earlier observations that most VISAS-93 applicants are 
not facing significant official harassment.  It supports other 
reporting that conditions for ethnic minorities in the Central 
Highlands, particularly for religious freedom, are gradually 
improving.  As in previous rounds of interviewing, there were 
inconsistencies between the statements given by the petitioner 
during the asylum-seeking process and family interviews in HCMC. 
 We cannot completely rule out the possibility that the HCMC 
interviewees are withholding information out of fear of local 
government retaliation in the Central Highlands.  However, the 
anomalies also raise the possibility that some applicants may 
have misrepresented their role in unrest or the level of 
oppression they faced for the purpose of immigrating to the 
United States.  Overall progress in resolving VISAS-93 cases is 
steady.  To date, 128 families, over 70 percent of the total 
caseload, have received passports from all five provinces in the 
Central Highlands.  End Comment. 
Winnick