VZCZCXRO1386
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHNH RUEHPB
DE RUEHHM #1186/01 2901055
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 171055Z OCT 06
FM AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1623
INFO RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI PRIORITY 1149
RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 1710

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 HO CHI MINH CITY 001186 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREF SOCI PREL KIRF PGOV VM
SUBJECT: MONITORING VISIT TO ETHNIC MINORITY RETURNEES AND VISAS-93 
BENEFICIARIES IN GIA LAI PROVINCE 
 
REF: HCMC 1185 
 
HO CHI MIN 00001186  001.2 OF 005 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary and Comment:  During a visit to the Central 
Highlands province of Gia Lai from October 10-12, PolOff, 
accompanied by the French Polcouns, met with 10 ethnic minority 
returnees and the families of two others in their homes.  No 
government officials participated in our visits with returnees, 
although ethnic minority village elders with varying degrees of 
proficiency in Vietnamese were present. 
 
¶2. (SBU) None of the returnees complained of mistreatment, 
although three returnees who appeared to be affiliated with the 
ethnic minority separatist movement did face additional police 
scrutiny.  All but one of the returnees said they were 
Protestant; those affiliated with the GVN-recognized Southern 
Evangelical Church of Vietnam said they were able to gather and 
worship freely.  Most of the returnees appeared to be economic 
migrants.  State-owned coffee and rubber plantations have become 
a critical source of employment for many ethnic minority 
villagers, including some returnees, although there is a strong 
undercurrent of resentment that these plantations displaced 
ethnic minorities from their traditional slash-and-burn 
farmlands.  The returnees' lack of education, inability to find 
or hold sustainable employment, teenage pregnancy, land 
pressures and dependency on government handouts are emblematic 
of the challenges in trying to break the cycle of ethnic 
minority poverty and alienation in the Central Highlands. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Separately, HCMC Refugee Resettlement Section (RRS) and 
DHS officers visited four VISAS-93 beneficiary families in Gia 
Lai who were long term no-shows for interviews in HCMC.  This 
was the first time that we have made a successful visit to 
VISAS-93 beneficiaries in the Central Highlands.  In some of 
these cases, family members and advocates in the U.S. claimed 
that the families were banned from traveling to the HCMC for 
interviews, were prevented from receiving written communication 
from RRS, and faced serious harassment at home.  Although local 
officials were present during our meetings, family members 
appeared relaxed.  We saw no evidence of mistreatment.  All the 
families had received the bulk of mail sent from RRS HCMC.  The 
visit highlighted the real difficulties that local government 
officials face in attempting to issue accurate civil documents 
to illiterate individuals in remote areas of the Central 
Highlands.  Reftel reports on religious freedom and security 
issues in Gia Lai.  End Summary and Comment. 
 
Returnee Visits 
--------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) During a visit to Gia Lai Province October 10-12, 
provincial officials facilitated ConGen access to ten returnees 
and the families of two others in their homes in Duc Co and Chu 
Se districts of Gia Lai Province.  All were ethnic Jarai 
involuntary returnees.  Education levels were very low, with 
most having no or minimal schooling.  The conversations were 
conducted in Vietnamese by ConGen staff.  At the insistence of 
the provincial government, local ethnic minority village elders 
were present for the interviews, although in some cases, the 
elders did not appear to speak Vietnamese.  With the exception 
of one family, all the returnee homes had electricity.  None 
complained of physical abuse or severe harassment following 
their return.  Most received at least some government assistance 
or were sufficiently above the poverty line not to qualify for 
assistance. 
 
¶5. (SBU) In our interviews we focused on: 
 
-- the returnee's living conditions prior to going to Cambodia, 
including employment and land ownership (we also sought 
information on marital status, family size, education and 
religion); 
 
-- the circumstances surrounding the returnee's decision to 
travel to Cambodia and the mechanics thereof; 
 
-- the returnee's life in Vietnam since returning, including any 
bad or unfair treatment by officials, ostracism by neighbors, 
and government assistance to help with reintegration. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Rolan Pleo (MTN-646), age 21, was the son of one of 
the Jarai village elders in Ba village.  He returned to Vietnam 
in February 2006.  His father was a member of the Viet Cong, as 
were the other ethnic minority leaders of the village.  Rolan 
Pleo had no schooling; neither did five of his seven other 
siblings.  Pleo worked in his father's five acres of corn, rice 
and cassava fields.  His two marginally educated siblings -- 
sixth and third grades -- have jobs in the local rubber 
plantation, earning from VND 400,000 to 800,000 per month (USD 
24 to USD 48), depending on productivity.  Pleo indicated that 
he fled primarily for economic reasons after being encouraged by 
"activists" from neighboring villages. 
 
HO CHI MIN 00001186  002.2 OF 005 
 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) Ksor Nuyen (MTN-638), age 20, told us that he "followed 
lots of people" to Cambodia.  He is one of nine siblings, none 
of whom had any education.  He does not follow a religion.  He 
returned from Cambodia because "he missed his family."  He works 
on his father's seven-acre cassava and cashew farm.  The family 
has a motorbike, a television and one cow.  Upon his return to 
Vietnam in February 2006, he spent one day at the district 
police station being questioned about his reasons for leaving 
and his stay in Cambodia.  He also was "invited" once to meet 
with communal officials some months after his return.  He was 
not/not required to attend any public "self-criticism" session 
in his village after his return. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Rolan Kam (MTN-494), 19, married with one child, met us 
in her home with her parents and siblings.  She told us that she 
went to Cambodia with her infant child, her 13-year old sister 
and two other family members.  One aunt was resettled in the 
United States.  UNHCR reportedly offered Kam resettlement as 
well, but she and her younger sister decided to return and 
rejoin her family.  (The family did appear to be very close.) 
Since their return in July 2005, her sister gave birth to a 
child; the father is another boy in the village.  Upon return, 
she was interviewed for two days by district and local 
officials.  Her family received salt, gasoline and rice from the 
government.  Kam works in the local rubber plantation as a latex 
collector, earning from VND 500,000 to 700,000 per month (USD 32 
to USD 55). 
 
¶9. (SBU) Kam's father told us that, in the past, a large number 
of villagers left for Cambodia, but the flow has ebbed in recent 
months.  Kam's family and most others in their village -- an 
estimated 600 -- are Protestants affiliated with the SECV.  They 
are able to gather to worship without restriction and do so 
three times a week. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Rolan Hoi (MTN-501) met us in his newly constructed 
home with his wife, two children and sister-in-law.  Hoi has a 
fifth-grade education.  His wife and his sister-in-law are 
uneducated and do not speak Vietnamese.  The entire group left 
for Cambodia for economic reasons, he told us.  The family paid 
VND 700,000 (USD 45) for the crossing.  There about 50 persons 
in the group.  Once in Cambodia, he and his family were told by 
UNHCR that they did not qualify for resettlement.  Upon return 
in July 2005, he spent one day working with police in the 
provincial capital of Pleiku and a second day with village 
authorities.  He was visited twice by border police, who 
"encouraged" him to focus on making a living.  He sometimes 
assists his wife who has a job as a collector at the local 
rubber plantation, where they make between VND 400,000 and 
500,000 per month (USD 25 to 31).  He also owns one acre of 
cassava.  His sister-in-law is unemployed.  Since his return he 
has received rice, tin roofing, blankets, mosquito netting, 
instant noodles and soap from government authorities.  Hoi and 
his family belonged to the Southern Evangelical Church of 
Vietnam (SECV).  He and other villagers were able to gather 
freely to worship. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Rahlan Uoch (MTN-673), 21, was the most impoverished 
ethnic minority individual we had met in our dozen visits to the 
Central Highlands over the past two years.  In contrast to the 
other villagers, the tiny hut where we met her and her baby girl 
had no electricity and was virtually devoid of possessions.  She 
spoke very little Vietnamese.  Uoch apparently married after her 
return to Vietnam in April 2006.  She worked part time in the 
rubber plantation, earning "very little."  She was not 
interviewed by local authorities upon her return to Vietnam, but 
received rice from local authorities.  Asked about her state of 
destitution, local officials explained that Uoch and her husband 
recently moved out of their family homes to establish a new 
household.  Her husband worked as an itinerant laborer. 
 
Son of a FULRO Activist 
----------------------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) Rahlan Hung (MTN-651), 21, met us at his parents' 
relatively prosperous home in Chan village in Duc Co District. 
On the verge of tears, Hung told us that his wife divorced him 
after he decided to cross to Cambodia against her wishes.  Since 
his return in February 2006, he had tried but failed to get a 
job at the local rubber plantation, as officials told him he 
could not qualify with only a fourth-grade education.  He tends 
his family's 1.3 acre gardens and cassava farm.  Hung said UNHCR 
offered him third-country resettlement, but he did not want to 
leave his family behind. 
 
¶13. (SBU) Hung told us that his father was a former combatant in 
the ethnic minority separatist "FULRO" movement.  His father 
traveled to another village to participate in the anti-GVN 
protests in 2001 and 2004.  His father was arrested three times. 
 
HO CHI MIN 00001186  003.2 OF 005 
 
 
 Hung refused to tell us whether his father remained active in 
the FULRO movement, but noted that local authorities keep a 
close eye on his family.  Following his father's lead, Hung said 
that he "abandoned" Protestantism, but he acknowledged that the 
SECV was able to operate freely in the village.  Upon his return 
to Vietnam, Hung was held for three days and two nights at the 
provincial level and another day at the district level, where he 
was questioned carefully about his reasons for crossing to 
Cambodia and his family's activities.  Since his return, police 
have visited him seven times, questioning him for approximately 
one hour each time.   There was no physical violence during any 
of his questioning sessions, but police officials "yelled at 
him," telling him not to try and flee again. 
 
¶14. (SBU) Siu Huy (MTN-204), 25, told us that he "followed 
people" to Cambodia because he heard that economic conditions 
were better across the border.  A 9th-grade graduate, Huy works 
with his wife in the local rubber plantation earning from VND 
300,000 to one million (USD 20 to 60) monthly.  He tried to get 
a job with the local state-owned coffee plantation but was not 
hired.  Upon his return from Cambodia in July 2005, he was 
interviewed in the provincial capital of Pleiku for two days. 
Local officials also visited him three times.  He received tin 
roofing for his home from local authorities.  Huy's family is 
Protestant.  They face no restriction on worship. 
 
¶15. (SBU) Ksor Gai (MTN-493), 42, told us that he crossed to 
Cambodia with his sixth-grade daughter after he lost his rice 
harvest in a flood.  Gai paid VND two million (USD 125) for the 
crossing.  Gai is Protestant; he and other villagers have not 
faced any restrictions on religious practice this year.  Upon 
his return in July 2005, Gai was interviewed by local border 
police who verbally threatened him with physical harm should he 
attempt to flee to Cambodia again.  Gai also complained that he 
did not receive any assistance from government officials.  The 
local officials explained that Gai's household was relatively 
wealthy.  Gai acknowledged that he owned nearly two acres of 
coffee and cassava as well as nine cows. 
 
Dega Activist 
------------- 
 
¶16. (SBU) Kpuih Hoang (MTN-700), 28, self-identified as a member 
of the "Dega Protestant Church" since 1999.  Hoang complained 
that the government "took the traditional village lands" when 
they created a new coffee plantation nearby in 1997.  He used to 
work for the plantation, but quit after some time because the 
coffee plantation "did not pay enough and did not acknowledge 
all his labor." 
 
¶17.  (SBU) Hoang said that he participated in the anti-GVN 
protests in 2001 and 2004 and was detained by police for 20 days 
in 2004.  He has four young children between the ages of one and 
eight.  He has a second-grade education; his wife never went to 
school.  He has three-quarters of an acre of rice, cassava and 
pepper and two cows.  Upon his return from Cambodia in April 
2006, he was held for two days of questioning in the provincial 
capital of Pleiku.  He also has been visited frequently by local 
ethnic Jarai police, who warn that he will be arrested if he 
participates in separatist activities or if he attempts to cross 
again to Cambodia.  He has not received any assistance from the 
government since his return.  After his return, he refused to 
seek work at the local state-owned coffee plantation.  Unlike 
many other returnees, Hoang said that he did not pay to cross to 
Cambodia.  He was not offered resettlement by UNHCR. 
 
¶18. (SBU) Hoang said that 20 families in his village are 
affiliated with the Dega Protestant Church.  They are not 
allowed to gather.  He acknowledged that the SECV has a presence 
in the village and that SECV members do not face restrictions. 
 
 
¶19. (SBU) Siu Gin, 22, told us that he paid VND one million (USD 
60) to travel to Cambodia.  Gin finished fourth grade.  His 
uncle, who was earlier resettled in the United States, 
encouraged him to cross because "life in the village was 
difficult."  He was rejected for resettlement by UNHCR and 
returned home in April 2006.  He was questioned for two days in 
Pleiku before being returned home.  Since his return, Gin has 
married a relatively wealthier woman and now farms her two acres 
of rice and pepper.  He received rice, gasoline, and canned tuna 
from local officials.  He has been visited twice by local 
officials since his return home. 
 
Where is Siu Nham? 
------------------ 
 
¶20. (SBU) ConGenOffs visited the family of Siu Nham (MTN-406), a 
returnee who "disappeared" some time after his return from 
Cambodia in July 2005.  Siu Nham's case was first raised by the 
 
HO CHI MIN 00001186  004.2 OF 005 
 
 
EU in November 2005, after another returnee suggested to 
visiting EU officials that Nham had been beaten.  At that time, 
officials told the EU representatives that Nham was "working in 
the fields." 
 
¶21. (SBU) Siu Nham's wife and father maintained that they had 
not seen Siu Nham since he "fled" roughly around September 2005. 
 However, they did not appear at all concerned about his 
absence.  Moreover, Nham's wife had a three-month old child that 
she and her father-in-law adamantly maintained was Siu Nham's. 
During our visit, the local ethnic Jarai village elder made a 
speech clearly directed at the family "saying were Siu Nham to 
return, his safety would be guaranteed."  Separately, the Chu Se 
District People's Committee Chairman told us that he had 
recently delivered a letter to Siu Nham and his family 
personally guaranteeing that Nham would face no repercussions 
for his absence should he voluntarily return.  Referring to 
Nham's "disappearance," the Chairman told us that officials know 
where ethnic minority individuals go "to hide," but refrain from 
approaching them so as to minimize tensions as much as possible. 
 Siu Nham's family told us that they had been practicing "Dega 
Protestantism," but had been told to stop by local officials. 
(Comment:  Whatever the reasons for Siu Nham's flight, it 
appears an open secret in the district that he is alive and 
reasonably well.  End Comment.) 
 
VISAS-93 Visits 
--------------- 
 
¶22. (SBU) Separately, RRS Chief and CIS Chief visited four 
Visas-93 beneficiary families that had been identified for 
follow-up in the field.  In one case, RRS had been waiting for 
over a year for the family to obtain passports.  Three other 
families were among the seven long-term "no show for interview" 
(NSI) cases.  The ethnic Bahnar beneficiary in Ho Luk village, 
Ko Dang commune, Dak Doa district told us that she had received 
earlier invitations for interviews from RRS, but had not 
traveled to HCMC because she had "no money."  However, she would 
attend her interview scheduled for 18 October.  She already was 
issued a passport. 
 
¶23.  (SBU) An ongoing family dispute explains why the 
beneficiaries of a case in Dak Ioh village, Dok So Me commune, 
Dak Doa District had not responded to RRS interview invitations 
for over a year.  The principal applicant told us that several 
months ago her husband in the United States had informed her 
that he only wanted their two middle sons to get a job.  He said 
he could not support the entire family in the United States 
because his wife is illiterate and unable to work.  As the 
primary beneficiary wanted to keep the family together, she had 
suspended processing.  We found her explanation and demeanor 
credible, but will follow-up with the anchor.  The anchor has 
sent money that the family has used to improve their house, 
which was larger and more prosperous looking than those of most 
neighbors. 
 
¶24. (SBU) A CIS adjudicator had approved the case of a family 
living in Lang Mor village, Dok To Ver commune, Dak Doa District 
for resettlement to the United States over a year ago, but the 
family had not yet received its passports.  RRS received reports 
that unspecified local officials had told the family that they 
would not get their passports unless they paid a bribe of USD 
3,000. 
 
¶25. (SBU) The principal applicant is illiterate and does not 
speak Vietnamese, so a village elder translated.  According to 
the principal applicant, there were discrepancies and gaps in 
their birth certificates and family register records.  Sorting 
out the differences had taken a great deal of time. 
Accompanying officials told us that the family's passports had 
been approved and that the family would get them the following 
day.  The family's house was larger and better furnished than 
those of most neighbors.  The family plans for the now-married 
eldest son to stay in Vietnam. 
 
¶26. (SBU) A family of seven beneficiaries in the remote Plei 
Plor village, Ia Lau commune, Chu Prong District, live in a 
single-room tin roofed wooden home.  The family has a two or 
three hectare cashew farm.  The anchor in this case has 
repeatedly expressed concern that his family was being prevented 
from leaving the village, that letters and telexes from RRS had 
not been delivered, and that one of his daughters (said to be 
eleven years old) had been imprisoned for two months and 
poisoned. 
 
¶27. (SBU) We began our interview by attempting to identify the 
family members:  the anchor's wife, three older daughters, and 
two younger sons.  It became apparent that the precise 
birthdates supplied on the beneficiaries' respective I-730 
application forms were conjectural.  None of the beneficiaries 
 
HO CHI MIN 00001186  005.2 OF 005 
 
 
appeared to know their birthdates or even their ages.  For 
example, the principal applicant said her youngest son was about 
eighteen, but he appeared to be nine or ten.  All three 
daughters are married, although listed as single on the I-730 
form prepared by the anchor in the United States.  One of the 
daughters was the young woman who reportedly was imprisoned and 
poisoned.  She appeared healthy, in her late teens, and was 
nursing a baby.  None of the family members made any claims of 
harassment, although there were a large number of officials 
present during our meeting.  For example, the principal 
applicant said that she traveled to Pleiku whenever her husband 
sent money, most recently in July, when she received USD 200. 
She stated that she had received three messages from RRS (out of 
five sent), but that she had not come for a prescreening 
appointment because "she could not afford to do so."  (A return 
trip bus ticket from the area to HCMC reportedly costs VND 
300,000, or USD 20.) 
 
¶28. (SBU) The family and local officials told us that they are 
still attempting to sort out discrepancies in names and dates of 
birth so that the beneficiaries can receive birth certificates. 
The principal applicant kept in touch with her husband in the 
U.S. via cell phone.  The phone showed a number of overseas 
calls, the most recent from earlier in the day of our visit. 
WINNICK