The Seasweep’s Operations Director, Ted Agon, helps lift Huy Thi Nga, who is nine months pregnant, onto the rescue vessel’s deck.
Photo and caption by Denis Gray
Associated Press Correspondent
Baby born on the refugee boat in the middle of a large typhoon held by Singapore nurse Rosemary. .
1st Refugee boat with 93 on board
(27 children, 3 pregnant women & 7 elderly)
This is the boat with the future
Photo 1979
Rescue vessel "Seasweep"
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees estimates between 200,000 and 400,000 children & parents died at sea.
Me chatting with refugees from second rescued boat.
Quan Du Tran, the "Seaweep's" Vietnamese cook's unexpected meeting with his cousin who was one of the refugees.
48 refugees from the second boat and the crew of the "Seasweep".
48 men, women and children
from the 2nd boat.
Me and World Vision writer Sherry Goodman, as typhoon mounts
One of the goals of the "Seasweep" mission was to set a precedent. Prior to this operation, commercial cargo vessels that rescued Vietnamese Boat People were not allowed to come into any port in Asia. This wouldn't allow them to offload or take on cargo. This was commercially disastrous.
The "Seasweep" mission was not commercial and an entry into port could be negotiated. The mission had little to loose waiting outside a port. Negotiation with the authorities in Singapore allowed the refugees to land. With this president set, commercial vessels then had an avenue to negotiate.
"Seasweep's" mission then turned to the 30,000 refugees stranded in the Anambas Islands of Indonesia. There the medical team put their expertise to work.
This photo is of the green-roofed Kuku refugee camp of 15,000 men, women and children in the Anambas Islands of Indonesia. This was one of two camps serviced by the medical crew of the "Seasweep". In just one day and in the open air they vaccinated and inoculated 9,500 complete with a certificate for every individual for future international travel..
Interestingly, these refugees were self-governing. They built their own dwellings, collected taxes from the small businesses among them and purchased food and other supplies from the Indonesian communities on other islands. What they didn't have was medical capability. One result is what you see in the photo below.
This baby girl contracted a flesh-eating bacteria in the camp. She couldn't eat and was severely malnourished.
We immediately transported her from Indonesia to Singapore for treatment. The second photo was taken a month later. She had put on weight and the skin tone was back to normal. The affected area, though much improved, required more care and rehabilitation.
