The Hawkins Road camp in Sembawang was home to thousands of Vietnamese refugees until it closed in 1996. Researcher Rebecca Tan talks about how the refugees spent their days in the camp and their lives after Singapore.

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What Rebecca Talked About

00:00 – Background on the Hawkins Road camp
03:18 – Life in the refugee camp
08:08 – Singapore’s plan for long-term refugees
10:17 – What the refugees said about Singapore
11:20 – Singapore's evolving refugee policy
14:41 – How Rebecca knew about the refugee camp
15:25 – Rebecca’s research
16:49 – Interview with a Hawkins Road camp refugee who still lives in Singapore
22:07 – Being a librarian at Toa Payoh Public Library
24:26 – The libraries and archives are...

About the Guest

Rebecca Tan is a Digital Preservation Archivist at the National Archives of Singapore. She was previously a Children and Teens Librarian at Toa Payoh Public Library, and a Digital Heritage Librarian at the National Library Singapore.

Resources

Rebecca Tan, "Remembering the Hawkins Road Refugee Camp," BiblioAsia 20, no. 3 (October–December 2024).

Credits

This episode of BiblioAsia+ was hosted by Jimmy Yap and produced by Soh Gek Han. Sound engineering was done by Nookcha Films. The background music "Di Tanjong Katong" was composed by Ahmad Patek and performed by Chords Haven. Special thanks to Rebecca for coming on the show.

About the Podcast

BiblioAsia+ is a podcast about Singapore history by the National Library Singapore.

Transcript