WORLD : 2 Vietnam Refugees Awaiting Repatriation Attempt Suicide
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HONG KONG — Two young Vietnamese refugees facing forced repatriation entered the U.N. office at their detention camp today and attempted suicide by disembowelment, a U.N. official said.
The men, believed to be in their 20s, entered the office carrying some kind of sharp objects, apparently knives, and stabbed themselves in the stomach, the official said.
They were rushed to a hospital. Government-funded radio said one man was discharged and the other was in satisfactory condition.
The incident occurred at the Whitehead detention center, one of several camps housing a total of 44,000 boat people who face repatriation against their will unless they can prove they fled political persecution in their homeland and not just economic hardship.
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