ABSTRACT
In the 1970s a variety of pressures around the world made people flee their homes in search of a safe haven from persecution. The main groups coming to Britain were Greek Cypriots fleeing from Cyprus following Turkey's invasion, Asians expelled from Uganda by President Idi Amin, exiles from Pinochet's dictatorship in Chile, and later other Latin American refugees and Chinese and Vietnamese refugees escaping Communist Vietnam. British governments of different political persuasions gave significant help to these refugees in a way which was to diminish in later years. Apart from the Cypriots, these groups, unlike earlier influxes, came from countries outside Europe, having little knowledge of the country and even less of the language and way of life in Britain. The refugees therefore required significant government backing to help their reorientation. In the cases of the Ugandan Asians and the Vietnamese the resettlement procedure was directed by agencies specifically set up by the government. Nevertheless, as in the earlier programmes, the government continued to rely on the voluntary sector to implement decisions and deal with the refugees on a daily basis.
