REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BATAM - The Batam municipal government in Riau Islands has reopened the "Ex-Vietnamese Camp" Museum in Galang Island for tourists after it has been renovated.

"The renovation is part of maintenance. Now many tourists start to visit the museum, especially at the weekend or on national holidays," said Head of the Batam City Tourism Board Yusfa Hendri here on Sunday.

Hendri noted the renovation covered the museum building and other buildings in its premises built by the Indonesian government in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in 1975.

There were a lot of buildings here in the past, including place of worship, office, school, residence, and public sphere. But it was not until the 1990s that almost half of them were ruined due to the lack of care, he said.

But he added some of the buildings still could be repaired, including the Maria Immaculata Catholic Church. "The original architecture of several places of worship built when Vietnamese citizens stayed here remains as it was," he said.

The Galang Island used to be home to about 180 thousand Vietnamese refugees from 1975 to 1996. They fled their country because of the Vietnamese war. The Indonesian government in association with the UNHCR developed the island as a refugees camp. The Ex-Vietnamese Camp is located about 70 kilometers from the downtown of Batam City.

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