promise was broken. The policy announced that those still in the camps would stay there for an additional three more years, but they would be released early if they made "real progress, confess their crimes and score merits". Since there were no clear criteria for releasing the inmates from the camps, bribery and family connections with high-ranking officials were more likely to speed up release than the prisoner's good behavior. Released prisoners were put on probation and placed under surveillance for six months to one year. During that time they had no official status, no exit visas, no access to government food rations, and no right to send their children to school. If the progress of the former prisoners was judged unsatisfactory during this period, they could lose their jobs, be put under surveillance, or be sent back to the camps. Faced with these challenges, many chose to flee the country and became boat people. The U.S. government considered re-education camp inmates to be political prisoners. In 1989, the Reagan administration entered into an agreement with the Vietnamese government, pursuant to which Vietnam would free many former South Vietnamese officials still held in re-education camps. The Vietnamese American Foundation began a program called "The Returning Casualty" in early 2006. It attempts to locate the graves of people who died in the camps, identify their remains and deliver them to their loved ones. Partial list of camps Lang Da, NW of Hanoi Hỏa Lò Prison in Hanoi, reported by former prisoner Nguyễn Chí Thiện Lăng Cô, Thừa Thiên–Huế Unnamed temporary camp, Phu Yen Province Cà Mau Prison Camp, Tan Anh Camp, Kien Vang Camp, Bạc Liêu Prison Camp, Ganh-Hao Labour Camp, Chi-Lang Camp, Vuon-Dao Camp. Xuyen-Moc Camp Xam Neua, Laos: its Detainees were former members of the Royal Lao Government and the Royal Lao Armed Forces. See also Samchung re-education camp Xinjiang internment camps Gulag, Soviet Union The Vietnamese Gulag Laogai (Chinese, "reform through labour") Mass killings under communist regimes Re-education through labor Camp 22, North Korea New Economic Zones program Notes References External links Re-education camp Denney Stephen, Human rights and daily life in Viêtnam, Report prepared for the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, March 25, 1990 'Re-educated' 12 Years, An Ex-General Reflects; New York Times, December 18, 1987 History of Vietnam Vietnam War Aftermath of the Vietnam War Vietnamese refugees Defunct prisons in Vietnam Political repression in Vietnam Internment