jet people

n.pl. asylum-seekers, refugees, or immigrants who relocate by airplane. Also plane people. Subjects: English, Aviation, Politics

Etymological Note: Constructed in the fashion of boat people.

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Citations: 1984 William Branigin @ Bangkok, Thailand Washington Post (Sept. 8) “Fewer ‘Boat People,’ Says U.N. Official Vietnam Refugees Effort ‘a Success’”: Currently, about 2,500 of these Vietnamese “plane people” are leaving each month under the program, refugee officials said. “This number is roughly equal to the total monthly arrivals in the region by boat people.” 1986 Jean-Pierre Hocké @ Oxford University UNHCR (Oct. 29) “Beyond Humanitarianism: the need for political will to resolve today’s refugee problem”: Liberal asylum traditions have been jolted by the new reality of asylum seekers coming directly from far-away lands through the development and proliferation of air transportation systems. These are the “jet people’ of the 80s who have succeeded the “boat people’ of the 70s. 1987 UNHCR (Mar. 26-27) “Opening Statement By The High Commissioner To The Informal Meeting Of Permanent Representatives In Geneva Of States Members Of The Executive Committee Of The High Commissioner’s Programme” (in Geneva, Switzerland): The situation in Europe and North America is, in this respect, preoccupying, because it is clear that the “jet people” of today are not receiving the same sort of welcome as the “boat people” of the 1970s or the “land people” of the 1950s on this continent. 1992 Gilles Danroc GISTI (Oct. 18-19) “États-Unis: le retour des refoulés”: L’actuel drame haïtien doit requérir l’attention et la réflexion de l’opinion publique internationale. Autant par son ampleur—plus de 100 000 réfugiés (40 000 boat-people vers les Etats-Unis, 60 000 foot-people vers la République dominicaine, 2 000 jet-people vers l’Europe, essentiellement vers la France)—que par sa complexité historique, économique et politique. 1993 Ira H. Mehlman National Review (Mar. 15) “The new jet set”: By and large, the “jet people” phenomenon is well-orchestrated. Though some of the asylum seekers have made it to JFK on their own, most, particularly those from China, India, and Pakistan, rely on professional smugglers. 1999 John Passant Workers Online (Sydney, Australia) (Nov. 26) “Let Them Stay”: Nothing draconian happens to the thousands of white visa overstayers who arrive by plane. Jet people good, boat people bad. What hypocrisy! 2005 [G-Gnome] The G-Gnome Rides Out (June 12) “The Opinions of Immigrants”: They are immigrants of choice, jet people rather than boat people. America’s been good to them, a place where they can own handguns and mouth up blacks and homosexuals without fear of consequences. *2005 Paul Lyneham NineMSN (Australia) (Aug. 10) “Sunday: Philip Ruddock, Immigration & Ethnic Affairs”: Now your biggest concern, despite the headlines, really isn’t boat people is it? It’s jumbo jet people who come here on proper visas and then overstay and claim refugee status?

Posted 27 Apr 06 | Permalink | Tell a Friend

Reader comments:

WHAT??? jajaja now I can refer to myself as a JET PERSON or PLANE PERSON because I was born in another country and came here FLYING… interesting…?

by Magnolia 21 Jun 06, 0114 GMT