THE first break in solidarity among Vietnamese hunger strikers came at High Island detention centre last night when all but 24 of the 2,600 detainees agreed to resume eating.
The change of heart, which came one hour after the normal dinner time of 5 pm, forced Correctional Services Department (CSD) cooks to swing into action and begin preparing meals.
A senior CSD officer said the decision followed ''intensive counselling'' yesterday by CSD staff in meetings with Vietnamese representatives.
The move was pre-empted earlier in the day by three people who requested food and protective custody.
The entire High Island camp population of 2,600 had been refusing food for the past few days, and in an effort to get people to eat, the CSD had been telling detainees that special ''safe'' accommodation would be provided for anyone wishing to eat.
It is believed that many people had been eating supplies of unofficial food, but this was fast running out.