Vietnamese Americans

I

Introduction

Vietnamese Americans, residents of the United States who trace their ancestry to Vietnam. Most Vietnamese immigrants arrived in the United States after the end of the Vietnam War (1959-1975). Of the more than 1 million Vietnamese Americans, more than 700,000 arrived in the United States as refugees fleeing persecution in postwar Vietnam. About 200,000 came to the United States as economic immigrants seeking a better life. American-born children of both groups make up the remainder. Approximately 200,000 ethnic Chinese from Vietnam are included in these statistics. According to the 2000 census, there were 1,084,000 people of Vietnamese descent in the United States. They constitute the fourth largest group of Asian Americans, after Chinese Americans, Filipino Americans, and Asian Indian Americans.

Vietnamese Americans typically retain a strong sentimental attachment to the customs and traditions of their homeland. Vietnamese culture incorporates both native Vietnamese traditions and Confucianism, a philosophical system derived from China. The Vietnamese place a high value on tight-knit families and on education. Traditional Vietnamese heroes include scholars as well as warrior kings and queens.

II

History

The 1975 conquest of South Vietnam by Communist North Vietnam and the harsh postwar conditions that followed caused many Vietnamese to flee their homeland. The first refugees were South Vietnamese soldiers, government officials, and their families, who fled when their country fell. About 130,000 refugees resettled in the United States. They left a country devastated by years of war involving France and the United States, as well as North and South Vietnam. The victorious North Vietnamese imposed economic reforms and imprisoned hundreds of thousands of South Vietnamese whom they suspected might rebel against the new regime. Poor harvests in 1978 and 1979, and border wars with China and Cambodia, further disrupted life in Vietnam. These events prompted many South Vietnamese to resist Communist reforms and encourage others to flee the country.

In 1978 and 1979, the Vietnamese government confiscated the property of ethnic Chinese in Vietnam and forced them to leave the country. Between 1978 and 1982, several hundred thousand ethnic Chinese and other Vietnamese fled to neighboring countries. Tens of thousands died along the way, victims of fierce storms, Vietnamese patrols, and bandits. Those caught escaping, including children, were jailed. Those who made it to refugee camps generally remained for a year or more before resettling in the United States or other countries. Almost every Vietnamese American family has a member who arrived as a refugee or who died en route.

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Beginning in the early 1980s, the Vietnamese government allowed some people to legally emigrate from Vietnam to countries such as the United States and Canada. Thousands more continued to flee. Countries that had previously offered refugees either temporary asylum or a permanent home were less willing to accept this wave of refugees. In 1989, 51 nations, including the United States, agreed to a Comprehensive Plan of Action designating a cutoff date later that year, after which people fleeing Vietnam would no longer be granted refugee status. Some Vietnamese fleeing after this date resettled in the United States, but most have been denied refugee status and returned to Vietnam.

III

Adjustments in America

The circumstances surrounding the arrival of different groups of Vietnamese immigrants have affected how they adjust to the United States. Most Vietnamese have been admitted to the United States as refugees, enabling them to receive temporary public assistance, including English instruction, job training, health insurance, and living expenses. Since the mid-1980s, government refugee assistance programs have been shortened from three years to eight months. However, these programs played an important role in helping early Vietnamese refugees adjust to the United States. Vietnamese admitted to the United States under normal immigration procedures receive no refugee assistance. Usually, they are assisted by relatives already living in the United States.

The first wave of refugees in 1975 had no established Vietnamese American communities to rely upon for help. Assistance came from government programs, private individuals, nonprofit organizations, and churches. Vietnamese men who had held high positions in their homeland took whatever jobs they could get. Vietnamese women became full-time wage earners, often for the first time. The U.S. government originally dispersed these refugees throughout the United States. Within a few years many Vietnamese Americans moved to California, Texas, and Virginia, states that had mild climates, plentiful jobs, and growing refugee communities. Nearly half of all Vietnamese Americans now live in California. Most refugees in the first wave were young, well-educated urban elites, such as professionals and people with technical training. This background helped them to adjust in America. Although these immigrants initially reported low incomes in the United States, by 1985 their earnings exceeded the national median income.

The refugees who arrived in the United States between 1978 and 1989 often suffered traumatic experiences while escaping Vietnam or living in refugee camps. These refugees were sometimes called boat people, named for their often perilous escapes from Vietnam by sea. This group was much more diverse than the earlier wave of refugees. Many had lower levels of education, fewer material resources and job skills, less knowledge of English, and less previous contact with American culture. Nevertheless, many succeeded in school and in the workforce. However, not all Vietnamese Americans have become well-educated and prosperous. School dropout rates and the growth of criminal gangs continue to trouble the Vietnamese American community. In 1990, more than one-fourth of all Vietnamese American families reported income below the poverty level, a rate twice the U.S. average.

Vietnamese immigrants arriving in the United States during the 1990s have found it the most difficult to adjust to American life. Many of these immigrants endured years of abuse and hardship in postwar Vietnam or in refugee camps. The skills they learned in Vietnam are inadequate for work in the United States. Many have unrealistic expectations of success, and they often find it difficult to get jobs.

IV

Contemporary Issues

Many Vietnamese Americans express concern that their Vietnamese traditions are being replaced by American values. Older people complain about the disintegration of traditional family structures and the fading of their Vietnamese cultural heritage in America. In contrast, younger people see themselves as keeping essential traditions, such as an emphasis on family and education, while adding new ones. Vietnamese American women who hold full-time jobs are increasingly independent, but they still often support traditional families. Young professionals assert that they can be American in the office and Vietnamese at home.

Within ten years of their arrival in the United States as refugees, many Vietnamese Americans became prosperous and self-sufficient. In the 1990s, numerous Vietnamese Americans visited their homeland. During these trips, many realized for the first time how much they had absorbed American values and customs. The children of Vietnamese immigrants who grow up in the United States are even more likely to blend American and Vietnamese ways. Vietnamese Americans are becoming one American ethnic group among many, influenced by a variety of cultural traditions.

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