Indochinese Refugees Research Articles

The Soviet Union and Indochinese Refugees

The seemingly unending waves of Vietnamese refugees, the so called boat people, have been landing on the shores of ASEAN (Asso ciation of Southeast Asian Nations) countries, particularly Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, ever since Hanoi forces and the Vietcong captured Saigon. Their numbers swelled dramatically immediately after Hanoi began to implement its policy of restructuring the economy of the south. Some, mostly the Hoa or Vietnamese of Chinese descent, chose to return to China; others trekked to Thailand via Laos or Kampuchea; but the majority of them left the country by boat.

Mental Health and Indochinese Refugees

Mental Health and Indochinese Refugees

Research Notes: Mental Health and Indochinese Refugees

Research Notes: Mental Health and Indochinese Refugees

The Indochinese Refugees: Cause and Effects

W AR, and the threat of war, mark the contemporary history of the Indochinese region; and one of the most striking and poignant reflections of the human costs of this continuing political instability has been the massive outflow of refugees from Vietnam, Laos, and Kampuchea (the former Cambodia). Since early 1975 at least one million people have fled from these three countries, with by far the largest number leaving Vietnam.' Accurate statistics for the tide of refugees an difficult to establish. No agreed figure exists, for instance, for those 'boat people' refugees who have perished at sea before making landfall, and there have been suggestions that deaths at sea could have claimed the lives of as many as 50 per cent of the numbers who reached land. While this estimate is almost certainly too high, there is no doubt that the number of deaths through drownings and attacks by pirates has been large and, at very least, involves a figure of 28,000 persons-or 10 per cent of the refugees who have arrived in the various countries of South-east Asia and in Hong Kong by boat.2 The problem of establishing accurate statistics is further complicated by the presence in Thailand of refugees from both Kampuchea and Laos whose numbers are not officially recorded. Perhaps as many as 40,000 hill people from Laos fall into this category-they are living with only minimal contact with the Thai authorities in remote northern regions of the kingdom. The number of Kampuchean refugees in Thailand living outside camps established by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has fluctuated almost daily as a function of the developing conflict just to the east of the Thai-Kampuchean border. As of early November 1979 there

The Indochinese refugees: Five years later

(1979). The Indochinese refugees: Five years later. New Community: Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 448-456.

Marginality, Modernity, and Anxiety in Indochinese Refugees

Indochinese refugees to the United States face major psychological adjustments to a modern, industrialized society. This exploratory study measures marginality, modernity, and anxiety in a group of Vietnamese and Laotian refugees. As predicted, the refugees score higher in marginality and anxiety and lower in modernity than a random sample of Americans. A negative relationship is found for marginality and anxiety for the Laotians, and no significant relationship between these two variables is found for the Vietnamese. On the other hand, a positive relationship between anxiety and marginality was found for the American sample. These findings question the relevance of the concept of marginality when studying the psychological states of refugees.

Indochinese refugees

Indochinese refugees

The Geneva Conferences and the Indochinese Refugee Crisis

In late July, 1979, three refugee conferences were held in Geneva, Switzerland: the International Council of Voluntary Agencies Voluntary Agency Consultation on the Indo-China Refugee Problem (ICVA) on the 18th and 19th; the United Nations Meeting on Refugees and Displaced Persons in South-East Asia (UN Meeting) convened by the Secretary General on the 20th and 21st; and the World Council of Churches Consultation on Indochinese Refugees (WCC) on the 24th and 25th. The UN Meeting was the most important meeting and the cause of the other two, but the WCC Consultation was the most interesting, and, the ICVA Consultation was the most businesslike and informative.

Refugees: America Must Do More

hen Saigon fell to the Communist forces from North Vietnam in 1975, approximately 200,000 refugees, most of them Vietnamese supporters of the American-backed South Vietnamese government, fled from their homes. The Ford administration believed that the United States had a special obligation to these desperate people, and so more than half of them were quickly admitted to the United States for permanent resettlement. Because the war in Indochina had an indelible American stamp, it would have been unrealistic to expect other nations-with the exception of France, the former colonial power-to admit more than token numbers. The United States had to save these people because no one else would. Furthermore, in 1975 the flow of refugees from Indochina seemed finite. Once these unfortunates were resettled in the United States, most people thought, the problem would be solved. For about three years after the Communist victory and that initial great surge, the flow of refugees from Indochina settled at the predictable and manageable rate of around 3,000 a month. But in 1978 the Vietnamese government began systematically to persecute people it considered politically unreliable, including the indigenous ethnic Chinese. Growing numbers of both groups were forced into what the Vietnamese government called new economic zones or into the South China Sea in largely unseaworthy boats. In reaction to the brutality of the Vietnamese government, a coalition of American religious and humanitarian organizations formed a Citizens Commission on Indochinese Refugees. Last January it prepared and submitted to President Carter, the Depart-

"Do Not Forget Us!"

One of America's senior black leaders, Bayard Rustin was organizer of Martin Luther King, Jr. 's 1963 March on Washington. His article on the Indochinese refugees and ‘ ‘boat people'’ appeared in black newspapers in the U.S.A new “invisible man” has been born within our midst—the Southeast Asian refugee. Shunted from country to country, over 150,000 -of these “invisible people” cling to a precarious existence in scores of refugee camps that dot non- Communist Asia. They have a simple and solitary message for the international community: “Do not forget us!“Some well-meaning people have said to me: “The black community suffers from record high unemployment. Why should blacks be concerned about Southeast Asian refugees? They'll only take jobs and housing that black people desperately need.” Such an attitude is understandable, but allow me to describe the enormity and urgency of the refugee problem.

The Indochinese Refugee: The Evolution of United States Policy

Unfortunately, due to a variety of circumstances including the sudden demise of that government, very few of those selected were able to get out during the air-sea evacuation. In all, a total of nearly 130,000 evacuees were taken to temporary haven on Guam and Wake Island and later transferred to the processing centers located in California, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, and Florida. The resettlement process was undertaken following the traditional pattern by which the voluntary agencies were to find homes and jobs for the refugees with limited financial assistance from the government. The program of clearing the camps terminated on December 20, 1975 but the resettlement of these refugees still continues. During this, the governments of Cambodia and Laos also fell to the communists with the resultant flow of refugees into neighboring Thai? land. By December 1975 when the U.S. processing camps were closed, over 80,000 Indochinese refugees were located in camps throughout Thailand. Their situation has always been precarious as the Thais endeavored to maintain a stance of neutrality while at the same time they were granting a haven to nationals who fled the newly established home governments. The United States was under heavy pressure to admit additional refugees. The Thais, of course, were most anxious to have the refugees resettled outside Thailand. Following hearings by the House of Repre? sentatives Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and International Law the Attorney General in June 1976 authorized the admission of an

The Growing Importance of Immigration to Population Policy

The U.S. government has had 2 sets of policies regarding immigration (de jure and de facto) which relate to the domination of both sets of policies by private interests. Emigration is only estimated and immigration is only measured for those legally entering the country. Recently 2 decisions have changed the 400000/year limit currently in use by the government: 1) 145000 Indochinese refugees soon to be increased by 15000 more will remain outside formal immigration statistics until their status can be changed from that of parolee to that of immigrant; and 2) the U.S. District Court in Chicago ruled that Cuban refugees now in the country should be granted a stay of deportation until the issue regarding numerical limitations for Cuban refugees rights to visas has been decided. Further the Justice Department has ruled to allow those staying to work legally. Also President Carter has decided to offer permanent resident status to those illegal alients who have lived in the country since January 1 1970. Half amnesty will be offered to others who arrived in the U.S. between January 1 1970 to January 1 1977. The de jure policy in the U.S. is a screening it is legalistic and it shows concern for the rights of those admitted through its processes. The de facto policy is primarily involved with Mexicans and is negatively expressed: 1) there is no law making it illegal to hire an illegal alien 2) the State Department has not been instructed to cut back the number of visas it grants to those likely to become illegal aliens and 3) the Immigration Service has not received funds or laws to limit illegal immigration. Therefore the 3 to 6 million illegal alines in the U.S. inflate the population and deflate the wages of disadvantaged U.S. workers. In Canada a potential immigrant is awarded points for ability to speak the nations 2 languages skills education age and willingness to settle in sections determined by population and unemployment. Perhaps a similar policy should be instituted in the U.S.