ASIA AM 20 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Bourgeoisie, Orderly Departure Program, Refugee Relief Act
8 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Questions:
● How are the SE Asian subgroups similar and different? Why have some groups adapted
to life in the US more successfully than others?
● What factors have shaped the patterns of settlement and secondary migration of SE
Asians?
● Why was there so much hostility against them?
LOTS of movement in SE Asia; lead to a lot of mixed ethnicities/identities (ex: Chinese
Vietnamese) which is harder to detect than, say, a Vietnamese Mexican person
MYTH OF THE MODERN NATION STATE
● One nation=one ethnic group=one language=one religion=one state
Legislation
●1975 Operation New Life- created a way for refugees to go to temporary resettlement in
the US (mostly Vietnamese)
●1980: Orderly Departure Program -allows for Vietnamese political prisoners and
Amerasians to leave for resettlement in the US
●1980: Refugee Relief Act, Orderly Departure Program - many people came, Laos,
Vietnam, Cambodia, Hmong (designed to scatter new immigrants to prevent the
formation of ethnic enclaves)
●1982: Amerasian Homecoming Act -allowed for “repatriation” of mixed-race
Amerasians to settle in the US permanently
There are structural policies that shift and affect incoming immigrant groups;
United Nations definition of “refugee”
● “Any person who is outside any country of his nationality… and who is unable or
unwilling to return to...that country because of persecution, or a well-founded fear of
persecution, on account of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social
group, or political opinion
● “Any person in a country or area which is either communist or communist-dominated,
who, because of persecution, fear, or persecution...on account of race, etc. (American
ver.)
Hmong:
● High illiteracy rate, high fertility rate, low income, high welfare rates
Thai
● Experienced lots of PTSD after Khmer Rouge
Laos:
● Rural places origin; relocated to blue collar places
● Many lived in initially low income neighborhoods; connected to temples and religious
places
Vietnamese
● Lots of ethnic solidarity because of a mindfulness of escaping
Document Summary
What factors have shaped the patterns of settlement and secondary migration of se. Lots of movement in se asia; lead to a lot of mixed ethnicities/identities (ex: chinese. Vietnamese) which is harder to detect than, say, a vietnamese mexican person. One nation=one ethnic group=one language=one religion=one state. 1975 operation new life - created a way for refugees to go to temporary resettlement in. 1980: orderly departure program -allows for vietnamese political prisoners and. 1980: refugee relief act, orderly departure program - many people came, laos, Amerasians to leave for resettlement in the us. Vietnam, cambodia, hmong (designed to scatter new immigrants to prevent the formation of ethnic enclaves) 1982: amerasian homecoming act -allowed for repatriation of mixed-race. There are structural policies that shift and affect incoming immigrant groups; Any person in a country or area which is either communist or communist-dominated , who, because of persecution, fear, or persecutionon account of race, etc. (american ver. )
