Vietnamese Migration to Australia: Challenges and Integration

The paper discusses how effectively Vietnamese refugees integrated into Australian society after the Vietnam War and the challenges faced by them. It covers the history of Vietnamese migration to Australia, the aftermath of the Vietnam War, the challenges faced by Vietnamese refugees, and the acculturation stress they faced. The Vietnamese community has become an integrated part of Australian society despite the challenges they faced.

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VIETNAMESE MIGRATION TO AUSTRALIA
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Why did Vietnamese migrate to Australia after the war
The United States Committee for Refugees (USCR) reported that by 2003, more than 35
million were forced to leave their homes in search for shelter and safety from organized crime
within their native countries1. After the Vietnam War, a surge in Vietnamese immigration was
seen towards Australia, which became home to a large Vietnamese population and took in
thousands of refugees who settled in several places in Australia. Adverse conditions within
homeland force the populations to feel to safer borders but the challenges are far from over for
them. The paper discusses how effectively Vietnamese refugees integrated into Australian
society after the Vietnam War and the challenges faced by them.
The Vietnam War and the aftermath
Vietnam unified after the fall of Saigon in 1975. The Labor Party in North Vietnam and
the People’s Revolutionary Party of South Vietnam merged to form the Vietnamese Communist
Party (VCP)2. Vietnam’s contemporary history is complex and not easy to understand.
Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP) is the only one party in Vietnam, and it changed Vietnam’s
Democratic government to Socialist and later to a communist government. Ruled by an
unreformed Communist Party3 and with cities dependent on food aid, the Communist Party has a
tolerable acceptance. However, there is abundant evidence of corruption and insubordination
within the state. Those who stayed in Vietnam after 1975 faced cruel treatment in camps4. The
Vietnamese government killed about a million people between 1975 and 1987 in Vietnam,
1 Ingleby,“Forced Migration,” 2.
2 Rohn "What happened after,” Apr 14, 2016.
3 Fforde & Homutova,” Political Authority,” 92.
4 James Thomas "The Vietnamese refugees." Apr 28, 2015

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Cambodia, and Laos5. More than a million people were put in re-education camps, and thousands
of citizens were executed in the name of individual and religious liberties. The ethnic Chinese,
Amerasians and those associated with the former government were discriminated against6.
Everybody including civil servants, supporters’ capitalists and even were imprisoned under the
program. Many of those prisoners lost their lives because of poor conditions, starvation, and
disease. The communist government implemented another program, “New Economic Zones”7 in
the aftermath of the war. Thus, people began to flee Vietnam and took asylum in neighboring
countries. Many unknown numbers of refugees who tried to flee the country perhaps lost their
lives to overcrowded boats in dangerous seas and pirate attacks8. The United States and other
foreign forces helped to evacuate the first wave of Vietnamese people seeking escape just before
Saigon fell. Later, as the Communist government in Vietnam took over, the second wave of
refugees emerged.
The Vietnamese migration towards Australia
With the end of White Australia Policy, Australian government faced the test for
multiculturalism, and it soon came with the Vietnamese immigration after the Vietnam War.
During the decade following the Vietnam War, about 80,000 Vietnamese9 people moved to
Australia. In the most recent census, the actual number of Vietnamese-born Australians has
crossed more than 200,000. More than 2 million people escaped from Indochina which means
Vietnam, Lao, Cambodia and western countries. The number of refugees from Vietnam grew at a
5 Doyle. “Vietnam today”, Apr 30, 2015.
6 Nguyen,” Memory in the Aftermath of War” 185.
7 Rohn "What happened after,” Apr 14, 2016.
8 National Museum Australia "Defining Moments” 2018.
9 James Thomas "The Vietnamese refugees." Apr 28, 2015.

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steady pace form from1975 to 199610. The first boatload of Vietnamese refugees sailed into
Darwin Harbor in 197611. Those who arrived by plane were selected by Australian officials
touring the refugee camps throughout South-East Asia. About 65 million people are forced every
year to leave their motherland, and about 21 million are refugees12 More than half of the numbers
are women and girls. Australia is amongst the top favored relocation countries as the
Government assigns special visa to women and young grills who are at risk of violence. The
Vietnamese arrivals can be serrated into three main waves, the first, in 1975–1976, where the
group was small and well educated13. The next wave came in 1979–1980; while the third wave
peaked in 1990–1991 and were economic refugees. Australia’s multicultural policy is a landmark
policy that was launched in 201114 and it embraces shared cultural traditions. Before the final
remnants of the White Australia policy were dissolved, the migrants experienced hardships when
they settled in Australia. By 1973, migrant groups were allowed to maintain and promote their
cultures, languages and heritages.
The welcoming shores of Australia
The "White Australia Policy prevented people from outside from immigrating to
Australia. The Immigration Restriction Act 190115 has passed a series of laws that restricted any
immigration from countries other than the European. Racial discrimination became illegal under
the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 and dissolved the White Australia Policy gradually.
Australia promised to take more refugees only if the other South-East Asian nations also
10 Steel, Long-term effect, 1057.
11 National Museum Australia, “Defining Moments” 2018.
12 Sai, Barr, & Welch,” Single mothering” 162.
13 Nguyen,” Memory in the Aftermath of War” 187.
14 Commonwealth of Australia "Fact Sheet 6 - Australia's Multicultural Policy."2007.
15 James Thomas, "The Vietnamese refugees." Apr 28, 2015

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promised to share the burden and stop redirecting boats16. Australian government policies were
accommodating, and the pushback policies of the 70s were no longer harsh17. Many refugees
headed towards Malaysia, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. Australia has seven times more
Vietnamese when compared to Hong Kong which was always less tolerant of asylum seekers
because of its dense population, as well as social and economic matters. Today, Vietnamese
migration to Australia are now in a phase of post-refugee, and Vietnamese are now considered
among the top ten settlers in the country. Sydney is the base of the largest Vietnamese
community18, and the local government areas show the highest numbers of Vietnamese speakers.
Cabramatta is a favorite among the Vietnamese Australians as it has a history of migrant
‘transition zone’, and Yugoslav migrants.
Challenges for the Vietnamese refugees and the Australians
Despite the adversities faced by the Vietnamese people after the war, Australians carried
a negative image of towards their mass intake. They were criticized for fabricating stories to
attract sympathy and migrate19. The general public was not in favor of resettling such a large
number of refugees from Vietnam within such a short time. Thus, many Vietnamese refugees did
face discrimination, and transition to a new life in Australia was difficult for Because of the
language and cultural barriers, it was difficult for them to find work and employment. Many
opposed Vietnamese refugees in Australia fear that the migrants were incapable of integration
and would bring their politics into the country. Settlement in Australia was indeed difficult for
the Vietnamese refugees as they suffered the humiliations of poverty and racism20. The first
16 National Museum Australia, "Defining Moments” 2018.
17 Dai Le,” As refugees in the 70s,” Nov 8, 2016.
18 Carruthers, “The Vietnamese in Sydney,” 103.
19 James Thomas "The Vietnamese refugees." Apr 28, 2015
20 Cat Thao “Forty years after." April 27, 2015.

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generation of Vietnamese refugees did face far more significant challenges. Vietnamese
Australians, after the initial acceptance and advancement, were hit by the restructuring of the
1980s. They suffered highest rates of unemployment through the 1980s and 1990s21 due to the
recession in the auto and garment industry in Australia. Vietnamese ancestry workers are seen to
suffer higher rates of unemployment.
The acculturation stress
Acculturation is a challenging process of adapting to the new country and new
environment by the refugees or the migrants. The migration of the Vietnamese after the war is
seen as one of the longest-running migration in the modern era that stretched for about twenty-
five years from 1975.22. The migration took its toll as millions lost their lives in losses of boat
people. Postwar communist Vietnam was accused of violating human rights and showing
discrimination against individuals on political and ethnic grounds. The displacement of
Vietnamese refugees is seen as a substantial violation of human rights. One finds diversity and
disparity in the attitudes within the wider Vietnamese community23 and how they still feel
connected to the cultural side of Vietnam despite their disengagement from the political side of
their homeland. Vietnamese Canadians intellectualize home and belonging in diverse ways.
When Vietnamese who fled their country were interviewed, they showed different motivations
for leaving the country and carried various perspectives about Vietnam. Canada’s Vietnamese
refugee narratives24 offer a useful understanding of the departure and resettlement experiences.
21 Carruthers, “The Vietnamese in Sydney,” 104.
22 Nguyen,” Memory in the Aftermath of War” 186.
23 Koh, The Stories They Carried. 16.
24 Koh, The Stories They Carried. 9.

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Post-migration stressors might reduce after prolonged resettlement, but the impact of high
exposure to pre-migration trauma can persist for a longer time. Vietnamese people in Australia
who are aged around 50–70 years were possibly exposed to warfare and their flight to safer
abodes after the Communist takeover25. The research reflects that there is a close association
between levels of trauma and risk of mental illness. The refugee women carry a higher risk of
developing depression as is evident from a study based on African families led by single
mothers26. When compared to other ethnic groups of single mothers, the refugee women show a
higher level of acculturation stress and the resulting mental distress.
The Vietnamese Australian today
War trauma and later the life in refugee camp add to the traumatic experiences specifically.
Vietnamese who arrived in Australia were offered permanent or temporary residence through
resettlement camps. Australia responded generously to the refugee crisis as compared to other
nations. Australia is not new to migration and is a regular feature of Australian life27. The
continual process of migration has changed the diversity of the cultural landscape. Despite the
wave of compassion and sympathy that arises in the local community when they see the grim life
and pictures of refugees, it is essential to understand the challenges faced by the government to
manage and resettle the refugees.
Thanh Nguyen in his book, "The Sympathizer,"28 goes into the mind of communist
ideology and the fleeing Vietnamese community trying to make a home in foreign lands. Close
analysis of the rates of mental illness shows a link to the extent of trauma exposure. The social
25 Steel, Long-term effect, 1061.
26 Sai, Barr, & Welch,” Single mothering” 162.
27 Head, Mui, and Hampel, “AUSTRALIAN BACKYARD”, 326.
28 Campbell,” Looking at the Vietnam War,” Apr 30, 2015.

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and economic factors such as family separation, marital status, employment status, English
speaking proficiency29 were related with mental illness. Vietnamese families live in detached
houses with backyards or frontwards and grow edible herbs and vegetables in their backyards or
gardens. The Vietnamese families liked the garden for food production and to interest in
discussing the gardening activity30. Majority of those families remembered having a backyard in
their homes in Vietnam. They were aware of the 21st lifestyles of their children and next
generations. Studies reflect that there is a vast difference in the formal right and responsibilities
given to the refugees. When compared to other migrant groups, they face a higher risk of
discrimination and unemployment. Due to cultural and language barriers, their children face
problems with education31. Thus, seeking refuge in a foreign country can lead to multiple
traumatic experiences. The volume of forced migration is dependent on the kind and level of
organized violence. Many factors come into play here that can assist the migration such as the
transportation, the government policies and accessibility to different countries32. The significant
share of the burden of refugees and asylum seekers is shouldered by the non-Western countries
like Middle East, Africa, and Asia.
Despite the original fears voiced by politicians, the Vietnamese community has become
an integrated part of Australian society. However, because of Vietnam, the current and future
generations will never trust military leaders again. Many countries fail to learn from the past
mistakes and continue to make the same mistakes33. Whenever the politicians state a military
solution to a foreign policy crisis and believe that war is the only solution, they continue to lose
29 Steel, Long-term effect, 1060.
30 Head, Mui, and Hampel, “AUSTRALIAN BACKYARD”, 335.
31 Ingleby,“Forced Migration,” 140.
32 Ingleby,“Forced Migration,”3.
33 Reese "The Vietnam War revisited” Apr 11, 2018.

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their credibility. There is growing attention on the psychological problems faced by the refugees
in other countries34.
Conclusion
Valuable lessons can be learned from the aftermath of the Vietnam War and the mass
migration that followed to Australia and other countries. The Vietnamese population, fearing
death, and adverse conditions within their homeland had little choice but to feel to safer borders.
The ordeal is not over for the Vietnamese as they needed to resettle in the foreign land and need
to go through a period of acculturation to feel part of the new society. It is recommended to
understand the specific challenges faced by the Vietnamese, especially the minority groups like
the single mothers to facilitate successful acculturation. The government policies and the
individual situation impact the social and economic situation of the refugees and their successful
acculturation. Australia's multicultural policies have changed and evolved over time and are
more tolerant and accommodating towards the migratory population.
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