Vietnamese Immigration

=Brief History of Vietnam=

At the turn of the 20th Century Vietnam was under French rule. While the imposed rulers were beneficial for the wealthy, the peasant class lost land and food during France’s continued occupation of Vietnam. Shortly after the turn of the century a new movement began to take place. This new modern nationalist movement, led largely by Phan Boi Chau, spoke out agains the French rule, but still embraced many of the western ideas. Chau eventually died on house arrest after being captured by French Authorities. Following WWI the movement for Vietnamese independence saw rapid growth. Some people sought change through political concession, but when this did not work other groups came to the forefront. One of the most notable new independence groups was The Vietnamese Nationalit Party (Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang or VNQDD). This group sought change through terrorist actions. After attempted resurgence against the french VNQDD was suppressed and all but destroyed. In 1925 Ho Chi Min created the Revolutionary Youth League of Vietnam which was the group to preceded the development of the Communist Party of Vietnam. (For More on the Communist Party see Section 1.1 Communism in Vietnam)

Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 23 September 2010. .

Communism
The Communist Party of Vietnam is the ruling and only designated political party in Vietnam. Most commonly referred to by the press and people of Vietnam as “the party” or “our party,” it was founded by Ho Chi Minh at a conference in Hong Kong in 1930. It became the “anti-colonial solution” and was a reaction against the foreign influences that had overwhelmed the country for so long. Inspired by Russian Marxist, Lenin, Ho Chi Minh maintained that it was not the communistic ideals that first drew him, but the patriotism that would surely follow. Later, however, the Party began to take the shape of Stalinism and Maoism and by 1946, Ho Chi Minh’s Viet-Minh, a guerrilla army, had taken over.

In 1954 when Vietnam was split into North and South at the 17th parallel, the West was backing a man named Ngo Dinh Diem—described as a fanatical Catholic who despised communism. Ho Chi Minh maintained his hold on North Vietnam, but the French, who for so long had controlled Vietnam, decided to fight to regain control of the North where the Viet-Minh were stationed. By this time the rest of the Communist Bloc were backing Ho Chi Minh and by 1949 the French found themselves in a tough spot when Mao Tse Tung took control of China and began aiding the Viet-Minh.

Meanwhile, the corrupt and brutal Diem ruled as dictator of South Vietnam. His regime was selfish and cruel, and while America officially backed him, Diem rarely took the advice of American counsel. Diem threw thousands of journalists, communists, socialists, leaders of religious groups and even children into prison camps. Anyone who stood against Diem was at risk. People were beaten and harassed. Buddhists were persecuted and committed suicide in the streets to grab the attention of the public—Diem’s rule was neither tolerant nor compassionate.

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Diem’s government was eventually overthrown in 1963 by a coup, with help from the U.S. government which realized its mistake in supporting the man in the first place, and Diem himself was killed. Ho Chi Minh was still in power in the North and his guerillas, called the Viet Cong after 1956, began to attack places in the South. America finally got fully involved in 1964 when North Vietnamese attacked two U.S. ships. The Vietnam War had begun. The innocent Vietnamese citizens were consistently at risk during the war because American troops mistrusted and suspected them of aiding the Viet Cong; they would kill villagers on the spot and nearly wipe out whole populations i.e. the My Lai massacre. Over 100 civilians were killed by US troops when suspicions of their dealings with Viet Cong arose. Many of the victims were woman and children who were sexually abused and tortured before being killed and mutilated.

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Photo courtesy of: www.inminds.com

Between the Vietnam War and totalitarian communism were the innocent Vietnamese families. Faced with such horrors, traumas and absolute desolation, thousands of Vietnamese poured out of their homeland to escape. Waves of refugees left the country any way they could for the following 20+ years.

Buttinger, Joseph., Dulker, Turley. "Vietnamese Communism." Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 23 September 2010. .

Ball, W. Macmahon. "Nationalism and Communism in Vietnam." Far Eastern Survey: American Institute of Pacific Relations. Vol XXI, Number 3. JSTOR. 13 February 1952. .

Brigham, Robert K. "Battlefield Vietnam: A Brief History." Battlefield Vietnam. PBS. Web. 19 September 2010. .

The United States and Vietnam
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Photo courtesy of: scrapetv.com

The two main groups in contention with each other in Vietnam were the Saigon Regime and the oppressive forces of the Communist Viet Cong. Prior to 1960 the United States had been helping to aid the Saigon Regime by sending Military Equipment, financial aid, and 700 advisors to help train the army as permitted in the Geneva Accords. The United Stated increased their military numbers and introduced military helicopters, though they were still no match for the powerful Viet Cong forces. In February of 1965 President Johnson ordered the bombing of North Vietnam in an attempt to quell the southward movement of the Viet Cong forces. By 1968 the United States had more than 500,000 Armed forces in Vietnam to aid the South Vietnamese troops. The Viet Cong remained strong, even with having had years destruction in their lands. Following the Tet Offensive, in which more than 100 cities and military bases were attacked by Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces, the U.S. decided that it was no longer politically acceptable to continue the war at its current level. In Paris the discussion of peace began, while in the U.S. Richard Nixon had just been elected President. Even though Nixon began the slow removal of troops from Vietnam, public opposition continued to escalate especially after the ordered attacks on “the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos and on Viet Cong sanctuaries in Cambodia" (britannica.com). In January of 1973 the Paris Agreement was signed by all three of the warring Vietnamese sectors (south, north, and the Viet Cong).  Within 60 days all US troops had been removed from Vietnam, though the fighting did not stop until April of 1975 when the Communist insurgents successfully took over Saigon.

Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 23 September 2010. .

Here, President Johnson is heard promising "peace" and "aid" to the Vietnamese in an effort to rid the country of the threat of communism. The United States' speedy withdrawal from Vietnam left much of the population in Vietnam without help and support; the President's promise left somewhat broken.

wAQPh5zYFUs http://www.emersonkent.com/images/vietnam_war.gif

photo courtesy of: www.emersonkent.com

The reaction to many of the War's opponents by the Vice President of the United States:

9Ty2hHaCU1o  This [photo series] from the BBC has a number of good images on display.

Vietnam Today
http://www.democraticunderground.com/img/06/1115_vietnam.gif Photo courtesy of democraticunderground.com  The New York Times has composed a number of sources about Vietnam on the following website. Some parts of Vietnam have been struggling in recent years to bring in foreign companies that would help to boost the economy. The Nomura-Haiphong Industrial Park is 37acres of flat usable land, and in the late 1990s the park was home to just two companies, both of which are Japanese. "There was a time when foreign companies came to Vietnam," Mr. Tien, the industrial zones executive director said. "Now is not that time." Thankfully, this is not the case nationwide. In Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, there has been a surge in the development of factories and foreign owned companies. But this situation is unstable amongst different sectors in Vietnam, all working to gain the upper hand in the economy. ""Sadly, although Vietnam has become more competitive in absolute terms, it is less competitive relative to its Asian neighbors than it was a few years ago," said Wolfgang Bertelsmeier, the chief of mission of the International Finance Corporation, a division of the World Bank."

Landler, By Mark. "Widening Economic Gap Keeps Vietnam Divided." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 21 Apr. 2000. Web. 29 Sept. 2010. .

=Refugees= Video footage of Vietnamese evacuations

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After the fall of Saigon in 1975, thousands of Vietnamese found themselves without homes, families and hope for a life free of persecution. Fearing the impending threat of imprisonment, hard labor and perhaps death at the hands of North Vietnam, the Spring of 1975 saw nearly 130,000 South Vietnamese seeking an escape from the country that was once their home. This would only be the first wave. Their cooperation and aid to the American troops and opposition to the North made the citizens of South Vietnam extremely unsafe and at risk once the war ended and the troops all withdrawn. The country had collapsed and desperation and fear had set in which led to a mass exodus and long period of displacement for the Vietnamese.

Vietnamese attempting to scale the wall to the U.S. Embassy hoping for a safe haven or way out of the country. http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/vietnam/gfx/vietnam_cp_7548495.jpg

Photo courtesy of: www.cbc.ca

People were leaving, or attempting to leave, by land, sea and air hoping to make it to Malaysia or one of the nearby Asian islands, or perhaps the ultimate goal--America. The U.S. government planned for a large scale evacuation by airlift, 175,000 people, but failed to reach their goal and only managed to save a fraction of that number. In a May 2000 broadcast from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) comes an excerpt that sums up the turmoil and grief surrounding the messy evacuations:

"The scenes were wrenching — people trying and failing to force their way into the U.S. Embassy, men being punched down as they tried to board American helicopters, Vietnamese babies being passed over fences to open hands and an unknown future."

“Why they fled: The fall of Saigon.” CBC Digital Archives. Web. 1 May 2000. .

“Vietnamese Refugees.” Southeast Asia Resource Action Center. Web. 19 September 2010. .

Operation Baby Airlift
President Gerald Ford announced that Operation Babylift would relocated as many as several thousand orphans from Vietnam to the United States. Sadly, the first flight, which carried 330 passengers including adults and children alike, crashed and nearly half were killed. The efforts did not stop, however, and altogether around 2,700 children were brought to the U.S. and over 1,000 more were flown to Canada, Europe and Australia.

Below is a clip from Independent Television News (ITN, based in the UK) about the orphaned children and babies who were part of Operation Babylift.

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“Precious Cargo: Operation Babylift.” PBS Home Programs. Web. 30 September 2010. .

Boat People
For thousands of Vietnamese, departure by sea was a more accessible, albeit more harrowing avenue of escape from collapsing Vietnam. The boat people grabbed the attention of the entire world in the mid-late 70s for their desperation, their struggle to be given asylum, and the horrendous acts committed to them while fleeing in dangerous waters.

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Photo courtesy of: www.historylearningsite.co.uk

Those who chose this route faced an unforgiving sea, storms and typhoons, illnesses, poor or no navigation tools, starvation and dehydrations, shabby and leaky boats that were packed and overcrowded, and brutal encounters with pirates.

Here is a brief documentary excerpt about the boat people fleeing Vietnam after the fall of Saigon.

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Some pirates were professional and made their living as such; others were poor fishermen scavenging and preying on whomever they came across. No matter their class, occupation or identity, the pirates were ruthless and cruel to the fleeing and helpless Vietnamese. The refugees were robbed, men murdered, women gang raped, babies thrown into the sea to drown and many people kidnapped and tortured or sold into slavery. The stories are often gruesome and disturbing, but if you'd like learn more about Vietnamese encounters with Thai pirates you can read on here or click here for one refugee's personal experience

In 1976 the number of Vietnamese boat people was at a relatively low 6,000. By 1979 however, that number jumped to a staggering 100,000. An article in the Encyclopedia of the New American Nation titled "The Vietnam War and its Impacts" says:

"Officials estimated that nearly one-third of this total perished at sea from starvation, drowning, and pirates, problems that increased when some Asian countries began turning away boat people."

Read more: here

At this point, the men, women and children risking their lives at sea to reach Thailand, The Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia and other surrounding ASEAN countries were turned away at the shores. These countries were full and filling up; refugee camps overflowing, the countries overcrowded already.

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Photo courtesy of: www.sites.si.edu

For more videos about the boat people you can visit this website: http://www.vietnameseboatpeople.org/

“The Vietnam War and its Impact-Refugees and ‘boat people’.” Encyclopedia of the New American Nation. Web. 23 September 2010. .

"Pirates and Sinking Ships: One Refugee's Story." CBC Digital Archives. Web. 29 July 1979.<http://archives.cbc.ca/society/immigration/topics/524/>.

“Thai Pirates vs. Vietnamese Refugees.” Vietka: Archives of Vietnamese Boat People. Web. 19 September 2010. <http://www.vietka.com/>.

Arrival in America
Here a report by Jacob L. Vigdor from the Manhatten Institute looks at immigrant assimilation in to america. If you want to look at the entire writeup you can access it here  while it does not address one specific group it does give some good ways to think about assimilation from a number of perspectives.

The Following is a summary of a few key areas of interest pulled from the article.

-"The degree of similarity between the native- and foreign-born, although low by historical standards, has held steady since 1990. Assimilation declined during the 1980s, remained stable through the 1990s, and has actually increased slightly over the past few years."

-"Newly arrived immigrants of the early 21st century have assimilation index values lower than the newly arrived immigrants of the early 20th century. Growth in the immigrant population usually lowers the assimilation index because newly arrived immigrants drag down the average for the group as a whole. This phenomenon can be seen between 1900 and 1920 and again in the 1980s. The stability of the assimilation index since 1990 is therefore remarkable in light of the rapid growth of the immigrant population, which doubled between 1990 and 2006".

-"Immigrants from Vietnam, Cuba, and the Philippines enjoy some of the highest rates of assimilation. However, these groups assimilate more rapidly in some respects than others. For example, they are far more assimilated economically than they are culturally. Curiously, all of the countries mentioned have experienced U.S. military occupation."

"Civic Report 53 | Measuring Immigrant Assimilation in the United States." Manhattan Institute. Web. 29 Sept. 2010. <http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/cr_53.htm>.

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Here is a PBS movie: note that i only watched clips of this video. I dont think there is anything too strange, but if there i was unaware! TGatRS68jWw

One Man's Childhood experience as a Refugee MY50lc-E-4U&feature=player_embedded#! you can see the website this video came from[here]

For anyone Interested in doing some additional reading, the following websites were interesting.

http://www.asian-nation.org/amerasians.shtml

http://themoderatevoice.com/20559/vietnamese-and-iraqi-refugees-the-same-different-or-indifferent/

http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2007/oct/22/vietnam-refugee-found-freedom/

http://www.theirc.org/blog/1975-largest-refugee-resettlement-effort-american-history-irc-75

http://ncvaonline.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

=Vietnamese-Americans Today= Today, Vietnamese-Americans are still frequently thought of as "new comers" to the United States. Most Vietnamese-Americans today are only the first or second generations living in America, meaning that the way of life in Vietnam is still finely engrained in their day-to-day living. Having immigrated to the U.S. so recently and in such large waves, many Americans had initially wondered how successful these war-torn Vietnamese would be at adjusting to such a drastically different culture. In many cases, Vietnamese-Americans have come out of this struggle on top; by 1990, almost three fourths of Vietnamese-Americans could speak English well or very well. Vietnamese-Americans have grown to be the fifth largest ethnic subgroups in the United States behind Chinese, Filipinos, Koreans and Indians. Today, Vietnamese-Americans are gaining entry into the top universities in the United States and working in jobs that are highly influential to American society. However, there are some groups of Vietnamese-Americans who are still struggling in their assimilation to American culture, having now become wrapped up in gang life, poverty, and limited education. wT1mNdQzJHc </CENTER> Brief overview of Vietnamese-Americans today</CENTER>

The Southeast Asia Resource Action Center has compiled a list of population size of different Southeast American nationalities, including Vietnamese, in America. It is a pdf. file available here Max Niedzwiecki and TC Duong. 2004. Southeast Asian American Statistical Profile. Washington, DC: Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC).

Little Saigon(s)
http://www.daytrippen.com/images/places/little-saigon/little-saigon-sign.jpg Photo courtesy of "daytrippen.com" It has been shown that Vietnamese-Americans living in communities with other members of their culture typically remain more “faithful” to their own heritage and customs than those who have dispersed themselves throughout America. “Little Saigons” or “Little Vietnams” have been sprouting up around the U.S. since the late twentieth century, providing a zone of comfort and understanding to Vietnamese-Americans. They also serve as a way of holding onto Vietnamese heritage and educating new generations about their history. Below is a map from the 2000 Census showing the areas of the United States that contain the highest numbers of Vietnamese-Americans. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/65/Census_Bureau_2000,_Vietnamese_in_the_United_States.png/450px-Census_Bureau_2000,_Vietnamese_in_the_United_States.png Photo courtesy of the 2000 Census Bureau</CENTER>

"Census 2000." Census Bureau Home Page. Web. 01 Oct. 2010. <http://www.census.gov/main/www/cen2000.html>.

Orange County, CA
http://images.onset.freedom.com/ocregister/gallery/kxszv7-b78604560z.120100213152622000gjimi6n5.1.jpg Photo courtesy of onset.freedom.com</CENTER> Little Saigon in Orange County, CA is the largest concentration of Vietnamese outside of Vietnam. Initially formed in 1975 after 70,000 Vietnamese refugees flocked to the United States, Orange County's "Little Saigon" is primarily made up of the towns Garden Grove, Westminster, and Santa Ana. It is here where so many Vietnamese began their lives again and adapted by way of hard work and goal-oriented mind-sets.

The street markets in old parts of Little Saigon are some of the most popular places for visitors to roam throughout. Lined with fresh produce, spices, herbs, and meats, these outdoor markets are sometimes practically equivalent to American grocery stores in size and quantity. The area is also home to a number of shops, restaurants, bars and nightclubs.

During it's existence, Little Saigon in Orange County has become the victim of a number of Vietnamese gangs, including the "Santa Ana Boys," the "Cheap Boys," the "Wally Girls" and the "Pomona Girls". For many refugees coming to the United States without parents, these gangs became a way to have a family and establishing connections in America. These Vietnamese gangs specialize in home invasions, where they take over homes of wealthy and powerful (and commonly Vietnamese) neighbors and stealing valuables as well as raping and killing family members. There are a number of police forces and community service programs used to combat gang violence, but the problem still persists.

Karnow, Stanley, and Gerry Gropp. "In Orange County's Little Saigon, Vietnamese Try to Bridge Two Worlds." Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 22 Sept. 2010.

The Gulf Region
http://media.nola.com/religion_impact/photo/rev-vienjpg-b3b67c6495d2efc1_large.jpg Image courtesy of media.nola.com</CENTER>

There are approximately 25,000 Vietnamese-Americans living in the New Orleans area today. Concentrated in the newer suburbs of New Orleans East, Algiers and Avondale, these Vietnamese-Americans are primarily Catholic and are highly involved in the extensive religious communities that has risen in the area. Many Vietnamese-Americans living in the Gulf were fishermen and farmers while living in Vietnam, and by settling in the Gulf Region have found their skills high in demand (see "Employment").

After being hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2006, the Vietnamese-Americans in Louisiana acted rapidly in the restoration process. Some of the first to return to their homes, Vietnamese-Americans bonded together in a time that some believe to be easier than the hardships they had already faced. They were of the first to regain electricity and ultimately helped encourage the remainder of the city to rebuild. The religious underpinnings of the community played a large role in this effort, as is evident in the following news clip: g3PE-lb4Z7c http://www.neworleansonline.com/neworleans/multicultural/multiculturalhistory/vietnamese.html

Phan, Aimee. "Vietnamese Lose All, This Time to Katrina." USA Today 16 Sept. 2005: 11a. Academic Search Complete. Web. 1 Oct. 2010.

NoVA and The Eden Center
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3404/3633132185_6616fbcf63.jpg Image courtesy of FLICKR Northern Virginia, specifically Falls Church and Fairfax, has one of the largest concentrations of Vietnamese-Americans on the east coast. The enormity of the population is visible in the Eden Center: a Vietnamese-based community center filled with shopping, businesses, cuisine, and events. The Eden Center clock tower was build to exactly replicate that of the clock tower in Saigon, providing a reminder of home for the Vietnamese-American's who have had to adjust to a completely new culture.

A number of cultural events are held each year at the Eden Center, causing Vietnamese-Americans as well as interested others to flock to Northern Virginia. In the end of September the Eden Center hosts the Tet Trung Thu Mid-Autumn Moon Festival - a family holiday that revolves primarily around children. The Eden Center has also started the tradition of the "Miss Eden Center" Scholarship Pageant, a pageant honoring feminine intellect, beauty, and commitment to the community. Miss Eden represents the Vietnamese culture in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States, raising awareness of the Vietnamese culture through education and service.

Eden Center. Web. 03 Oct. 2010. <http://www.edencenter.com/>.

Education
Of the Southeast Asian-American groups, Vietnamese-Americans have had the most success in terms of education. According to the 2000 U.S. Census and as reviewed by the 2004 Southeast Asian American Statistical Profile, Vietnamese-Americans had a 62% rate of individuals who where "high school graduates or higher". Compare that number to the 47% for Cambodian-Americans and 51% for Laotian-Americans. Twenty percent of the Vietnamese-Population hold a Bachelors degree or higher, while Laotian-Americans can only boast eight percent and Cambodian-Americans nine percent. Though Vietnamese-Americans have not quite reached the educational status of groups such as Chinese-Americans or Indian-Americans, they have come a long way in such a short period of time.

In the early 90's, Stanley Karnow of Smithsonian Magazine looked closely at Saddleback High School in Santa Ana, California, where Vietnamese-Americans only make up 15% of the school's predominately Hispanic population. However, a majority of the school's top students are Vietnamese; of the top 33 students in the 1992 graduating class, 26 of them were Vietnamese-Americans. And most of the school's valedictorians are Vietnamese-Americans. Many students had expressed to Karnow that they feel proud of their success academically. With parents and relatives pushing them to improve and succeed, they are proud to express how despite living in a community with some individuals who have not fully adjusted to the English language or American way of life they have still managed to come out on top as future generations.

Max Niedzwiecki and TC Duong. 2004. Southeast Asian American Statistical Profile. Washington, DC: Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC). Web. 22 Sept. 2010

Karnow, Stanley, and Gerry Gropp. "In Orange County's Little Saigon, Vietnamese Try to Bridge Two Worlds." Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 22 Sept. 2010.

Employment
Vietnamese-Americans have found themselves working in a wide range of jobs in the United States. Upon first arriving in the United States, even those who had been wealthy and successful in Vietnam were in many cases force to work entry-level jobs. Eventually large numbers began starting family owned businesses in highly concentrated areas of Vietnamese-American citizens. It came to be that Vietnamese-Americans became most successful in very specific fields of blue collar work, as the following video suggests:

hAkyoDNsv_g Nail Salon Technicians</CENTER> A number of Vietnamese-Americans who fled to the United States in the later 1970's and early 1980's were farmers and fishermen, looking for similar jobs upon their arrival in America. As discussed in the segment concerning American's Little Saigon(s), many Vietnamese-American's flocked to area's like New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico in hopes of finding success in the fishing industry. Today about half of the Gulf's fishermen are of Vietnamese decent, and with the recent BP Oil Crisis Vietnamese-Americans are panicking over what will come of their livelihood. As expressed in an article by Bruce Newman, Vietnamese-Americans in the Gulf region may become refugees again - this time of an economic crisis.

Newman, Bruce. "Gulf's Vietnamese-American Fishermen Become Easy Prey for Legal Barracudas." San Jose Mercury News. Media News Group, 5 July 2010. Web. 20 Sept. 2010.

The Arts
A new generation of Vietnamese-American artists are continuing to emerge in the United States. Those who were born in Vietnam and fled to the U.S. as young children are grappling with how to express their identity in a way that separates them from the Vietnam War and the fall of Saigon. Others embrace the experiences they have been through, making their experiences as refugees the core of their inspiration.

A number of popular refugee-based novels have been released in the last twenty years, the first said to be Lan Cao's Monkey Bridge - the story of a teenage immigrant who flees to America on the day Saigon falls. Having left Vietnam herself and come to the US at the end of the Vietnam War, Cao's novel has been paralleled to Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior and is semi-autobiographical. In the story, tension is created between the mother and daughter characters who are faced wanting to honor their Vietnamese heritage while also embracing a new American culture.

In 1998 the Smithsonian Institution established an organization called the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program - an institution that works towards incorporating key elements of the Pacific Asian-American heritage into museums and events. Focusing on literary and theater arts, the Smithsonian established the festival "Exit Saigon, Enter Little Saigon" in 2007. The touring exhibit shares the stories of Vietnamese-Americans and how their heritage has mixed with cultural elements of the U.S. such as food, fashion, and film. The following clip from CNN takes a look at the exhibit: HAJLDo3aeUk </CENTER> Documentaries and independent films based around Vietnamese immigration to the United States and their acclimation of the American culture have grown in popularity in recent years. Journey From the Fall is a film directed and written by Ham Tran that follows a Vietnamese family's struggle for freedom. It has won numerous awards since it's release in 2006. e84lOfQH0FM Oh, Saigon is another film that tells the story of the director's family who was on one of the last helicopter flights out of Vietnam in 1975. c84PopkP3_Q

Journey From The Fall - Home. Web. 03 Oct. 2010. <http://www.journeyfromthefall.com/>.

Nguyen, Dinh-Hoa. "World Literature in Review: Vietnam." World Literature Today 71.2 (1997): 468. Academic Search Complete. Web. 1 Oct. 2010.

Oh, Saigon. Web. 03 Oct. 2010. <http://www.ohsaigon.com/>.

Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program. Web. 03 Oct. 2010. <http://apa.si.edu/>.

Stocks, Claire. "Bridging the Gaps: Inescapable History in Lan Cao's "Monkey Bridge"" Studies in the Literary Imagination 37.1 (2004): 83-100. Academic Search Complete. Web. 1 Oct. 2010.

Cuisine
Vietnamese food has, like many ethnic cuisines, grown in popularity in recent years. The ability to have access to the customs of a foreign culture without ever leaving your town has become highly appealing to Americans, and Vietnamese-Americans have taken advantage of this. Though the cuisine has not reached the height of popularity like Chinese or Indian food, it is continuing to grow as a desirable dining option in the Unites States.

Frequently viewed at the "light cuisine" of Asia, much of Vietnamese food relies on fresh vegetables, simple soups, and grilled meats. Rice or noodles are the foundations of many dishes, including the popular Pho noodles, "Cha Bo" (Beef Kabobs) and various other stir-fry combinations.

http://www.southvietnamhouse.com/site_files/menu_items_big_steamed_rice1.jpg Photo courtesy of Fredericksburg's "South Vietnam House"

If you are interested in exploring the Vietnamese cuisine offered in the Fredericksburg area, here are a few locations:

South Vietnam House Pho-Saigon Vietnamese Restaurant

All Vietnamese Recipes and Cuisine - The Perfect Introduction to the World of Vietnamese Recipes and Cuisines. Web. 03 Oct. 2010. <http://www.vietnamese-recipes.com/>.

South Vietnam House, Fredericksburg VA. Web. 3 Oct. 2010. <southvietnamhouse.com>.

=Works Cited= Works Cited