Immigration to Liberation

Immigration to Liberation: From a Vietnamese Perspective Fiona McIntosh

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Immigration to Liberation: From a Vietnamese Perspective The end of the Vietnam War and the Fall of Saigon is often captured by Western public discourse as one of liberation. Yet from the side of many South Vietnamese immigrants, this was anything but. This is one of their stories. 30 April 1975, a “liberation” A tank crashes through the gates of the Saigon presidential palace. A country, after being under control from Western forces is finally independent. Captured, years later in a guidebook, the “Great victory of Ho Chi Minh” has unified the country from a corrupt government. i While North and South are unified, across the sea, the dissent of the Vietnam War on the Australian home front has well and truly finished.ii But for many in South Vietnam, things are different. In the hotel of Thai Son,

situated in Thuan Hai lives a family who quickly realises that the comfortable life that they had once lived in was about to change. This family is the Ling family. Anne Ling, my mother is one of the many Chinese-‐Vietnamese citizens who migrated from restrictive communist rule and found liberation, not at the end of the Vietnam War, but in a faraway place across the ocean. Yet arriving in Australia was not going to be without complications. Prior to the Fall of Saigon, Ling’s childhood is one of happiness. The Thuan Hai hotel, a white building of European architecture, is a thriving business, (fig. 2) iii . The family live upstairs the hotel, a place full of life (fig.1). iv They have a lifestyle of comfort and affluence. Ling recalls fondly of a closed-‐knit community, filled with all sorts of visitors, such as

Fig.1. Family standing on balcony of hotel. Ling depicted on the left (1967).


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American soldiers. But with the new independence of Vietnam and the need to be a unified, communist state, the values of the South are not completely aligned to Ho Chi Minh’s vision. For unity to be successful, all citizens have to adhere to the communist rule, despite their own views. In most recent scholarship, the two different Vietnams within the country are not acknowledged. After the liberation, Western scholars expect that South Vietnam would “wither away”.v In reality, there are many who did not support a communist rule. Business owners, merchants and anyone of a higher class are immediately scrutinised. Intellectuals too, are not safe. Freedom of speech is restricted.vi Any piece of evidence, which reveals a connection with the imperial West, is to be destroyed. This is part of a campaign “to exterminate decadent literature”.vii

“Photos of me with American soldier(s)…all burned so Communist would not find out.” Ling mentions, “All books, American books, were burned by my brother.” In addition to this, English as a second language is no longer taught at schools.viii The balcony of the family business that Ling, her brother and her uncle once stand on becomes nothing more than a memory as the government begins to take away private businesses so that all is government-‐owned (fig.1). ix As well as being preserved in Ling’s memory, this remnant of a life that once was, is kept in a small photograph, and tucked away in the middle of a family album. Due to government ownership, the family are forced to live in much less desirable conditions. Around them, a major wave of Vietnamese seek escape from an increasingly repressive country.x

Fig.2. Old hotel is the third building on the right, formally owned by Ling family, currently under new owners (2004).


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1976, Difficulties on sea and onshore Ling’s brother, like many other Vietnamese refugees (mostly male), instantly board boats, most of which are not very seaworthy and take their chances to sail to a place of opportunity. After the first boat arrives, the Vietnamese refugees get accepted for humanitarian grounds.xi Although 1976 is the year mostly associated with refugees arriving into Australia, refugees and some relatives were accepted shortly before the Fall of Saigon. xii It is only with the Ling family’s arrival, that acceptance of immigrants becomes increasingly family-‐focussed. xiii Particularly after the 1940s, negative attitudes towards non-‐English speaking immigrants had lessened.xiv However, this is only the beginning of a multicultural Australia. After settling into Australia, particularly in Richmond and Hawthorn, refugees find work through several areas, such as labour and production. xv Other refugees, particularly those of middle class, like my uncle had the skills to set up businesses. xvi Today, we can see that many businesses were opened up where there was a concentration of refugees. xvii Away from communist rule, refugees have the freedom to generate their wealth and social autonomy compared to living under the communist rule at home.xviii The oldest Ling child sends money to the family regularly until they are finally able to join him. The wealth is far from what the family had experienced beforehand, but it is still sufficient. Like Ling’s brother, other refugees are driven to success from their adversity.xix

Dr An Quoc Dinh, a refugee who left at the same time as my uncle, escapes Vietnam on a tiny fishing boat in crammed conditions. Even with medical qualifications at home, Dinh still has to learn English for his achievements to be recognised. xx Furthermore, there are the difficulties of adjusting to a different culture. “Everything was different…the language, the qualification, jobs, the weather, the culture…” Hard work to earn money for the family and learning English is necessary. xxi But these are all aspects that will require much getting used to. Ling soon encounters these same difficulties after her arrival. Meanwhile, Australia is a nation that has also undergone much change. From a nation whose policy was to maintain a predominately white, Anglo-‐Australian population, significance has been shifted for a more multicultural one. xxii Interestingly, such a shift in views was also aligned with the anti-‐Vietnam War movement, which had allowed for the reunification that the South Vietnamese were escaping from.xxiii In 1982, a family reunion program is introduced. This is through the Orderly Departure program, which is agreed by both the Vietnamese and Australian governments. xxiv Migrants no longer have to travel out in hazardous conditions to arrive in Australia. While change in attitude towards non-‐English speaking migrants made things easier for newcomers, there were more difficulties to come.


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1985, a new start for immigrants With much interrogation with authorities, the rest of the Ling family are free to board a plane and travel to Australia. While this journey is nowhere near as tumultuous as the refugees’ passage, behind the smiles and excitement of arriving at a place with more freedom, there is anxiousness. (fig.3).xxv Due to having a very limited education about the West and English language, the initial arrival is not without culture shock. Due to Vietnamese tradition, women were not required to have much education compared to their male counterparts.xxvi Due to the strict rules in Vietnam forbidding English to be taught in schools, Ling is unprepared for settling into a predominately English speaking nation. In Hawthorne, the Ling family are united. Like the home they knew in

Vietnam, they live upstairs of a business that their oldest child has opened. But it is not the same. The Ling family could live in comfort, but without the same luxury that they were so used to in Vietnam. Everything they once owned and the wealth they had generated is gone. They are forced to start from scratch. From living in a home with servants, Ling is pushed to work and study in an unfamiliar country. Language barriers and cultural baggage are both issues, which she cannot escape. xxvii It has been argued that leaving Vietnam was a way to “preserve” a lifestyle that had “vanished” with communism.xxviii But it is hard to preserve this kind of lifestyle. A lower status in wealth and minimal English skills were obstacles, which immigrants faced. Such a dramatic shift in lifestyle from great wealth to average conditions or less-‐than average conditions has also been the cause for much stress. This has been the case for migrants who expect a better lifestyle abroad to the one after the Fall of Saigon.xxix

Fig.3. Migration on aeroplane. Anne Ling depicted on the far right with family members on the left (1985).


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Fig.4. With friends. Ling is the centre figure. (1986).

Ling certainly has to face this alongside to adjusting to an unfamiliar culture, as mentioned before. Although having a background in business does work to generating an income for Ling’s brother, the wealthy background Ling and her family once had was gone due to the takeover. Despite immigration being more liberating than a life under communist rule, moving to another country created economic as well as cultural dislocation. As a result, despite being liberated from harsh rule, there are still difficulties. For those migrating through the family reunion scheme, economic reasons have especially been noted as the main cause for migration.xxx While this is evident in migrants finding more freedom in generating wealth from a communist country, this is not the only reason. A lifestyle with less control from the government in other areas, such as culture and religion, was also a pull factor for migrants.xxxi But despite being open to

opportunities like never before, life in Australia could never match to the one prior to the Fall of Saigon. But she is not alone. Like the refugee story of Dinh, many Vietnamese struggle to gain qualifications as well as to find jobs to support their familiesxxxii. So Ling goes to school and unites with many young women who are from the same background as her. She finds, with this community of people similar to her, that she can integrate into Australian society (fig.4). xxxiii The feelings of loneliness and alienation after her immediate arrival have mostly subsided. Despite the individualistic and isolated nature of Australian society, compared to the society at home, there is some communal familiarity. She learns English, moves out from the family and is able to work and earn an income independently. Ling finds work in a German electronics company, Siemens, where she later meets my father, an Anglo-‐Australian.


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1988, settling into Australian society It is now the late eighties, and Asian people are all the more accepted into Australian society. In a speech, Prime Minister Bob Hawke, a leader much admired by Ling and many Vietnamese migrants, congratulates the immigrants who will become Australian citizens. He acknowledges the “bitterness and divisiveness” of homelands, and how being committed to Australia, matters more than where one comes from or how long they have been in Australia. xxxiv The population has more than doubled since 1981, from 41,097 to 83,048 Vietnamese immigrants. xxxv Around this time, many immigrants from other backgrounds also worked in industries such as the one that Ling worked in. Hawke’s speech illustrates an Australia that was far from the one prior to Vietnamese immigration, and a place that truly made immigrants like my mother feel welcome. Through her marriage with an Australian, Ling becomes more accustomed to Western culture and people and she can speak fluent English. Working in an environment with both Australian people and other migrants also makes integration into society easier. The need to assimilate is no longer a priority, as immigrants in a multicultural country are free to retain their cultures.xxxvi But that is not to say that there is not any racism. Ling briefly encounters some racist remarks when going out into the public. Yet, she manages to integrate without too much difficulty. Despite marrying an Australian, Ling keeps in contact with both the Vietnamese

community she was familiar with upon arrival, and the wider Australian society. Despite settling into Australia well, Ling still fondly recalls a more carefree time before the takeover in her hometown. The narrative, after many years, is still prominent in her memory, a narrative that many others in her position have no doubt retained. But despite how crucial this narrative was to shaping the experience in Australia, migrants like Ling have been mostly too conscious about recording such experiences.xxxvii Such attitudes were attributed to living in a country that had strong censorship laws for a long time.xxxviii Now, in a modern multicultural society, it is time that such experiences come into public consciousness. Now you may ask: Was the arrival and settlement to Australia a form of liberation? When one has lost their home, business and possessions and forced to flee to a place unknown, this may not be so. The memory of having one’s possessions taken away is something that is not easily forgotten. Furthermore, this so-‐called liberation created difficulties in settling into Australia. So in a sense, Ling is not liberated from the memory of her emigration. But, after settling into Australia, finding people with very similar stories and connecting in a community similar to the one she was so used to in her hometown, this helped to ease the culture shock. For even with struggles in settling in, Ling is not without the connections of home. And with the changing political


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climate of Australia from a White Australia to a multicultural one, this helped Ling to find a piece of home in

a vastly unfamiliar place. As a result, this was more of a liberation than the one commonly recorded from 1975.

i Nhiem, Le, Kim Dung, Nguyen, Hong Ha, Nguyen, Vietnam: Tourist Guidebook (Hanoi: The Cultural Information Publishing House, 2000), 15. ii Rich Kuhn, ‘Australia and the Vietnam War: Analyses, Actions and Attitudes’, Agora, 44/2 (2009), 28, 32. iii Anne McIntosh Family Album, 1960s-‐1990s (McIntosh Private Collection). iv Anne McIntosh Family Album, 1960s-‐1990s (McIntosh Private Collection). v Paul Ham, Vietnam: The Australian War (Sydney, Australia: HarperCollins Publishers, 2007), 54. vi Nathalie Huynh Chau Nguyen, Voyage of Hope: Vietnamese Australian Women’s Narratives (Altona, Victoria: Common Ground Publishing, 2005), 98. vii Ibid viii Anne McIntosh, (4 August, 2015, personal communication). ix Anne McIntosh Family Album, 1960s-‐1990s (McIntosh Private Collection). x Nathalie Huynh Chau Nguyen, ‘Memory in the Aftermath of War: Australian Responses to the Vietnamese Refugee Crisis of 1975’, Canadian Journal of Law and Society, 30 (2015), 185-‐186. xi ‘History of Immigration from Vietnam’, Origins: Immigrant Communities in Victoria [website], (date unknown), <http://museumvictoria.com.au/origins/history.aspx?pid=97>, para. 3, accessed 29 Sep. 2015. xii Charles Price, ‘Immigration Policies and Refugees in Australia’, International Migration Review, vol. 15, no. 1/2 (1981),101-‐102. xiii Dr Andrew Theophanous, ‘Family to rise in immigration equation’, The Canberra Times, 1988, 3, in Trove [online database], accessed 29 Sep. 2015. xiv Victor J. Callan, ‘Anglo-‐Australian Attitudes towards immigrants: A Review of Survey Evidence’, International Migration Review, 17/1 (1983), 131. xv James Jupp, From ‘White Australia’ to ‘Part of Asia’: Recent shifts in Australian Immigration Policy towards the region, International Migration Review, 29/1 (1995), 214. xvi Ibid xvii Ibid, 216. xviii Jock Collins, ‘Immigrant families in Australia’, Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 24/3 (1993), 304. xix Nathalie Huynh Chau Nguyen, Voyage of Hope: Vietnamese Australian Women’s Narratives (Altona, Victoria: Common Ground Publishing, 2005), 123. xx Mark Forbes, ‘Australia’s New Middle Class’, The Canberra Times, 15 December, 1985, 42-‐43, 44,47, in Trove [online database], accessed 29 Sep. 2015. xxi Ibid xxii James Jupp, From ‘White Australia’ to ‘Part of Asia’: Recent shifts in Australian Immigration Policy towards the region, International Migration Review, 29/1 (1995), 207. xxiii Rich Kuhn, ‘Australia and the Vietnam War: Analyses, Actions and Attitudes’, Agora, 44/2 (2009), 32. Bob Hawke, ‘Citizenship Ceremony, Preston’, speech in Preston, 1988, <http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/195504668?l-‐


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decade=198&q=family+reunion+AND+vietnam+AND+Bob+Hawke&c=article&versionId=214055841>, accessed 29 Sep. 2015. xxiv James Jupp, From ‘White Australia’ to ‘Part of Asia’: Recent shifts in Australian Immigration Policy towards the region, International Migration Review, 29/1 (1995), 212. Ian McAllister, ‘Occupational Mobility among Immigrants: The Impact of Migration on Economic Success in Australia’, International Migration Review, 29/2 (1995), 441-‐444. xxv Anne McIntosh Family Album, 1960s-‐1990s (McIntosh Private Collection). xxvi Nathalie Huynh Chau Nguyen, Voyage of Hope: Vietnamese Australian Women’s Narratives (Altona, Victoria: Common Ground Publishing, 2005), 8. xxvii Ian McAllister, ‘Occupational Mobility among Immigrants: The Impact of Migration on Economic Success in Australia’, International Migration Review, 29/2 (1995), 441-‐442. xxviii Nathalie Huynh Chau Nguyen, Voyage of Hope: Vietnamese Australian Women’s Narratives (Altona, Victoria: Common Ground Publishing, 2005), 100. xxix Rochelle Watkins et al., ‘Research note: Individual characteristics and expectations about opportunities in Australia among prospective Vietnamese migrants’, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 29/1 (2003), 158.

xxx Rochelle Watkins et al., ‘Research note: Individual characteristics and expectations about opportunities in Australia among prospective Vietnamese migrants’, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 29/1 (2003), 157. xxxi Nathalie Huynh Chau Nguyen, Voyage of Hope: Vietnamese Australian Women’s Narratives (Altona, Victoria: Common Ground Publishing, 2005), 98-‐99. xxxii Ian McAllister, ‘Occupational Mobility among Immigrants: The Impact of Migration on Economic Success in Australia’, International Migration Review, 29/2 (1995), 441-‐442. xxxiii Anne McIntosh Family Album, 1960s-‐1990s (McIntosh Private Collection). xxxiv Bob Hawke, ‘Citizenship Ceremony, Preston’, speech in Preston, 1988, <http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/195504668?l-‐decade=198&q=family+reunion+AND+vietnam+AND+Bob+Hawke&c=article&versionId=214055841>, accessed 29 Sep. 2015. xxxv James Jupp, From ‘White Australia’ to ‘Part of Asia’: Recent shifts in Australian Immigration Policy towards the region, International Migration Review, 29/1 (1995), 213. xxxvi Victor J. Callan, ‘Anglo-‐Australian Attitudes towards immigrants: A Review of Survey Evidence’, International Migration Review, 17/1 (1983), 124. xxxvii Nathalie Huynh Chau Nguyen, Voyage of Hope: Vietnamese Australian Women’s Narratives (Altona, Victoria: Common Ground Publishing, 2005), 8. xxxviii Ibid


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Bibliography Primary sources Bob Hawke, ‘Citizenship Ceremony, Preston’, speech in Preston, 1988, <http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/195504668?l-‐decade=198&q=family+reunion+AND+vietnam+AND+Bob+Hawke&c=article&versionId=214055841>, accessed 29 Sep. 2015. Forbes, Mark, ‘Australia’s New Middle Class’, The Canberra Times, 15 December, 1985, 42-‐43, 44,47, in Trove [online database], accessed 29 Sep. 2015. ‘From First Fleet to Vietnamese boats’, The Canberra Times, 1988, 9, in Trove [online database], accessed 29 Sep. 2015. McIntosh, Anne, (4 August, 2015, personal communication). McIntosh, Anne, Family Album, 1960s-‐1990s (McIntosh Private Collection). Mandle, Bill, ‘Contrast in tales of Asian Migrants’, The Canberra Times, 1988, 8, in Trove [online database], accessed 29 Sep. 2015. Theophanous, Dr Andrew, ‘Family to rise in immigration equation’, The Canberra Times, 1988, 3, in Trove [online database], accessed 29 Sep. 2015. Viviani, Nancy, ‘Refugee Polices: Intractable dilemmas’, The Canberra Times, 10 October, 1980, 29, in Trove [online database], accessed 29 Sep. 2015. Images Family standing on balcony of hotel, 1967 Old hotel, 2004 Migration on aeroplane, 1985 With friends, 1986 Secondary sources Callan, Victor J., ‘Anglo-‐Australian Attitudes towards immigrants: A Review of Survey Evidence’, International Migration Review, 17/1 (1983), 120-‐137.


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Collins, Jock, ‘Immigrant families in Australia’, Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 24/3 (1993), 291-‐313. Ham, Paul, Vietnam: The Australian War (Sydney, Australia: HarperCollins Publishers, 2007). ‘History of Immigration from Vietnam’, Origins: Immigrant Communities in Victoria [website], (date unknown), <http://museumvictoria.com.au/origins/history.aspx?pid=97>, accessed 29 Sep. 2015. Jupp, James, From ‘White Australia’ to ‘Part of Asia’: Recent shifts in Australian Immigration Policy towards the region, International Migration Review, 29/1 (1995), 207-‐228. Kuhn, Rich, ‘Australia and the Vietnam War: Analyses, Actions and Attitudes’, Agora, 44/2 (2009), 23-‐34. McAllister, Ian, ‘Occupational Mobility among Immigrants: The Impact of Migration on Economic Success in Australia’, International Migration Review, 29/2 (1995), 441-‐468. Nguyen, Nathalie Huynh Chau, ‘Memory in the Aftermath of War: Australian Responses to the Vietnamese Refugee Crisis of 1975’, Canadian Journal of Law and Society, 30 (2015), 183-‐201. Nguyen, Nathalie Huynh Chau, Voyage of Hope: Vietnamese Australian Women’s Narratives (Altona, Victoria: Common Ground Publishing, 2005). Le, Nhiem, Nguyen, Kim Dung and Nguyen, Hong Ha Vietnam: Tourist Guidebook (Hanoi: The Cultural Information Publishing House, 2000), Pelvin, Richard, Vietnam: Australia’s Ten year War 1962-‐1972 (Richmond, Victoria: Hardie Grant Books, 2013). Price, Charles, ‘Immigration Policies and Refugees in Australia’, International Migration Review, vol. 15, no. 1/2 (1981), 99-‐108. Watkins, Rochelle et al., ‘Research note: Individual characteristics and expectations about opportunities in Australia among prospective Vietnamese migrants’, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 29/1 (2003), 157-‐166.

Immigration to Liberation

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