Teaching Guide, Book Vietnam War & Southeast Asian Refugee Experiences

When students think about the Vietnam War, Korean War, or US wars in Asia in general, they don’t think about how these wars were the larger structural forces behind Asian migration to the US. But history shows many Asians have migrated to the US as refugees, adoptees, and military spouses as well as immigrants, students, or laborers, largely because of wars. The Vietnam War, for example, caused countless death and destruction in Vietnam and neighboring countries including Laos and Cambodia. This devastation created a refugee crisis, forcing more than 1.2 million Southeast Asians to leave their homes and resettled in the United States.
In teaching about the Vietnam War, it is therefore important to include the stories of the Vietnam War from Southeast Asian refugee perspectives. If not, students would think the Vietnam War had nothing to do with Southeast Asian migration to the US, and such ahistorical thinking can lead to anti-Asian hate and discrimination. Common verbal attacks like “Go back to your country!”, discriminatory deportation policies, and hate crimes against Asian Americans all emerge from misconceptions that the U.S. has been nothing but a benevolent rescuer and good refuge for desperate Asians who want to flee from poverty and oppression in Asia.
This essay provides a brief history of the Vietnam War from Southeast Asian refugee perspectives and instructional suggestions and resources.