“In the United States, we want to believe we will never become a country of refugees.” WantBelieveCountryStatesUnitedUnited StatesRefugee Author:Nguyen Viet Thang
“Refugees are threatening, not just to Americans, but also in many countries the world over. And it's partially because, unlike immigrants, refugees do not choose where they're going to go or why they're fleeing, and they are unwanted populations. They bring with them the stigma of disaster.” WorldCountryPopulationDisasterImmigrantsThreateningRefugeeStigmaUnwantedFleeing Author:Nguyen Viet Thang
“The refugees are not only going to be a demand on the country's resources, but also the refugees raise the possibility that the countries that they're going to are themselves not as stable as the citizens would like, I think. We're all just one catastrophe away from ending up as a refugee, and we don't want to be reminded of that.” ThinkingWantCountryPossibilityCitizensDemandResourcesRaisesJust OneStableCatastropheRefugee Author:Nguyen Viet Thang
“Immigrants who voluntarily come to a country have already made a decision to assimilate to one degree or another. Probably not completely, but they've committed to the place, and they know that they need to make certain kinds of concessions. They change themselves in some way to fit in. They're looking forward as much as they're still looking backward.” KnowsWayNeedsKindMadeStillsCountryCertainDecisionFitDegreesCommittedImmigrantsLooking BackLooking ForwardConcessions Author:Nguyen Viet Thang
“Refugees, especially in their early years, are still caught up in the experience that made them refugees. And they're much more melancholic. They're much more oriented towards the past and towards the country of origin. That can make the process of becoming a part of the new country much more fraught for them.” YearsMadeStillsCountryPastProcessBecomingCaughtCaught UpRefugee Author:Nguyen Viet Thang
“Immigrants who come to a country are going to lose something, for sure, but they hope to gain a great deal by making this journey, whereas refugees by definition have lost a tremendous amount - not just country and society, but also more personal things like careers, prestige, status, relatives, identities. This inevitably makes the longing to remember the past even more powerful among refugees, to the point of often debilitating them.” CountryPastRememberLostLosesDealsPowerfulCareersJourneyIdentityAmountGainsLongingDefinitionsImmigrantsRefugeePrestigePersonal ThingsRemembering The Past Author:Nguyen Viet Thang
