“Every new refugee to a society, whether it's the United States or some other place, is subjected to fear. They are the new outsider population, the new other.” StatesUnitedUnited StatesPopulationOutsidersRefugee Author:Nguyen Viet Thang
“40, 50 years ago, Americans - the majority of Americans did not want to accept these Vietnamese refugees who they saw as completely foreign. Now there are new foreigners - Syrians and other people from the Middle East, people of Muslim backgrounds. And the sense among many Americans is, well, these people are completely different from us, and they're not like the Vietnamese who are much more assimilable. And I think that's very, very doubtful. I think that the majority of these new foreigners, if given the opportunity, will be able to assimilate and deal with American culture.” PeopleIfsThinkingWantYearsWellsDifferentAbleCultureOpportunityGivenDealsAcceptingSawsMiddleYears AgoMajorityEastBackgroundsMiddle EastRefugeeAmerican CultureForeignersDoubtfulVietnameseVietnamese Refugees Author:Nguyen Viet Thang
“You have to wear a different face when you're interacting with the larger culture. And you can be more of yourself at home or in the local market or in the local church speaking your own language. That was my sense growing up as a Vietnamese refugee in San Jose.” DifferentHomeFacesCultureLanguageChurchGrowing UpGrowingLocalsRefugeeInteractingVietnameseLocal ChurchDifferent FacesVietnamese Refugees Author:Nguyen Viet Thang
“In the United States, we want to believe we will never become a country of refugees.” WantBelieveCountryStatesUnitedUnited StatesRefugee Author:Nguyen Viet Thang
“Refugees have been displaced by war or natural disaster or political catastrophes, and they are much more threatening because they are reminders to people that all the comforts that we take for granted can be taken away in just a moment.” PeopleHas BeensWarMomentsPoliticalNaturalTakenComfortDisasterGrantedCatastropheThreateningRefugeeRemindersNatural Disaster Author:Nguyen Viet Thang
“No one wants for their child to become a refugee. It's an awful experience.” WantChildrenAwfulRefugee 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
“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
“I think all immigrants and refugees are preoccupied with memories to one degree or another. But again, this question of how much to remember and how much to forget is really aggravated for those who have lost a tremendous amount.” ThinkingRememberLostMemoriesForgetAmountDegreesImmigrantsRefugeeAggravated 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
“My identity is deeply intertwined with being a refugee because that's the first experience that I remember.” FirstsRememberIdentityRefugeeIntertwined Author:Nguyen Viet Thang
