Vietnamese Migration to Australia

A major event that occurred in the wake of the Cold War was the mass migrations of many Vietnamese people to Australia.

According to Ashley Carruthers (2008), the only Vietnamese to previously arrive in Australia were generally tertiary students, wives of Australian soldiers or orphans from the war. Following the 1975 surrender of South Vietnam however, the Vietnamese were forced to flee their homes in a desperate attempt to escape the newly-communist rule of the North. Due to the economic prosperity of Australia and the close ties it had with South Vietnam, many refugees migrated to the country, according to Jack & Templeton (1994).This led to what is now a thriving Vietnamese culture throughout Australia, although previously many Vietnamese had struggled to integrate into the Australian culture. It will be argued that after fleeing the privation of their newly-communist homeland as a result of the war, the Vietnamese masses were welcomed onto Australian shores only to later endure the Australian Public’s racism.

It will also be reasoned that this racism however, has dwindled over time due to the ever-growing multicultural attitude adopted by the nation.The spread of communism was a constant threat during the Cold War and a major catalyst for the military conflict between the communist North Vietnam and the republic South. Nicolas Brasch (2008, p. 28) indicates that the USA Government sent military forces to South Vietnam to protect it from falling to the increasingly-aggressive communists. Because Australia had an agreement with America known as ANZUS, it too sent forces to aid the South. In 1975, the South Vietnamese government surrendered to the North, forming one communist country.

During the time of the war, it reaped disastrous effects on the country and its people.Many families and civilians suffered great hardship as a result and this only worsened once the communists took control, according to Chris Trueman (2012). Panic arose as a result and ‘evacuations occurred amid chaos’ (Jack & Templeton, 1994), with countless taking illegal action to flee their country. Trueman points out that as leaving by plane was impossible, many boarded disintegrating, over-crowded boats travelling across dangerous seas. During this mass migration, over 50,000 people died typically due to drowning, pirates or starvation.

From he information provided, it is apparent that the migrants’ desperation and willingness to risk their lives demonstrated their need to find a safer country to call home. Upon arrival to South-east Asian countries, the refugees were temporarily placed in camps until they could be accepted for permanent residence in other nations. ‘A swift, generous and humanitarian response’ (Jack & Templeton, 1994) to this growing refugee problem was to be expected, however the Australian government was unprepared and therefore criticized heavily for its reaction.The government was forced to take action and sent teams over to the camps to select migrants to bring back, as the Museum of Victoria (2012) reports. In 1976 the first refugee boat arrived and was accepted on humanitarian grounds. Many boats came to Australia during the years that followed, all being accepted into the country.

Although they were welcomed to the country by the government, due to international pressure, their arrival sparked the Australian Public’s fears of an ‘Asian invasion’ (Brasch, 2008).These fears had previously risen throughout Australian history, particularly in times of heavy migration, and affected many non-white migrants in various forms, such as the White Australian Policy (Wikipedia, 2012). As a consequence of arriving to Australia shortly after the abolishment of this policy and the ‘advent of official multiculturalism’ (Ashley Carruthers 2008), the Vietnamese felt the backlash of the Australian public’s racist attitudes which grew with these changes. Carruthers (2008) indicates that the Vietnamese formed concentrated groups in relatively close proximity in an effort to escape this racism and social exclusion.Over time, grocery stores and restaurants were established in these communities to provide for the growing Vietnamese population. Gary Chapman (2007) argues that regardless of the racism they endured, the majority of migrants struggled to settle into Australian society, commonly experiencing loneliness as a result.

Most did not speak the English language and were forced to live in a congested migrant hostel, often separated from family members. Chapman states that jobs were hard to find, due to many white Australian’s having priority over the migrants.To account for this, the government devised a system which prioritized needed skills known as NUMAS (Jack & Templeton, 1994). Unfortunately, many of the Vietnamese did not have the necessary skills and the policy was criticized for not giving the refugees equal access to available resources, according to Jack & Templeton.

Much can be learned in analyzing the Vietnamese migration experience. For example, the criticism received by the government for its slow reaction to the refugee problem demonstrates the need for preparation to be put in place for events such as these in the future.It is also evident that refugees need further assistance and access to resources if they are to become active members of Australian society. Fortunately, many of these problems have been already been solved. Over the years, improvements were made to the Immigration policy, effectively encouraging more migrants to come to Australia.

New migrants found it easier to integrate into Australian way of life as they were able to seek support from the Vietnamese communities, which slowly became more and more accepted into the culture (Jack & Templeton, 1994).Gary Chapman (2007) also states that migrants already living in Australia were offered better access to resources such as English language classes, better accommodation and training in necessary job skills. The positive development of the relationship between the Vietnamese migrants and the Australian public over time has paved the way for a multicultural Australia. Ashley Carruthers reports that the Vietnamese ‘have gained greater recognition and acceptance in the eyes of other Australians’ (2008) in today’s society and although this change has been taken decades to occur, it has resulted in a vibrant, diverse country.