Nghia M. Vo - The Vietnamese Boat People, 1954 and 1975-1992

Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

Vo, Nghia M., 1947
The Vietnamese boat people, 1954 and 19751992 / Nghia M. Vo.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-7864-2345-5

1. RefugeesVietnam. 2. Political refugeesVietnam. I. Title
HV640.5.V5V6 2006
305.9'0691409597dc22 2005031117

British Library cataloguing data are available

2006 Nghia M. Vo. All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Cover photograph 2005 Image Stock

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
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Wars always have consequences, both immediate and remote, and the consequences are often tragic. One tragic circumstance often caused by war is the forceful, disorganized and uncontrollable mass movement of both civilians and soldiers trying to escape the horrors of the wars or of an oppressive regime. At one time, populations fled from one region or state to another. As wars have become international however, such movements began to spread beyond their initial boundaries, sometimes to countries very far away.

The Vietnamese communists, by taking power in the North in 1954 and then in the South in 1975, caused two major upheavals in the land of the Small Dragon, as Vietnam was once called. The first Vietnam War led to the 1954 exodus during which one million people fled from the North to the South. The Second Vietnam War ended with the 19751992 diaspora that dispersed of two million Vietnamese all over the world.

These significant, unplanned and uncoordinated mass movements around the world not only dislocated millions of people, but also caused thousands and thousands of agonized deaths at sea. They forever changed the way foreigners perceived the Vietnam War: how could a war in a country so far away send wave after wave of staggering, hungry, and dispirited refugees landing on their peaceful shores and arriving at their own doorsteps? Wars finally had widespread international repercussions. No longer were the consequences limited to one country or a corner of the globe; they had spilled all over the world.

The diaspora was similar to the cap blowing off a dormant volcano, which then spewed fumes and lava to the four corners of the globe. Vietnamese, who were rarely seen in Western countries before 1975, suddenly became a fixture in these lands, as they were given refuge in more than 50 different countries worldwide. In the United States, within less than three decades, the Vietnamese were transformed from a ting minority of perhaps 1,000 persons to the second largest refugee group behind Cubans. The communists, whose actions became divisive and threatening in 1954 and again after 1975, were at the root of this diaspora. Not happy with forcing people to the seas after 1975, they sent all males connected to the Saigon government to detention camps. They also converted the whole southern society into a socialist country, frightening local people and causing them to run for freedom.

More than two million Indochinese were involved in the 19751992 diaspora. Most resettled in third countries: 1.4 million arrived in the United States, 260,000 in China, 200,000 in Canada, 185,000 in Australia, and 130,000 in France. More than 1.6 million refugees survived the post1975 diaspora, the biggest sea escape in the twentieth century. There were 839,228 Vietnamese: 796,310 boat people and 42,918 who escaped overland. The first 130,000 refugees picked up by the U.S. on the heels of the fall of Saigon were excluded from this group. Untold numbers of people also perished during this risky journey, their dreams forever lost in the depths of the ocean.

The forces leading ordinary people to take to the seas merit some discussion. Escape was not something people undertook lightly, for escaping abroad without any support mechanism is a dangerous venture. They simply felt they could not live under an oppressive regime that took over their country and jailed part of the population. Men were forced into detention camps to be converted into hard-core believers in communism. Women were pushed into selling their belongings for everyday survival. Children were sent to the dumpsters to forage for food. As a result, the post1975 southern society changed deeply and almost over night: rich and middle-class individuals were stripped of their houses, jobs, and belongings, and the communists, previously poor, became the new rich in a poor and starving postwar country.

The sheer number of people willing to risk everything, including death, to try to escape points to the brutality of the communist regime. Those who had little money bought their way out unofficially and risked encountering pirates or sinking in the depths of the ocean, while rich people were allowed to leave officially after paying a hefty sum of gold. The fact that communist Vietnam officially sanctioned certain departuresthe departures that brought money to the state coffers and to local officialsraised questions about the depth of the regimes corruption. Nowhere in the world had a government officially trafficked in its own citizens. Nowhere had a government cared so little about their well-being.

While the first refugees came as a group between 1954 and 1955, those from the second diaspora came in waves from 1975 to 1992. The first wave of people escaped in 1975 aboard anything that floated: marine or merchant ships, tugboats, fishing boats, trawlers, and landing crafts. These sea-unworthy vessels took them to ships of the U.S. Seventh Fleet that were anchored outside Vietnamese territorial waters on the orders of President Gerald Ford. The fleet was ready to pick up the refugees and give them help, although no one expected the enormous number of refugees willing to brave the seas in search of freedom. Had Saigon not been encircled, many more would have escaped to the ships. Besides the 60,000 picked up by the U.S. fleet, 60,000 more escaped on their own and landed in Malaysia or the Philippines. These first-wave refugees were rapidly brought to the U.S. and other countries for resettlement.

The second and third waves of refugees from 1976 onward went through a more difficult time. They had to buy their way out and to hide from the soldiers and the police who hunted them down. After catching them, the police either asked for bribes or threw the escapees into jails. Those who evaded the police, still had to face engine failures, sea storms, pirates, and push-backs by other Southeast Asian countries. They then had to survive in overcrowded boats for days or weeks, during which food and water could not be replenished and living conditions were terrible. There was no room to move or even stretch out. The sun was torrid and the storms violent. The sky was pitch black at night and the winds often terrible. The constant rocking of the boat and the continuous rumbling of the engine made the trip more unbearable. Many people died from exhaustion, dehydration, and hunger. Others suffered at the hands of terrifying pirates who stole from the passengers and beat, raped, and killed them. The horrors were unforgettable, and the sea, once associated with peace and beauty, became a symbol of darkness, violence, separation, and death.