Community Formation

With Vo’s essay as a starting point, discuss how new communities form from the legacies of war. Then, use one of the readings/videos to discuss how younger generations might grapple with these issues.

ANSWER

Formation of Communities from War Legacies and how Young People Grapple with These Issues

Introduction

The period between 1899 and 1975 was characterized by fighting among nations. This resulted in the migration of people from one country to another. In America, people from varied nations moved in with the notion that it was a safer place. Initially, foreigners had been in the US as laborers and students. The Americans had been welcoming to refugees and other nationalities, as reflected by the transitions and amendments in their Acts and policies. Later on, however, they would start seeing the negative effects of hosting too many immigrants. The immigrants (mostly Asians), however, had already formed communities in various suburbs and urban areas, taking the opportunities available to them in jobs and business.

Formation of communities from the legacies of war

The involvement of the U.S. in Asian wars such as Philippine-American War, Korean War, Pacific War and Vietnam War led to migration of these Asians to the United States. They entered the country as orphans, students, professionals, adoptees, refugees, US residents’ close relatives, veterans or spouses. Initially, Asian men are the ones who migrated to the US. Women started entering the country in substantial numbers after World War II. They were then followed by the other family members. The experiences of these immigrants in adaptation and resettlement depended on their access to networks and financial resources, as well as work skills (Võ, 2020). Their political and economic circumstances also shape how they are received in the new environment and incorporated in the American society. This migration of Asians into America has formed communities of Asians all over the country.

War has caused many Asians to be displaced from their countries as refugees. Refugee is defined by the UNHCR as an individual who flees their country due to fear of persecution on the virtue of belonging to a certain race, nationality, social group, religion or political opinion. The post-World War II period was characterized by authorization of Europeans and Asians to be residents of America as refugees. After the Vietnam War, many more refugees flowed into America from Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. There was an increase in the number of Asian American families after WWII due to the intermarriage between Asian women and Japanese, Filipino and Chinese men (Võ, 2020). Filipino, Korean and Japanese brides were allowed into America after an amendment to the War Brides Act in 1947. These and other intermarriages between races led to an increase of the Asian American communities.

These communities also include Amerasians (children born outside wedlock but abandoned to American fathers and Asian mothers), transnational and transracial adoptees and undocumented immigrants. New immigrants prefer to settle in urban areas where there are more job opportunities and ethnic concentration. However, Asian immigrants and their counterparts born in the US have recently started preferring the suburbs. Many communities have been formed in the US since the end of the wars. This has been accelerated by the naturalization of immigrants as citizens of the US. Vietnamese, Taiwanese, Filipinos, Koreans, Chinese and Indians are among most of the naturalized citizens. The increase of immigrants has also been propelled by the reach of religious buildings that serve Asian immigrants, causing further strengthening of these communities after the wars.

How younger generations grapple with these issues

Younger generations of immigrants in the US have had to grapple with the situation they found themselves in the best way they can. Some of them are part of the communities formed in America after the wars. One thing to note is that they have strong family ties with their family members. As a minority in a foreign country, it is inevitable to be tightly knit together by the common factor among the group. The understanding of ‘family’ for these young people may differ from the understanding of other Americans. For example, for Vietnamese in America, the extended family comprises ‘family’, while other Americans are likely to say ‘family’ when referring to the nuclear family.

These young people are also faced with hate crimes, prejudice and discrimination (VACPC, 2001). Racial profiling has been a common way that law enforcers use to discriminate against individuals on the basis of their race, ethnicity and so on. They also have differing views concerning refugees and immigration. According to them, a country may be unfair by turning down refugees. To the common American, it may make sense for the government to turn down refugees as the government argues that some may not be looking for safety, but for better standards of living. The war brought about a challenge on the exercise of human rights in Vietnam. People have been mistreated severally by being denied the freedom of speech, religion, and peaceful assembly. Young people have had to grapple with such effects of war much later.

Conclusion

War has positive as well as negative effects. Communities are formed through war by the migration of individuals to safer countries. As refugees, they interact with each other, forming communities. Some intermarry with one another and with the existing communities, forming families in the host country. The negative effects of war are also vivid and can affect these communities way into the future. Unfortunately, the effects tend to be more hazardous to the immigrant communities than the already existing ones.

References

VACPC Vietnamese American Curriculum Project Committee. (2001). Vietnamese Americans: Lessons in American History, An Interdisciplinary Curriculum and Resource Guide.

Võ, L. (2020). Asian Immigrants and Refugees: Demographic Transformations in the United       States from World War II to the Present. In M. Magalong, Finding a Path Forward      ASIAN AMERICAN PACIFIC ISLANDER NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARKS   THEME STUDY (pp. 285-304).