Southeast Asia in the US - Essay Example

Southeast Asia in the US The largest population of the Vietnamese people stays along the Bolsa Avenue in Vietnam. I resided in California County as a refugee when the Vietnamese war erupted in America. In my study, I involved some Vietnamese militia group in their experience. I came in close contact with Ricky, Johnny, and Bihn. The Vietnamese had a rough experience in acclimatizing with the conditions as refugees. In the Vietnamese history, the Bui Doi is frequently mentioned because of its contribution to the war. The conditions changed for the Vietnamese slowly up to when they became stable citizens in a foreign country. This paper also focuses on the various aspects of the Vietnamese people and their experiences during the dreadful war. In 1975 and 1979, Vietnamese militia reestablished the criminal structure that existed during the war in Vietnam. Though their success was intercepted by many factors. In the beginning of 1979, there was emergence of ‘boat people’ that led to many youth joining war gangs. The group was independent and did not rely on the other criminal organization for support. In 1980, the gang comprised six to ten members. In addition, there were gangs of female members known as ‘natoma girlz’. During our travel along the Harbor Boulevard, we came along a sign inscribed ‘The Crystal Cathedral-2 miles’. We later went to the Bolsa Avenue then to residential areas. We parked our vehicle and headed towards the first door, our knock was replied, and we gave in our names. We left our shoes by the door and entered the house that had devastating conditions with an inscription of the ‘natoma girlz’. We entered into a conversation and I realized that the Vietnamese gangs had five to fifteen years old boys and girls (Kibria 12-13). At this age, the refugees entered the U.S refugee camps. Most of these people experienced the Vietnam War. In their stories, most of them gave their own account after the North had taken over the control of the war. They gave their account about the hardships they experienced. Some gave their experience as the members of the gangs. In Ricky’s experience, he highlights the survival skills people used to survive while in the streets. For Ricky, the sea journey was difficult as explained by Hai, one gang member who gave their account while on a sea travel with pirates said that he was only ten years old and his mother was beaten up and thrown into the vast seawaters an experience he will never forget. Most of the Vietnamese had other painful stories to tell about their experience during the war. For instance, they state that on their way to U.S.A, pirates attacked them.. For a period of two years, the South East of Asia became the home for many ‘boat people’ refugees before they were taken to United States. In the camps, there were many crimes and they engaged in survival tactics (Kibria 29). In our close association with Ricky, we felt that there were unfamiliar faces either from the gang or from the others who lived in the house at one time. He also informed us that many of their recruits were coming down from Minneapolis. He did not explain the condition they were in at that time. Johnny, a friend of his was a victim who was on the run. His foster father had beaten him and he adapted slowly to the conditions. He seemed to very cautious and afraid of the group members. His friends were cool with him and allowed him to adapt slowly. Though their experience varies, they had similar themes. Most of the members gave their experience as school dropouts, they had language barrier between them, and they could not assimilate it successfully (Kibria 67). After two years, they were two years adrift and their parents were forced to adjust their birth dates. In similar life experience, Tam a victim focuses on the family unity that existed in Vietnam that was dismantled by the war. The split families found it difficult to adjust with the transitional life in United States. This has caused a change in the gender roles of most Vietnamese families. In addition, there has been a change in family expectations and relationships in the families. Families lost economic security and this led to depression and reversed roles. Most of the families of the Vietnamese lacked the values of their family ties. It then forced most of them to go the streets as runaways. From these experiences it does not mean that all gang members were unsuccessful. For instance, Ricky was successful after high school but he blames himself for having joined a wrong group. This was common as some members were in school but socialized with the gangs (Kibria 78). Most of the gang members of Ricky’s age were characterized by hardships from childhood to adulthood. This is evidenced by Ricky’s sentiments after the broke of the war. He highlights that people had to learn to lie always as it became a routine. Life as refugees was characterized by the usual evening crimes. After a cool evening listening to music the environment changes abruptly. In a case where Doug is attacked and his homeboyze circle around. The boyz have tattoo marks and luckily Doug one of the gang members survives unscathed. The Vietnamese war had aspects such as ‘jump in’ that meant the joining of the new members. They had tattoo marks that differentiated them from other groups (Kabria 76). Membership of the gangs demanded that the member affiliates with that group and show the respect that is demanded. The gang demanded the members to be loyal, good personality and they were to be tough. In their experience, they gave a detailed afternoon look. The social life of the gangs is centered on the residence places. They planned for guarantors to sign up for their acquisition of shops and small hotel. Through this, the gangs grew as businesspersons. Most of them went to the coffee shops where they were questioned on their enrolment as gang members. They did not easily reveal their jurisdiction in the neighborhoods. They don’t traffic drug and they do not claim their ownership over a particular town. Another feature of the Vietnamese gangs is that they change occasionally their hideouts and their residence. They do this to avoid the Wrath of the police. In short, Vietnamese gangs did not have a particular area for their militia group. There existed few differences between the Vietnamese gangs. Gang membership may be dual due to their daily activities. At times, there can be misunderstanding because it is natural with human beings (Kibria 102-104). In our ride along the streets, we realized that the survival of the group directly relied on success of the crimes committed by the gang members. The gangs specialized in burglary, and robberies the looters end up acquiring a lot of money without the knowledge of the United States’ government. The gangs go unnoticed due to fear of the retaliatory attacks. In trip along the town, we came along Binh who was relaxing in a coffee shop and he informed us of the raid by the police to the place of robbery. From the scene, the police managed to find confiscated guns and bullets and a number of goods that had been stolen. They later took Hung plus his girlfriend for scrutiny. From this incident, we learned that the groups had moved together with their friends to Texas for hiding. Ricky and the others were got in the scum and are in jail. To Binh, they will be free after sometime. The Vietnamese gangs had adapted well to all conditions in terms of the economic crisis and psychological torture. These situations continued because of the family structure that drived young family into similar acts of violence. Most Vietnamese became members of certain gangs due to personal interests and for fun. According to the Vietnamese, family is the key factor in someone’s life in that it plays a big role in shaping the child. (Kibria 136). Therefore, the gang is the representation of the family’s structure. One member may take the responsibility of being the family leader and takes the authority. The leaders became subjects to the gang and gender roles were deeply enhanced. Among the Vietnamese, family is the main object in the society as opposed to the Americans. In conclusion, the introduction of Vietnamese into America brought a lot of conflict and a distanced family relationship among the Vietnamese people living in America. Both the young and old members of the family were separated due to death or drowning in the sea by the pirates. Through the ages, the Vietnamese have undergone a lot of torture. Their migration to America affected the Americans socially, psychologically and economically. Work Cited Kibria, Nazli. The changing Lives of the Vietnamese Americans. New York, NY: Princeton University Press, 1995. Print. Read More