Eswyn Gray '23
On August 15th, 2021, Kabul, Afghanistan, fell to the Taliban. Violent attacks and fear of leadership under this extremist group pushed many citizens to flee their homeland. The chaotic scene that followed--citizens crowding onto cargo planes and congested runways-- was reminiscent of what happened in Saigon, Vietnam, 46 years ago. This parallel struck a nerve in the Vietnamese American community.
In Afghanistan, approximately 122,000 people, 5,400 of which are American citizens, have been evacuated to date, meaning that these war refugees must find a new place to settle. In recent weeks, many Afghans have been admitted to the U.S or being processed. The road that follows will be a tough one for the Afghan refugees, but as they are beginning to resettle in the U.S, Vietnamese Americans have reached out to offer not just sympathy, but also support.
The end of the war in Afghanistan has many parallels to the Fall of Saigon. In both of these conflicts, the U.S engaged in another nation’s civil war, deeming their military effort as protecting American national security interests. As people viewed the evacuation of Kabul, Afghanistan in 2021, they were reminded of similar scenes of people clamoring to flee the country at the airport. In both wars, the United States pulling out caused a quick takeover by the force which they were fighting against, and people who supported or sided with Americans were left especially vulnerable for retaliation unless they fled to safety.
Since the events reminded the Vietnamese American community all over the United States of what they had endured more than four decades ago, many decided to help this new group of refugees. Vietnamese American groups led fundraising and support efforts to those fleeing Afghanistan. For example, Alicia A. Caldwell from the Wall Street Journal wrote a piece on a group in Seattle, “aiming to find 75 Vietnamese American families to host arriving Afghan families(Caldwell 1).” Refugees from Vietnam have experienced the grief of leaving their homeland and losing their homes, possessions, and livelihoods. After being resettled in America more than 40 years ago, many Vietnamese struggled to find housing outside of Military bases, which is why refugee support groups such as the one formed by Vietnamese Americans in Seattle find it essential to provide families with a place to stay while they are adjusting to their new life in the U.S.
In addition, Vietnamese refugees are particularly sympathetic to the immense struggle to find a stable source of income. After the fall of Saigon, there was a wave of xenophobia in the U.S which negatively affected the Vietnamese refugees and their ability to obtain a job. Some business owners want to assist refugees seeking work, including “the president of an Ohio auto-parts company says he wants to hire newly arrived refugees” (Caldwell 1). Opportunities such as this one will support much-needed opportunities for refugees to earn income and provide for their families.
The Vietnamese American community has been setting up programs to assist Afghan refugees in their resettlement. A recent New York Times story by Madeleine Ngo reported that a 36-year-old Afghan refugee Abdul Aman Sediqi fled Kabul on August 16 with his two sons and wife. Sediqi arrived in Houston Sediqi and met up with Tram Ho, a 52-year-old doctor who fled Vietnam when she was 12. Ho was one of the Vietnamese Americans who has been “instrumental in furnishing their apartment (Ngo 3).” The story explained that initially, Sediqi was confused as to why Ms. Ho was so adamant about purchasing the furniture and decor for his apartment. Her motivation was evident “after she told him that she was a refugee from Vietnam, he said he understood (Ngo 3).”
This story is one of many others shared in news stories about how the Vietnamese American community is devoted to providing aid to Afghan refugees. Vietnamese Americans nationwide have been donating their time and offering economic aid, and housing assistance in an effort to ease the transition for many Afghan refugees. Many in the Vietnamese American community share a common connection with the Afghan refugees despite the contrast in their political circumstances and the more than four decades difference in their experiences. Vietnamese Americans also desperately fled their war-torn homeland, left loved ones behind, and endured tremendous personal costs, and that’s not something they have forgotten.
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