1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in history class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:08,880 Speaker 1: heart radio. Hello and welcome to this day in history class, 3 00:00:08,920 --> 00:00:11,639 Speaker 1: a show that reveals a little bit more about history 4 00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:16,560 Speaker 1: every day. I'm Gabe Lucier and in this episode we're 5 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:19,560 Speaker 1: talking about the plight of the boat people, including the 6 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:23,480 Speaker 1: global resettlement program that eventually got them off the water 7 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:36,960 Speaker 1: and back on dry land. The day was September seven. 8 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:40,680 Speaker 1: The first group of the so called boat people were 9 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:45,480 Speaker 1: admitted to the United States as refugees from communist Vietnam. 10 00:00:45,520 --> 00:00:48,599 Speaker 1: They were nicknamed boat people because they had fled their 11 00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:52,960 Speaker 1: homeland aboard old freighters and small rundown fishing boats, which 12 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:56,320 Speaker 1: they then lived aboard for weeks or sometimes even months. 13 00:00:57,000 --> 00:00:59,640 Speaker 1: Their plan had been to float to a nearby country 14 00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:03,520 Speaker 1: and Southeast Asia and then hopefully secure sponsorship to a 15 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:09,200 Speaker 1: democratic nation like the US, Canada, Australia or France. Most 16 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:12,320 Speaker 1: of the boat people who found refuge in the US 17 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:16,160 Speaker 1: arrived at Travis Air Force Base, roughly fifty miles northeast 18 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:20,000 Speaker 1: of San Francisco. President Carter had approved a plan to 19 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:24,399 Speaker 1: admit fifteen thousand new refugees in nineteen seventy seven, and 20 00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:27,920 Speaker 1: on September twenty, the first. One hundred and thirteen of 21 00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:31,440 Speaker 1: them walked off a Pan American Airways flight, ready to 22 00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:36,160 Speaker 1: begin their new lives. This relocation process continued, of few 23 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:38,840 Speaker 1: hundred people at a time, in countries all over the 24 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:43,560 Speaker 1: world for the next fifteen years. The first mass exodus 25 00:01:43,600 --> 00:01:47,520 Speaker 1: from Vietnam began in nineteen fifty four, when the Geneva 26 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:52,600 Speaker 1: conference temporarily divided Vietnam into two parts, a communist controlled 27 00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:55,560 Speaker 1: area in the north and a non communist region in 28 00:01:55,600 --> 00:01:59,280 Speaker 1: the south. This placed northern Vietnam in the hands of 29 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:04,720 Speaker 1: a violent communist regime known and the Vietnameme. Under their rule, 30 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:09,160 Speaker 1: citizens were pitted against one another, with Catholics, intellectuals and 31 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:13,400 Speaker 1: landowners all branded as enemies of the state. The oppressive 32 00:02:13,480 --> 00:02:17,760 Speaker 1: environment led hundreds of thousands of northern Vietnamese villagers to 33 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:21,480 Speaker 1: risk their lives by fleeing to southern Vietnam by boat. 34 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:25,120 Speaker 1: Life in the south was also difficult, but since the 35 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:28,320 Speaker 1: region was still under the control of the Republic of Vietnam, 36 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:30,960 Speaker 1: it was better than living in the socialist state to 37 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:34,440 Speaker 1: the north. For the next twenty years, the Republic of 38 00:02:34,480 --> 00:02:38,000 Speaker 1: South Vietnam fought against the North's attempts to reunify the 39 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:42,160 Speaker 1: country under communist rule. The United States joined the effort 40 00:02:42,160 --> 00:02:45,600 Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty five, sending thousands of troops to help 41 00:02:45,639 --> 00:02:49,880 Speaker 1: fight communist Viet Cong guerrillas and other north Vietnamese forces. 42 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:53,680 Speaker 1: But after eight years of bloodshed, the war was still 43 00:02:53,800 --> 00:02:56,959 Speaker 1: raging with no clear path to victory for South Vietnam 44 00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:00,440 Speaker 1: or its allies. The US withdrew the LAD STA its 45 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:04,640 Speaker 1: troops in nineteen seventy three and two years later, Communist 46 00:03:04,720 --> 00:03:08,680 Speaker 1: troops overwhelmed South Vietnam and took control of its capital. 47 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:12,480 Speaker 1: The fall of Saigon and the collapse of the South 48 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:18,000 Speaker 1: Vietnamese government sparked the second mass exodus from Vietnam. Once again, 49 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:20,920 Speaker 1: hundreds of thousands of people fled to the sea in 50 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:26,359 Speaker 1: overcrowded boats, hoping to find refuge from persecution. However, this 51 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:30,320 Speaker 1: second generation of boat people had much longer and more 52 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:33,919 Speaker 1: perilous journeys ahead of them. This time, they set out 53 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:38,280 Speaker 1: for other nearby countries like Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and 54 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:42,440 Speaker 1: Hong Kong. Most families didn't have their own escape boats 55 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:44,760 Speaker 1: ready to go and had no choice but to pay 56 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:48,680 Speaker 1: exorbitant prices to be smuggled out aboard someone else's vessel. 57 00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:52,720 Speaker 1: For instance, one of the refugees who reached the US 58 00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:56,600 Speaker 1: on September Twentieth Nineteen seventy seven was a thirty seven 59 00:03:56,640 --> 00:04:01,080 Speaker 1: year old south Vietnamese man named Q do. He sold 60 00:04:01,160 --> 00:04:03,880 Speaker 1: everything he owned to pay for the passage of himself, 61 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:07,280 Speaker 1: his wife, two sisters and a brother. The price for 62 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:10,560 Speaker 1: the five of them was thirty ounces of pure gold. 63 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:14,880 Speaker 1: That small fortune bought them a space alongside forty seven 64 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:17,839 Speaker 1: others in a cramped thirty foot boat that set out 65 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:21,560 Speaker 1: in darkness on June eleventh of that year. But escaping 66 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:24,680 Speaker 1: South Vietnam was just the first part of their struggle. 67 00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:27,479 Speaker 1: The next was finding a place that was willing to 68 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:31,120 Speaker 1: take them in. Like many others in their position, Ku 69 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:34,600 Speaker 1: Doo and his family spent several months afloat at sea, 70 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:38,359 Speaker 1: traveling from one Southeast Asian nation to the next, only 71 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:41,240 Speaker 1: to be rejected or even threatened with death if they 72 00:04:41,240 --> 00:04:45,120 Speaker 1: attempted to come ashore. Those countries were known as nations 73 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:49,119 Speaker 1: of first asylum, but as tens of thousands of refugees 74 00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:52,880 Speaker 1: continued to arrive each month, they started to feel overwhelmed. 75 00:04:53,279 --> 00:04:57,000 Speaker 1: Some countries began turning away boats, but others were far 76 00:04:57,080 --> 00:05:01,479 Speaker 1: more hostile. To make matters worse, most escape boats weren't 77 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:05,320 Speaker 1: equipped for such open ended journeys. Water and food shortages 78 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:08,120 Speaker 1: were in ever present danger, as was the threat of 79 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:11,159 Speaker 1: being captured and taken back to Vietnam for punishment and 80 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:15,640 Speaker 1: re education. It's estimated that between nearly four hundred thousand 81 00:05:15,720 --> 00:05:19,640 Speaker 1: Vietnamese refugees died at sea over the course of the evacuation. 82 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:24,800 Speaker 1: Many died from dehydration, starvation, illness or drowning, while others 83 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:27,920 Speaker 1: were murdered by pirates who saw the defenseless boats as 84 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:31,680 Speaker 1: easy prey. Those who did survive and reached the shore 85 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:35,000 Speaker 1: of a foreign nation were often placed in internment camps 86 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:38,600 Speaker 1: where they faced an uncertain future, unaware of when or 87 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:41,719 Speaker 1: if they would be admitted to a sponsoring country. To 88 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:45,680 Speaker 1: gain entry to the United States, all Southeast Asian refugees 89 00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:49,880 Speaker 1: needed an American sponsor. In many cases, refugees already had 90 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:52,800 Speaker 1: relatives in the country who could serve that function, some 91 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:55,839 Speaker 1: of whom had immigrated there themselves a few years earlier. 92 00:05:56,520 --> 00:05:59,080 Speaker 1: Q do o and his family were lucky enough to 93 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:02,200 Speaker 1: have such a connect action his wife's sister, who lived 94 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:06,839 Speaker 1: in Chicago with her husband. American sponsors provided food, clothing, 95 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:10,080 Speaker 1: housing and other basic needs for a refugee until he 96 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:12,400 Speaker 1: or she was able to stand on their own feet again. 97 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:16,159 Speaker 1: First priority was given to those joining family members in 98 00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:19,600 Speaker 1: the US, but refugees who didn't have you as relatives 99 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:22,279 Speaker 1: still had a chance. They just had to wait until 100 00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:27,240 Speaker 1: a private individual, church or service organization volunteered to sponsor them, 101 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:30,680 Speaker 1: and in many cases that weight was quite a long one. 102 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:34,599 Speaker 1: Q Doo and his family were eventually allowed to dock 103 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:37,560 Speaker 1: at a port in Thailand. They continued to live there 104 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:40,120 Speaker 1: on their small, crowded boat until they were able to 105 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:43,640 Speaker 1: board a plane from Bangkok to San Francisco in September 106 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:47,840 Speaker 1: of nineteen seventy seven. Once government officers had confirmed their 107 00:06:47,839 --> 00:06:50,320 Speaker 1: papers were in order, the family and the rest of 108 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:53,279 Speaker 1: the first wave of refugees were bussed to a hotel 109 00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:57,080 Speaker 1: near the San Francisco Airport. The following day, the boat 110 00:06:57,120 --> 00:07:00,440 Speaker 1: people went their separate ways, with the DOO family flying 111 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:03,840 Speaker 1: to their new home in Chicago. In two years time, 112 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:08,000 Speaker 1: sponsored refugees would be eligible to apply for permanent resident 113 00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:11,960 Speaker 1: alien status, which, of course, most did. Their adjustment to 114 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:15,000 Speaker 1: life in a foreign country was far from easy. They 115 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:18,120 Speaker 1: were immersed in a completely different culture and many couldn't 116 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:21,440 Speaker 1: read or speak the English language. Upon arrival, they were 117 00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:25,200 Speaker 1: often relocated to impoverished neighborhoods as well and made to 118 00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:30,680 Speaker 1: attend below average public schools. Despite these disadvantages, many Vietnamese 119 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:35,680 Speaker 1: refugees excelled both academically and professionally. Studies later showed that 120 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:38,840 Speaker 1: the Vietnamese refugees and their children scored in the mid 121 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:42,200 Speaker 1: to upper ranges on standardized tests, and, after a period 122 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:46,520 Speaker 1: of adjustment, most adult refugees found full time work. In fact, 123 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:50,760 Speaker 1: the unemployment rate among Southeast Asian refugees was roughly the 124 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:54,760 Speaker 1: same as native workers. Assimilating to a new culture is 125 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:58,200 Speaker 1: difficult even in the best of circumstances, and the same 126 00:07:58,280 --> 00:08:00,640 Speaker 1: is true of living on a small boat out in 127 00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:03,800 Speaker 1: the open ocean, but the people of Vietnam endured those 128 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:06,640 Speaker 1: hardships because the chance to live free was worth it. 129 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:09,960 Speaker 1: A doctor who declined to give his name was among 130 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:12,960 Speaker 1: the refugees who arrived in San Francisco in September of 131 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:17,080 Speaker 1: seventy seven before leaving South Vietnam, he had spent nearly 132 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:20,680 Speaker 1: twenty months in a re education and reformation camp, where 133 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:22,520 Speaker 1: he had been forced to work in the fields and 134 00:08:22,560 --> 00:08:26,560 Speaker 1: to study communist philosophy. He was only released because his 135 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:29,480 Speaker 1: wife had managed to bribe officials in order to secure 136 00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:32,760 Speaker 1: his freedom. Four months later, they left with their two 137 00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:35,720 Speaker 1: daughters on a fishing boat packed with forty nine other people. 138 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:38,840 Speaker 1: In spite of all the unknowns, the doctor knew that 139 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:42,440 Speaker 1: leaving was the only real choice they had. They would 140 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:45,959 Speaker 1: have killed me, he said. It was dangerous leaving by boat, 141 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:49,280 Speaker 1: but it was better to die that way than to stay. 142 00:08:49,920 --> 00:08:53,120 Speaker 1: After another four months of drifting from nation to nation 143 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:56,440 Speaker 1: and living in hope in a crowded refugee camp, the 144 00:08:56,520 --> 00:08:59,439 Speaker 1: doctor and his family finally made it to the United States. 145 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:05,120 Speaker 1: They finally found a place to breathe free. I'm gay 146 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:07,959 Speaker 1: blusier and hopefully you now know a little more about 147 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:11,679 Speaker 1: history today than you did yesterday. If you want to 148 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:14,080 Speaker 1: keep up with the show, you can follow us on twitter, 149 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:18,640 Speaker 1: facebook and Instagram at t d I hc show, and 150 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:21,080 Speaker 1: if you have any comments or suggestions, you can always 151 00:09:21,120 --> 00:09:23,600 Speaker 1: send them my way at this day at I heeart 152 00:09:23,679 --> 00:09:27,160 Speaker 1: media Dot Com. Thanks to Chandler mays for producing the 153 00:09:27,160 --> 00:09:29,800 Speaker 1: show and thank you for listening. I'll see you back 154 00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:32,920 Speaker 1: here again tomorrow for another day in history class.