In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

87 VVVVVVVVVVV 4 Transforming an Ethnic Community Little Saigon, Orange County LINDA TRINH VÕ In , few Vietnamese lived in the United States; however, by  over . million Vietnamese Americans commemorated the thirty-year anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, referred to as the American War by the Vietnamese. In the intervening years, numerous refugee and immigrant waves settled in the Little Saigon area of Orange County, California, known as the capital of Vietnamese America. This vibrant area boasts thousands of Vietnamese businesses that cater to almost , Vietnamese in Southern California— the largest population of Vietnamese outside of Vietnam—who gather for shopping , entertainment, dining, and professional services. Rather than focusing on the origins of the community and the initial spatial establishment of the community, which other scholars have discussed, this chapter analyzes the continual development and transformation of the Little Saigon community after thirty years. I focus on the primary factors that define this ethnic community: spatial expansion, economic growth, and political developments. While many outsiders see this as a monolithic community of downtrodden refugees, this hardly captures the diversity of the community, the range of their activities, or their transformation from a refugee to an immigrant community. Another perception is that this community remains mired in antiCommunist politics, and although homeland issues continue to shape their activities, this only defines certain aspects of community life. With a new generation coming of age who were born at the war’s end or in the postwar era, there are a multitude of voices that are shaping this community. Additionally, scholars who examine Vietnamese Americans from merely an assimilationist framework , or “melting pot” model, overlook larger structural forces and transnational aspects that encourage Vietnamese Americans to retain their ethnic identities and to sustain ethnic communities. This community differs from other Asian American communities, which are largely immigrant based, whereas Vietnamese “refugees” forced into exile created Little Saigon. Similar to Cuban and Jewish refugees who preceded them, VVVVVVVVVVV 88 LINDA TRINH VÕ they escaped with literally the clothes on their backs, and this was instrumental in motivating them to rebuild new lives. In , when approximately , refugees escaped in the first wave, they were unsure about their fate or the future of their country, but as the new Communist government became entrenched and those like them who remained behind were persecuted, they overcame their shock and went about the business of restarting their lives. The U.S. government’s efforts to disperse the refugees to avoid overburdening local municipalities and also to hasten their assimilation countered the refugees’ own desires to be located near coethnics. More important, in a process of secondary migration, they flocked to areas where they could find educational and occupational opportunities. From these concentrations they created Vietnamese American communities, which are now known as “Little Saigons,” across the country. The fact that ethnic concentrations have allowed them to thrive economically and politically presents important lessons on the limits of managing and controlling displaced persons. It suggests we need to rethink our policies on how best to support refugees during their resettlement process. They now resemble other immigrant communities in terms of the dilemmas they face, such as contending with the internal diversity of their population, negotiating their expansion within the existing community, and figuring out how to engage in civic matters. Little Saigon, Orange County In the mid-s, when the first group of Vietnamese refugees arrived, the area that would become Little Saigon was a bedroom community populated mainly by elderly whites and was known for its aging tract houses, trailer parks, small farms, auto yards, and open lots. The area experienced a population growth in the post–World War II era when service personnel stationed in local military bases decided to settle permanently; however, younger generations abandoned this suburb for better opportunities elsewhere. Many of the early Vietnamese came through “Operation New Arrival” and were processed in the resettlement center at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in Orange County, while others came from nearby Camp Pendleton, a marine base in northern San Diego County, where the first wave of refugees were temporarily housed in . Attracted by the warm weather and educational and occupational opportunities, along with affordable housing and commercial space, second and third waves of refugees joined this first group, quickly enlarging the population and revitalizing the area. In , after being lobbied by Vietnamese American community leaders, the Westminster City Council designated the .-mile stretch of Bolsa Avenue, from Magnolia to Brookhurst, as...

Share