Vietnam 50 years later: Minnesota welcomes war refugees with open arms

The Vietnam War began in 1955, almost 8,000 miles from the United States in the dense and remote jungles of southern Vietnam. While the United States was slowly deployed in Vietnam in the 1950s, the total deployment of combat units began in 1965.

The fighting would soon extend to Laos and Cambodia, with the CIA recruiting and training thousands of thousands of Hmong people Fight in the name of Americans during a clandestine operation in Laos known as the “secret war”.

But the effort to stop the spread of communism in Southeast Asia failed on April 30, 1975 with the fall of Saigon, when US troops evacuated the country. According to the National Archive, more than 58,220 Americans were killed in the war.

Up to 3.5 million people were killed, including soldiers on both sides of the conflict and civilians.

More than 80,000 Hmong soldiers And the refugees also died, like 20,000 Laosianos.

Resettlement plans of Governor Anderson

Minnesota has a rich welcome history to refugees to the State, and were among the 10 main states throughout the country to do so after the end of the war.

In October 1975, Minnesota had received the largest number of refugees from Southeast Asia in the west, according to the then Gov. Wendell Anderson.

But the governor was thinking, in the long term, how would these refugees obtain the services they needed in the state? What kind of help would you need in the future? And how would they adapt and be successful in a place with a completely different culture and language?

In December 1975, Anderson established the Indochino Reafection Office, which later became the refugee programs office in 1981. The office worked with groups such as Catholic Charisies, Lutheran Social Services and the American Red Cross, together with local families, groups of churches and community organizations to sponsor refugee families and helped them settle in their new homes.

Anderson also created the Task Force of Indochinos refugee to advise his office, which included representatives of Social Services Organizations, the Vietnamese-American Association, the Cambodian refugee community, the well-being departments, Employment and Education Services and the private sector.

The working group had two main works: to collect data on Southeast Asian homes in the State and provide information on classes, programs and laws recent to the refugee community.

The working group would also make efforts to address racial discrimination, hiring biases and language barriers that refugees faced when they arrived in Minnesota.

The best estimates show that today in Minnesota, there are more than 16,000 Laosian immigrants; more than 33,000 Vietnamese immigrants; and almost 12,000 Cambodian immigrants.

And with almost 95,000 Hmong immigrants, Minnesota is home to the largest concentration of Hmong in the United States.

This story is part of Pauleen’s documentary “Vietnam 50 years later: Reflection on a war that changed Minnesota“

Join WCCO on Wednesday, May 7 at 5 pm for a special projection in Concordia College in St. Paul, organized by the Hmong Studies Center:

• Good Education Center (BEC)
• 1282 Concordia Avenue, St. Paul, Mn 55104
• Attendees are encouraged to park on lot A, Carroll Street or Syndendate Street

Look at the complete documentary next, or on our YouTube channel.

In:
• Immigration
• Refugee