A brief history of Vietnamese immigration to Seattle

History by Devika Gandhay

Interview by Runjing Li

The Vietnamese first began arriving in Washington after the fall of Saigon to communist forces in 1975. With the Refugee Act of 1980, the United States made it easier for Vietnamese refugees to enter and live in the country. (Wieder, 1996) The population scattered with bigger factions of people moving to Texas and California where larger Vietnamese communities already existed. A smaller number of people, about 3,500 to 7,000, moved to Washington. (Wieder, 1996)  This has number has increased exponentially to almost 70,000 as of 2016. (Board, 2016) Ex-Governor Dan Evans is responsible for this number through his acceptance of Vietnamese refugees and his insistence that they be welcomed into America. Upon arriving in Seattle, the refugees were matched with a family who opened their home to them. Upon getting their own footing, they could build their own, new lives and become American citizens. The Vietnamese settled on the east side of the International District and started to set up shops, restaurants and businesses in an area that became known as Little Saigon at 12th Avenue and Jackson Street. Little Saigon has become a place where people of all cultures and backgrounds are accepted and, “It is not uncommon to see non-Vietnamese patronizing the restaurants and bookstores, as well as the temple and community center.” (Kazmi, 2016) Vietnamese typically held jobs in medical or technical professions, and then to lesser degrees in transportation, clerical work and as shop owners. Since the Vietnamese arrived much after the first waves of Asian immigrants, they avoided the lawful discrimination that the other groups faced. This made their transition into traditional American society much easier. By the time they emigrated to Seattle, the Asian population was already growing very rapidly and the International District and Chinatown had already been established. 

THE INTERVIEW

People leave their homelands for different reasons. May choose to emigrate so that they can find a more stable and happier life; others move towards bustling economies that offer employment and the promise of affluence. Seattle is a city with a superior geographical location and a mild climate; its real estate market is healthy and affordable; its development is relatively diversified, with traditional industries and high tech. The book Seattleness has a section called “Building Growth Spurts,” illustrating Seattle’s growth from 1940 to 2017. Many new industries were rising, providing more jobs for residents and immigrants. People from all over the world came to Seattle and created a multicultural environment.

A data sheet about Seattle’s immigrants and refugees, taking from the Seattle government website, shows that “Between 2000 and 2014, Seattle’s immigrant population grew 20%.” The top three immigrant countries are China – with 11.75%, Vietnam – with 11.50%, and the Philippines – with 8.01% counted in 2014, and the numbers are still growing.

Although the book Exit West is a novel, it reflects the situations of immigrants and refugees all over the world. I’m also an immigrant who came to Seattle in 2014 so I am interested in the topic of immigration. During the first field trip, we went to the Wing Luke Museum which gave me lots of knowledge about the background of Asian Americans. Therefore, we decided to do this project about immigrants from Asian countries currently living or working in the International District and Chinatown. We have interviewed three immigrants who came from China, Japan, and Vietnam, and they all work or own stores in Chinatown. I was in charge of interviewing a lady who came to Seattle 20 years ago from Vietnam and who works for a Vietnamese restaurant called “Pho Ba” which has been opened for more than 30 years. During the interview, she told us that the main reason she came to Seattle was that her cousin was living here, so she moved here as well. Now she lives in Beacon Hill where the neighborhood has a majority population of Asian Americans and African Americans. Every year, she and other Vietnamese celebrate the New Year together in a Catholic Church in Tukwila. Meanwhile, we also asked her other questions about the lifestyle of the Vietnamese community in Seattle. However, because of the language barrier, she couldn’t provide us more details.

In order to get more information about why Vietnamese people immigrate to the US, I did some research. In the past 40 years, lots of Vietnamese started immigrating during the period of the Vietnam War between 1955 to 1975. The casualties were heavy, and the domestic economy of Vietnam was devastated, so the United States accepted a large immigrant population from Vietnam, and after the fall of south Vietnam, America sent many aircraft carriers and planes to bring them to the United States, set up refugee camps for them, and then trained them to integrate into American society. Just as Nadia and Saeed in Exit West, because of the violence and dissatisfaction with life, people began to migrate until they found a suitable place to settle down. 

Through this interview, I developed a deeper understanding of how Asian Americans integrated themselves into a new place. As an immigrant, I also experienced the same difficulties when I first came to this strange city and I have felt this tension three times since I was a child. I was born in Tianjin, a city next to Beijing. When I was four, my parents and I moved to Shanghai because they wanted to give me a better education and career opportunities for the future. After I graduated from an international high school in Shanghai, I received an offer from University of Iowa, so my family immigrated to the US, and my parents decided to live in Seattle. After a year studying in Iowa by myself, I find that Seattle has more opportunities and a better environment than Iowa, so I moved back to Seattle again. Therefore, I fully understand those immigrants who come to a completely new city and rely on their own abilities to fit in the new environment for a better life. 

For immigrants, there are both advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are that they can get a better natural environment, food safety, education system and a higher physical health protection. The disadvantages are that they have to face cultural differences, language barriers, and sometimes, racial discrimination.