The Road to Refugee Resettlement

Eric Thai
May 7 2009
ANT 1001/TV24A
The Road to Refugee Resettlement

Being an American born citizen, we don't face the many hardships refugees had to face. My mother who was a refugee told me about the many hardships she faced leaving Vietnam. Many of the struggles she faced were similar to those of Thok Ding had to face coming to America from Sudan.

My mother was the youngest of six, born in Cambodia very close to Vietnam where my grandfather worked. I turns out my mother's family was wealthy, living the high class life some of us only dream of. At the time when the war started many of my aunts and uncles were off to colleges continuing their education. My grandfather knew the war would be disastrous if they stayed so my mother and grandfather tried to leave the country. Many people at that time were not allow to leave but because my family was wealthy, the government gave them two hundred dollars but they had to leave the rest of their wealth behind. They went to Hong Kong where they moved around much like Thok Ding and tried to rebuild their lives. My mother had to take jobs that had manual labor, something she wasn't familiar with. After my grandfather passed away my mother decide to come to America. Here she face the language barrier as well as much racism. She struggled to learn English, to get a decent job, and to keep in touch with her family.

When I asked my mother about how she came to America I didn't expect to hear a story that gave me new appreciation for her struggles. She faced such sudden changes to her life and I am really amazed she was able to adapt. Now she owns a small jewelry store in Chinatown that had been pretty successful. She has even learn to speak English very well with few accents. Having someone experience being a refugee helps me picture how it felt to be in their shoes.

Shandy, Dianna. "The Road to Refugee Resettlement." In Conformity and Conflict: Readings in Cultural Anthropology, 12 ed. Spraley and McCurdy. Allyn & Bacon. 2006. 151-160 .