. . :1... 23...... :. . .. .1 1.1:... .53.... . a: ,1 :37. 5.1.11... : L .4... .1. I... 1. 2 .13... : .... ~ (.5... 37..) Irv .. 4...... :. 1.3.9.23..- . . J 3.1.: 1.2.2.517. : s .. .2 v.22... 7&1. ; 2 52.1.... 2...... . : . .15.... .1: I. ~ / , I... : ;.S {’5‘ ‘ ‘35 .1. .. (1.3).... .J: itiil. a...) :l.i\.f.l1 3t. $7.. .5. R}... I... .1114). mu«(mm1mmmmnumuflllllill? 90761 7 W LIBRARY Michigan State University This is to certify that the thesis entitled ADOLESCENT REFUGEES: An Ethnographic Study of Vietnamese Youth in U;S. Schools presented, by Barbara J. Dillinger has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for MA Family Studies degree in am A.“ Major professor 5 June 19 90 Date 0-7639 MSU is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution PLACE IN RETURN BOX to remove this checkout from your record. TO AVOID FINES return on or before date due. DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE W: .9 ;- he, . Mpgagm l5“ ,wnsxt- 7 it‘i’ké u... ,, ¢__.._— Wig—8+9; _ 1 V '. \ g i g (0.? ‘, W 1:332 239709.; IF“ i ”99' ‘ 16-:qu .3994 MSU Is An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution ADOLESCENT REFUGEES: Ana lithnographic Study of Vietnamese Youth in U.S. Schools BY Barbara J. Dillinger A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of Family and Child Ecology 1990 ABSTRACT ADOLESCENT REFUGEES: IUn Ethnographic Study of Vietnamese Youth in U.S. Schools BY Barbara J. Dillinger The purpose of this ethnographic study of a group of adolescent Vietnamese refugee students in a West Michigan ESL/Bilingual Program was to explore and describe pre-migration, migration, and post-migration factors which could impact adaptation and educational performance. Multiple methods of data collection were utilized, particularly participant observation, surveys, and life histories. It was found that the recent wave of unaccompanied minors and Amerasians are presenting the academic and behavioral problems in the classroom ‘which may be due to such variables as lack of previous education, fatherless homes, more time spent under communist system which is undermining traditional 'Vietnamese values, growing up on the streets, longer periods of time spent in refugee camps, psycho-social problems, and learning disabilities. For the Amerasians additional problems of early loss of both parents and growing up under discrimination and abuse may be contributing factors to the serious problems they tend to present in the classroom. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the West Michigan ESL/Bilingual Program and, in particular, the ESL teachers for being so ‘willing and open to the intrusion of research into their classrooms. They willingly gave their time and effort to each step of the research study. They set aside class time for surveys and life history assignments, were always ready and willing to answer questions, and seemed undaunted by the presence of a researcher observing and feverishly taking notes in the back of their classes. I would like to thank the Vietnamese paraprofessionals ‘who served as volunteer assistants in the roles of translators, interviewers, and culture brokers. Their readiness to answer questions, clarify issues, and to give of their time, particularly in the tiring task of translation of instruments and data, were very much appreciated. This research study would not have been possible without their input and help. I would like to thank the students in the West Michigan ESL/Bilingual Program for their participation and for the effort they put forth in completing the surveys and doing the life histories. Their writings and drawings are beautiful and open expressions of their experiences and feelings and are the very essence of this study. I would like to thank Bob Clarke and Leslie Davis for their generous help in printing this thesis and for the iii computer, without which this project would have been overwhelming, if not impossible! I would also like to thank my guidance committee, Dr. Linda Nelson, Dr. Lillian Phenice, and Dr. Robert Griffore, for their help and their willingness to work with me on this project. Their invaluable contributions began from the start when this study was in its proposal stage, particularly by helping me to reduce the design to a more practical, focused, and "researchable" one. I would especially like to thank my advisor, Dr. Nelson, for her positive and cheerful spirit, ready availability, practical help, support, encouragement, interest, and shared excitement in the discoveries. Her investment has resulted in not only a grateful student, but a convert to her belief in the value of ethnography. iv CONTENTS Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . Need for the Study . . . . . . . . Significance to policy and planning . . Contribution to knowledge and theory . Purpose of the Study . . . . . . . . . Guiding Research Questions 2 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Refugee Research . . . . . . . . The refugee experience Refugee families and youth . Instrumentation . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary . . . . . . 3 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY . . . . . . . Theoretical Framework . . . . . . . . . . Ecological systems model Developmental theory . . . . . . . . . . Symbolic interaction theory . . . . Methods and Strategies Observation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Life history . . . . . . . . . Surveys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Research Design . . . . . . . . . . . . V Ln .b H 10 10 11 13 15 20 21 21 22 25 26 28 29 29 32 32 Background of the Researcher Implementation . Findings and Analysis Limitations of the Study Internal validity External validity Internal reliability . External reliability . Summary 4 FINDINGS I: THE SCHOOLS Historical Context . The Local ESL/Bilingual Program School The The School The The School The The #1 . . students . . teachers #2 . students teachers #3 students teachers . . . . . . . Summary . . . . . . . . . . 5 FINDINGS II: GROWING UP IN VIETNAM . Community Environment Climate . . . . . . . . . . City environment vi 35 36 41 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 49 51 54 55 55 56 57 58 58 61 63 63 64 65 65 67 Village community environment . . . . . . Ethnic environment . . . . . . . . . . Socio—Cultural Environment . . . . . . . . The Vietnamese world view . . . . . . . Socio-cultural values . . . . . . . Cultural expressions . . . . . . . . . Home and Family Environment . . . . . . . . Housing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Falnily O O O 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O War and Postwar Environments . . . . . . . . Impact on the family environment . . . Impact on the socio-cultural environment Educational Environment Work or school . . . . . . . . . Role of teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . Changes in education after 1975 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 FINDINGS III: LEAVING HOME . . . . . . . . Deciding to Leave . . . . . . . . . Reasons for Leaving . . . . . . . . For freedom and the future . . . . . . . For family reunion . . . . . . . . . The Escape Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Context of the Journey by Boat . . . . . . . Individual Experiences . . . . . . . . . . Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii 69 71 72 72 73 75 76 77 78 83 85 90 92 95 98 101 105 106 106 107 108 110 112 115 120 123 7 FINDINGS IV: WAITING IN REFUGEE CAMPS Countries of First Asylum . Asylum in Thailand . . . . Asylum in Malaysia Asylum in Hong Kong . Conditions in the Camps . . . . Housing . . Rations . . . . . . . . . . . Conflict, crime and confinement Activities in the camps Waiting to Leave . . . Length of time in camps Camp transfers . . Unaccompanied minors International environment Acceptance for Resettlement . Philippine refugee processing Leaving camp . . . Summary . . . . . . . . . 8 FINDINGS V: EAST MEETS WEST . . Changes in Cultural Environment Nonverbal communication . Health beliefs and treatments Cultural values . . . . Home and Family Environment Family composition . . . viii center 124 124 126 127 128 129 131 134 137 140 147 141 142 143 143 144 144 149 150 151 156 152 157 158 159 159 Family expectations . . . . . . . Home language . . . . . . . . . . Changes in Linguistic Environment . Pronunciation . . . . . . . . . . Intonation . . . . . . . . . . . Patterns of language . . . . Educational Environment . . . . . . Environment of mainstream classes Environment of ESL classes . . Stress, Coping and Adaptation . . . Maladaptation and Special Problems Plans and Outlook on the Future . Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 FINDINGS VI: THE AMERASIAN EXPERIENCE Growing Up in Vietnam . . . . . . Discrimination and abuse . School and work . . . . . . . . . Leaving Home . . . . . . . . . . . . In the United States . . . . . . . . Socio-cultural environment . . . Family environment . . . . . . . Problems in the Classroom . . . . Lack of previous education . . . Learning disabilities . . . . . . Petty theft 0 O O O O O O O O O 0 Substance abuse . . . . . . . . . ix 164 166 167 169 170 170 171 172 181 185 191 196 197 200 200 202 205 207 211 211 211 215 217 221 224 224 Aggressive and dangerous behavior . . . . 225 Family violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 Suicide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228 Strengths and vulnerabilities . . . . . . . 229 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231 10 OVERVIEW, DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS . . . . 235 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238 Separation and individuation . . . . . . 241 Psycho-sexual development . . . . . . . . 245 Identity formation . . . . . . . . . . . 248 Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255 Recommendations for policy and practice . 256 Recommendations for future research . . . 267 APPENDIX A: CONSENT FORMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269 APPENDIX B: SURVEYS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271 APPENDIX C: INSTRUCTIONS FOR LIFE HISTORY . . . . . . 277 REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279 Table QQQO‘UIfiOJNF-J ha ha id H ha ha id H q Oi or J» co to Id 0 LIST OF TABLES Summary of Enrollment Participants Student Population at School #1 Student Population at School #2 Student Population at School #3 Occupation of Parents in Vietnam Reasons for Leaving Vietnam Negative Aspects of Camp Life Expectations of Life in the United States What Makes Students Sad Expectations of Family in U.S. Expectations of Family in Vietnam Worst Thing about Living in the U.S. What Students WOrry About Mbst Responses to Sadness Responses to Anger Occupational Plans xi Page 38 56 59 62 91 108 130 148 162 165 166 168 186 189 190 197 Figure 050190010 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 LIST OF FIGURES Map of Vietnam Drawing: Drawing: Drawing: Drawing: Drawing: Drawing: Drawing: Farm Main House Riding Bike to School Village School City School Working on the Farm Market vendor Highest Grade Completed in Vietnam Drawing: Drawing: Drawing: Drawing: Drawing: Denial of Education Leaving Vietnam Caught in Escape Attempt Jailed for Escape Attempt Journey by Boat The Flight from Southeast Asia Drawing: Drawing: Drawing: Drawing: Drawing: Drawing: Drawing: House for Unaccompanied Minors Activities of Unaccompanied Female Activities of Unaccompanied Male Food Line in Refugee Camp Crime in Refugee Camp Activities in the PRPC Living in the PRPC xii Page 66 79 80 94 96 97 99 100 103 104 113 117 118 121 125 133 135 136 138 139 146 147 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 Drawing: Drawing: Drawing: Drawing: Drawing: Drawing: Drawing: Drawing: Drawing: Drawing: Drawing: Drawing: Language Differences in School Heterogeneity in the Classroom The Mainstream Experience Doing Well in Math The ESL/Bilingual Class Self-Portrait in School Leaving Vietnam by Plane Members in Household Amerasian in American Foster Home Raising Hand in School Asian Identity Anglo-American Identity xiii 174 177 179 186 190 200 216 218 221 223 239 240 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION In a world plagued by periodic upheavals, whole popu- lations are invariably caught up in disastrous situations. A frequent result is refugee migration. Refugees are as old as human history, but it has been since World War II that refugee migrations have reached massive and world-wide proportions, prompting the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to poignantly call this the "century of the uprooted" (UNHCR, 1981 p. 5). Like a kaleidoscope, refugee migrations continuously change the face of the globe. At times they strain the goodwill and resources of receiving countries. No conti- nent or country has been left unaffected, and the United States is no exception. For more than two centuries, a continuous human stream has come to this country from all over the world; around 54 million immigrants have come since the time of the pilgrims (Rumbaut, 1985). In 1988 alone, out of the 12 million people who sought asylum, one million were resettled in the United States (UNHCR, 1988). Ironically, in spite of the above givens, a major myth plagues the field of refugee research -- that refugee mi- grations are unique and nonrecurring events. Because of this myth, refugee research is sporadic, and refugee migra- tions are not planned for. Thus, past experiences that could prove valuable in planning for the needs of current 1 2 and future refugee groups are not utilized (Stein, 1986). Too often the result is the development of programs and services that are ineffectual and/or inappropriate. One of the largest refugee movements in modern history has been the exodus from Southeast Asia. Mere than one and one half million men, women, and children have fled the region in search of asylum. Over 856,500 of these have been resettled in the United States (UNHCR, 1989). A striking demographic feature is the "disproportionate share of young people" within this population (Nidorf, 1985, p. 392). A.study in San Diego county revealed that the median age is 18, compared to the median age of 31 for the rest of the American population (Rumbaut, 1985). In 1982, of the total number of Southeast Asian refugees admitted to the United States, 50.1% were 19 years old or younger (Office of Refugee Resettlement, 1982). In spite of their high percentage, Southeast Asian youth have not been studied as much as adults (Ben-Porath, 1987; Looney, Rahe, Harding, Ward, & Liu, 1979). In fact, Huyck & Fields (1981) suggest that refugee children, in general, are the most neglected part of the refugee population. The lack of knowledge and hard data create a void in the research which, in turn, affects service to these young people and their families. Available clinical evidence shows that these young people, particularly those who left Southeast Asia after 1979, are manifesting adjustment, trauma, and developmental 3 disorders (Carlin, 1986; Westermeyer, 1986a). Because of their admirable strengths, there is danger of overlooking their problems and of misinterpreting the cause and meaning of those problems (Nidorf, 1985). In addition, refugee youths who are successful are held up and displayed in the political and journalistic realms, overshadowing those who are struggling and falling through the cracks of the system (Huyck & Fields, 1981). Like all refugees, refugee youth must find a way to cope with the "crisis of loss" involving home and homeland, family and friends, meaningful sources of identity and validation. At the same time they must cope with the "crisis of load" which is the innumerable stressors from new social and environmental demands (Rumbaut, 1985, p. 435). These children and adolescents are affected in different ways than their elders and face special challenges and difficulties. As Nidorf (1985) notes, “the psychological impact and interpretation of the ’refugee experience' is always dependent on the age and stage of development of the survivor" (p. 310). Besides age, other differences exist among refugees. For example, while Eastern European and Southeast Asian refugees have similar adaptational difficulties and problems (Lin, 1986), Southeast Asians are "culturally, racially and ethnically vastly different from their hosts, they come from less-developed countries, at greatly different stages of development" (Stein, 1986, p.13). 4 And, among the Southeast Asians themselves, there is a myriad of differences: class and socioeconomic levels, eth- nicity, religion, language, differences between those who left before 1979 and those who left after 1979, and indi- vidual variables such as biological-physiological, person- ality, perception and meaning, family structure and system, degree of trauma experienced. All these factors combine to create differences in experience and differences in degree and kind of impact. Most refugee youth depend on the English as a Second Language (ESL) and bilingual classes to facilitate the pro- cess of adaptation to this strange and foreign society. For these classes to be effective in this regard, it is essential that each program and its individual teachers assess their students' multiple and complex needs (Paul, 1986). This necessarily involves the collection of data not usually considered in assessment (Carlin, 1986) and should be based on a "contextualized theory of development" (Nidorf, 1985, p. 391) which explores pre-migration, migration, and post-migration factors. It should also ex- plore the student’s and his/her family’s perception and meaning of their current situation because, as Thomas (1949) noted, “If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences" (p.301). Need for the Study Preliminary inquiries regarding the assessment of refugee students in area schools revealed a limited focus: English language proficiency, reading comprehension, and math skills. .A void was noted regarding other key areas that could impact academic performance and successful adap- tation. The relevance of this void may be manifested in the frequent difficulties -- such as cultural misunder- standings, divergent expectations, and academic and behavior problems -- encountered by refugee students and the school personnel who work with them (G. Martin, personal communication, March, 1989). These difficulties indicate a need for greater understanding of the environ- mental factors surrounding and impacting these youths. Significance to Policy and Planning This study utilized a multi-method ethnographic re- search approach to explore some of the environments that may be impacting and interacting with the refugee student’s academic performance and adaptation. Since developmental issues are different for children at various ages, and since adolescence is considered to be an especially critical period of development (Bettelheim, 1965; Erickson, 1963, 1968; Tobin & Friedman 1984), the focus of this study was on adolescent refugees, particularly those from Vietnam. Vietnamese are chosen as the focus group because of their high percentage in area schools (Table 1). Research with this population is fraught with diffi- culty with this. Concerns regarding the testing of minori- ties must be thoughtfully and carefully weighed since Table 1: Summary of Enrollment* Race Ethnic Group Total Asian Vietnamese 46 Chinese 6 Korean 5 Cambodian 3 Laotian 1 Latin American Mexican 4 Puerto Rican 4 Cuban 1 Guatemalan 1 Middle Eastern Arabic 4 Pakistani 1 European Dutch 1 German 1 Hungarian l Rumanian 1 80 l’ . \c.>.§'1(r" * Report presented to Superintendent's Advisory Gounsel, October, 1989. 7 refugees automatically become a minority group upon re- settlement (Williams, 1987). Language barriers impede communication, requiring the use of translators. In addi- tion, available assessment tests, even if translated, may lack appropriateness to the refugee students’ backgrounds and experiences as well as to their current situation. Rumbaut (1985) suggests that there is a need for pre- vention-oriented research and practice with refugees. This research project was guided by such an orientation. One of the desired outcomes of this study is to sensitize school personnel to the needs of the recently arrived refugee students and, thus, to contribute to the continued development of helpful programs for these students within the school. School counselors, teachers, parents, mental health workers, and general health providers can make the process of adjustment and passage to adulthood smoother for these young people by becoming more aware of the developmental and environmental hurdles confronting them. Contribution to Knowledge and Theory In order to understand the behavior of refugee youths, in order to make sense of the forces impacting them, and in order to extract from their experiences, research studies on these young people must be placed within a broader theo- retical framework by "letting theory inform our data, and, ultimately, allowing our data to inform theory" (MacCleod, 1987, p. 8). This study was guided by a tripartite framework: the Ecological Systems Model, Developmental Theory, and Symbolic Interaction Theory. Within this framework there was an integration of refugee research, particularly as it relates to adolescents and their families. The combination of these three theories provided con- cepts, assumptions, and postulates that seemed to be appro- priate in an exploratory study of refugee adolescents. The data gathered, in turn, may contribute to these theories by exploring their usefulness in the study of refugees. For example, understanding may be gained by exploring refugee students' definitions of their situations -- the meanings and perceptions of their stressors and of the total upheaval of their lives. Subjective perceptions may vary from viewing the circumstances as a challenge and opportunity for growth, to viewing the circumstances as hopeless, too difficult, or unmanageable. Either per- ception can make a profound impact on a refugee youth's adaptation, academic performance, and mastery of develop- mental tasks. The theories contributing to the framework of this study may be a useful combination for refugee research. Much of the research seems to be at a macro-social level. Some focuses on the individual. But there seems to be a void in the study of the refugee child and family in a holistic way, particularly the impact of developmental tasks in combination with stressors, demands, and 9 resources. Application of the concepts of "adolescent-to- family fit," "adolescent-to-community fit," and "family-to- community fit" (McCubbin & Patterson, 1986) seems appro- priate with this population and provided direction for this study. Purpose of the Study 1. To explore and describe background experiences and current situations of a group of adolescent Vietnamese. The focus is on pre-migration, migration, and post-mi- gration factors which may impact adjustment/adaptation and educational performance. 2. To explore the use of methods which may contribute to a holistic understanding of Vietnamese students by school personnel. It is hoped that such understanding will contribute toward the continued development of programs which strive to help refugee students optimize their abilities and help to facilitate their adaptation to the school systems and society at large. Guiding Research Questions 1. What are the background experiences and current situations of these Vietnamese students? 2. To what extent can multiple research approaches add to understanding the situation of adolescent Vietnamese refugees in U.S. schools? Chapter 2 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Cultural differences become cultural handicaps when the individual moves out of the culture or subculture in which he or she was reared and endeavors to function, compete or succeed within another culture (Anastasi, 1976, p. 346). To form a knowledge base for this study a review of the literature was conducted, focusing on refugee research and instrumentation. Refugee Research Uprooting and the subsequent efforts at adaptation are complex, multi-determined processes affecting numerous aspects of an individual's functioning. Residential migration, both intranational and international, adversely affects, at least temporarily, the social and emotional well-being of children (Downie, 1953; Johnson, 1988; Johnson & McCutcheon, 1980; Kantor, 1965 & 1969; Pederson & Sullivan, 1964; Stubblefield, 1965; Switzer, Hirschberg, & Meyers, 1961; Werkman, 1978 & 1979; Werkman, Farley, Butler, & Quayhagen, 1981). Migration has been associated with an increase in physical illness (Evans, 1987; Kasl & Berkman, 1983; King & Locke, 1987; Sheers & Lusty, 1987) and an increase in psychopathology (Berry, 1986; Berry & Kim, 1986; Malzberg & Lee, 1956; Tyhurst, 1971; ‘Westermeyer, 1986b). According to Evans (1987) migrants tend to have two 10 11 characteristics that can greatly affect the demand for services at the local level: they tend to be young and they tend to cluster in small geographic areas. The fact that they are young suggests that they will need a different set of education, health, and other services than the general population. The fact that they are geographically clustered suggests that the capabilities of schools, social services, and health care will tend to be overly stressed in the cluster areas. ThgiRefuqee Experience Involuntary migration or “coerced homelessness" (Keller, 1975) is the definitive psycho-social feature of the refugee (Ben-Porath, 1987; Carlin, 1986; Stein, 1986). Involuntary migration stems from the conclusion that life is no longer bearable in one’s homeland. This sets the refugee apart from other immigrants. According to migra- tion theory, immigrants are pulled to new lands, while refugees are pushed out of their homelands (Kunz, 1981). Refugees, unlike other immigrants, do not have the choice of returning home if they cannot cope with living in the new land. According to Lin (1986) refugees leave their homelands in varying degrees of unpreparedness, experience different kinds of pre—migration and migration trauma, and embrace their new lives with either enthusiasm or hesitation. Many have unrealistic expectations of their new lives (Stein, 1986). These expectations play key roles in the refugee’s 12 adaptation and behavior during resettlement. Lin (1986) lists six sources of stress for the refugee: 1) multiple and significant losses, 2) social isolation due to disruption of one's social support network, difficulties making new connections, and/or creating relationship problems by displacing anger or guilt onto sponsors or other refugees, 3) status inconsistencies such as having to accept jobs of much lower status than previously held, 4) culture shock, 5) accelerated modernization, and 6) minority status. For the refugee, stressors encountered prior to and during migration can take a substantial emotional toll that may effect behavior for years to come (Ben-Porath, 1987). Keller (1975) discovered three residual psychological characteristics that are likely to erupt: guilt, invulner- ability, and aggressiveness. Part of the refugee experience involves going through the stages of intercultural adaptation and the stages of grief simultaneously (Biagini, 1989; Rumbaut, 1985). In stage one, the "honeymoon stage" (Oberg, 1966) of intercul- tural adaptation, the refugee experiences euphoria and fascination mixed with numbness, shock, and disbelief. In stage two, referred to as the disintegration or crisis stage of intercultural adaptation, the refugee experiences culture shock such as overwhelming feelings of anxiety and frustration over everyday activities with exile shock which is the delayed realization that almost everything that l3 matters is beyond control (Biagini, 1989; Rumbaut, 1985). Common reactions are the absent-minded stare, feelings of helplessness, over-dependence on one's own language- cultural group, fits of anger over minor frustrations, great concerns over minor pains, and a terrible longing to be back home (Oberg, 1966). In stage three, the reintegration stage, an attempt is made to begin working out a fit between self and the new environment. The refugee experiences hostility and frus- tration over clash of values along with anger and frustra- tion with coping with life in general. In stage four, the autonomy stage, one begins to gain some knowledge of the language and to open up to the new cultural environment and not be so dependent on own language-cultural group. The refugee begins to accept and appreciate cultural similari- ties and differences along with a sense of hopefulness. In stage five, the adaptation stage, the refugee becomes bicultural, fully accepting and drawing nourishment from both cultures. This is mixed, however, with recurrent sadness over irretrievable losses. Refugee Families and Youth The extended family unit tends to be the single strongest influence in the lives of refugees, particularly for Southeast Asians (Santopietro & Lynch, 1980). Nicassio (1983) found that refugees who lacked familial support were at high risk for psychopathology, illustrating the 14 crucial role played by the family in refugee migration. Among the Southeast Asians extended families are of great importance. Loss of extended family networks resulted not only before and during migration, but extended family units were also split during resettlement (Brown, 1982; Timberlake & Cook, 1984). The result has been the creation of new "families" of distant relatives, friends, and even strangers who were also refugees. These networks serve many of the functions of the extended family. Refugee children and adolescents experience diffi- culties and hardships far beyond those of a normally developing child (Ben-Porath, 1987; Carlin, 1986; Nidorf, 1985). Looney (1979) found that most adolescent refugees face problems associated with suffering from cold and hun- ger, broken families, living with anxious adults, enduring long and mostly boring stays in refugee camps, and having to cope with small groups of bored troublemakers in those camps. Unaccompanied minors face all these difficulties alone, lacking the support and comfort from a family. Harding & Looney (1977) found that many of the Vietnamese children received strong emotional support from the multi- generational families and they adapted well to their new environment. However, children separated from their families demonstrated increased emotional vulnerability. Tran (1978) notes that, while some of the problems faced by Vietnamese refugee youths are intrapsychic, such as depres- sion, anxiety, or psychotic breakdown, the majority of the 15 problems are extrapsychic, such as problems in social adjustment, family conflicts, and school and job difficulties. Instrumentation A review of the literature suggests that research and testing have some unique challenges with Southeast Asians in the United States. Silverman (1985, p. 178-179) pro- vides a list of some of the problems: 1. The standardization of tests and measurements and their cultural relevance across populations. 2. The establishment of normative baseline rates for levels of functioning and dysfunctioning. 3. The categorization of the unique expression of psychological symptoms and response styles. Related to this would be the use of culturally specific coping skills. 4. The development of culturally relevant interventions and their generalizability to other settings. 5. The quantification of the effects of family and community as mediating variables. Concerns regarding the psychological testing of minorities have been debated since the 1960's. {A historical review of the controversy reveals past abuses in such testing. An underlying theme of the debate is that such tests are culturally biased (Cleary, Humphreys & Kendrick, 1975; Cordes, 1986; Jackson, 1975; Lambert, 1981). Tests are seen as gatekeepers, allowing the dominant culture access to important opportunities in the culture, while those from minority cultures are thought to be automatically penalized by the tests. 16 The scores obtained on groups of minorities are believed to be reflective of the test developer's prejudices rather than the ability of the people being tested. Obviously caution is warranted when doing research and testing across cultures. At the same time, it is important to recognize that the solution is not the elimination of tests. Research and testing can provide a BRIDGE to opportunity, if used appropriately (Williams, 1987). Researchers and practitioners should ensure that their assessment methods result in the best possible programs and services and are not used to discriminate against any individual or group. Guidelines for testing have been provided by a number of cross-cultural researchers. Jenson (1980, p. 637) pro- vided some ideas on how to make tests less "culture loaded" and more "culture reduced": CULTURE LOADED Paper-and-pencil tests Printed instruction No preliminary practice Reading required Pictorial (objects) Written response Separate answer sheet Language Speed tests Specific factual knowledge Difficulty based on rarity of content CULTURE REDUCED Performance tests Oral instruction Preliminary practice Purely pictorial Abstract figural Oral response Answers written on test Nonlanguage Power tests Abstract reasoning Difficulty based on complexity of relation eduction Even when a test is "culture reduced," bias may still exist. Brislin, Lonner and Thorndike (1973) caution that, 17 in cross-cultural applications, non-verbal, manipulative, and performance tests require as much careful adaptation as verbal tests. Some researchers and practitioners have suggested that cross-cultural assessments be administered by a professional with cross-cultural understanding -- preferably by a bilingual-bicultural professional (Irwin & Madden, 1986; Kinzie, Sack, Angell, Manson, & Rath, 1986; Williams, 1987). The reason is that misinterpretations result when the tester and the testee come from different backgrounds and do not understand the norms of the other. Affective expressions are especially susceptible to cross-cultural misinterpretations (Cuellar, 1982). Language is a major barrier impeding assessment of refugee students and requires the use of translation for written and oral communication. Brislin et al. (1973, p. 33) provided rules for writing translatable English: 1. Use short, simple sentences of less than 16 words. 2. Employ the active rather than passive voice. 3. Repeat nouns instead of using pronouns. 4. Avoid metaphors and colloquialisms. 5. Avoid the subjective mode (i.e. verbs with could or would). 6. Avoid adverbs and prepositions telling "where" or "when." 7. Avoid possessive forms where possible. 8. Use specific rather than general terms. 9. Avoid sentences with two different verbs if they suggest different actions. 10. Avoid words that indicate vagueness regarding some event or thing (e.g., probably and frequently). The original document to be translated from English to another language should be written in simple, 18 third-grade level English. Even then, one must be open to revisions since some sentences, no matter how simple, may be untranslatable (Brislin et al.,1973). One also needs to be selective in the choice of trans- lators. Problems, some of which have been detrimental to subjects/patients, have arisen from the use of translators who have not been properly screened and sufficiently trained (Westermeyer, 1986a). Content is another major issue when translating across cultures. A loss of linguistic meaning can result when translating from one language to another. Bernard (1988) advocated the use of back translation (see below) as a way to check for linguistic equivalence. Brislin (1980) suggested four ways to translate an instrument adequately: 1. Back Translation: This involves having a bilingual person translate the test into the target language and then having another bilingual person translate it from the target language back to the original language. This helps the test developer to locate any discrepancies. 2. Bilingual Technique: This is a step following back translation in which the two tests are given to a group of bilingual individuals to determine if there are any discrepancies in their responses between the two versions. This is an important step since the back translation may obtain identical linguistic meaning but not identical psychological meaning. 3. Committee of Bilinguals: A group of bilinguals do 19 the translating rather than an individual translator. This helps to eliminate any individual errors. 4. Pre-Testing: The completed instrument is pre-tested to insure that the material is understandable to the group for whom it is intended. Translating an instrument adequately is vital in any study. However, one must be alert to the fact that true equivalency is never achieved. "Since language is not only a means of communication but a way of perceiving and classifying the world of experience, exact translation from one language to another is virtually impossible" (Paul, 1953, p. 448). A major difficulty in the assessment of refugee students from Southeast Asia is that available tests may be inappropriate to their background and current situation. Compared to other immigrant groups, the new wave of South- east Asians are some of the most culturally distant from their host country (Stein, 1986). This factor, along with the myriad of differences within the Southeast Asian population itself, creates a complex task with regard to assessment. Several researchers and practitioners have suggested that the best way to screen for errors in research and assessment with this population is to rely on many differ- ent techniques and sources of information rather than just one (Carlin, 1986; Irwin & Madden, 1986; Nidorf, 1985; Williams, 1987). Their common recommendations are that 20 multiple methods should be used for research and testing, and that data and analysis must allow for the influence of specific cultural and environmental variables. Utilizing a multi-method ethnographic research design which explores cultural and environmental variables may be a foundational step toward helping refugee students optimize their abilities and helping to facilitate their adaptation to the school systems and to society at large. Summary Uprooting and adaptation are complex processes which affect many aspects of an individual’s functioning. Refu- gees differ from other immigrants due to the involuntary nature of their migration. They must simultaneously work through the stages of intercultural adaptation and the stages of grief. The refugee family becomes a major source of support and belongingness during immigration. Unaccom- panied children and adolescents must deal with the same hardships as other refugees, only without family comfort and support. In assessment, testing, and the designing of research instruments to be used with refugee youth, a number of issues must be carefully weighed, such as making sure the instruments are as culture-reduced as possible, are relevant to the background and experience of the refugee, are adequately translated, and are screened for errors through the use of multiple methods. Chapter 3 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY Researchers and practitioners have called for a con- textual approach to assessment and practice with refugee children and adolescents (Carlin & Sokoloff, 1985; Irwin & Madden, 1986; Kinzie, 1985; Lin, 1986; Nidorf, 1985). Given the complexity of the refugee youth's experience and development, it was assumed that no one theory can ade- quately provide a foundation for research, policy or, prac- tice with this population. Therefore, a tripartite frame- work was developed for this study, utilizing the ecological model, developmental theory and symbolic interaction theory. It was further assumed that multiple methods of data collection, rather than a single method, were neces- sary for providing a holistic picture of refugee youth. Thus, three methods were chosen: participant observation, surveys and the life history method. This chapter will explore the design and methodology utilized in this study. Theoretical Framework The Ecological Systems Model seems to be the most promising and appropriate in a study of refugee adolescents since it has a contextual focus and is flexible and broad enough to integrate multiple theories and a multi-disci- plinary approach. A framework able to accommodate a multi— disciplinary perspective is important in a study of 21 22 refugees since refugee research is not integrated and is widely scattered through many fields and disciplines, e.g., sociology, political science, education, anthropology, public health, relief and development, law, economics, social work, pediatrics, psychiatry (Stein 1986). There- fore, the Ecological Systems Model was chosen as the guid- ing conceptual framework for this study. The Ecological Systems Model The Ecological Systems Model begins with a broad holistic view before narrowing the field of inquiry to an indepth look at the problem (Auerswald 1971; Bubolz, Eicher, & Sontag, 1979). This approach emphasizes the properties of state and change in the individual, family, and their environments (Andrews, Bubolz, & Paolucci, 1980; Herrin & Wright 1988). Change is viewed holistically by focusing on both the maintenance/regulation of the status quo and on change, adaptation, and dynamics (M. Bubolz, personal communication, April, 1989). This holistic view of change is relevant in a study of refugee youths because change is one of the definitive features of the refugee experience (Ben-Porath, 1987; Keller, 1975; Landau, 1982; Lin, 1986: Stein, 1979, 1986; Szapocznik & Cohen, 1986; Timberlake & Cook, 1984). These changes involve multiple losses, (Rumbaut, 1985; Westermeyer, 1986b), changes in family (Gold, 1989; Landau, 1982; Lappin & Scott, 1982), and changes in culture, iden- tity, climate, status, social-relational skills, language, 23 perception, and even food and clothing (Anderson, n.d.; Aronowitz, 1984; Berry, 1986; Carlin, 1979, 1986; Gilzow, 1989; Huyck & Fields, 1981; Lin, 1986; Nidorf, 1985; Timberlake & Cook, 1984). Refugee youths and their families face the challenge of maintaining what is left of the status quo, e.g., retaining aspects of their culture, identity, family rules, and systems, while changing and adapting to the demands and expectations of a different country, a different culture, a different way of life. The following are the ecological assumptions that underlie this study. It is assumed that phenomena must be examined holistically -- in their wholeness of interaction and interdependence (Andrews et al., 1980; Bubolz et al., 1979; Hook & Paolucci, 1970), and that humans are part of the total life system and cannot be considered apart from all other living systems and environments surrounding them (Andrews et al., 1980; Hook & Paolucci, 1970). Humans are actors/proactors as well as reactors and are oriented toward satisfying needs at all levels-- physical, social, emotional. Thus, human behavior is assumed to be based on biological-physiological, psychosocial, and sociocultural influences. It is assumed that the nature of families is to carry out physical survival and maintenance functions as well as Psycho-social-cultural functions (Andrews et al., 1980). The family is a cybernetic system in which the action of one unit affects the other parts (Kantor & Lehr, 1975), and 24 that, as a system, the family requires both change and stability (Andrews et al., 1980; Kantor & Lehr, 1975). Three dimensions of the family which are assumed to influence its capacity to deal with stress and change are: 1) family cohesion, which is the degree of closeness/ emotional bonding and individual autonomy within the family system (Kantor & Lehr, 1975; Olson, Russell & Sprenkle, 1983; Olson, Sprenkle & Russell, 1979), 2) family adaptability, which is the ability to change family power structures, role relationships, and relationship rules in response to stress or change (Kantor & Lehr, 1975), and 3) family resources and capital, which are the biopsychosocial strengths of the family and the environmental and economic resources available to them (Doherty & Campbell, 1988; Melson, 1980). It is also assumed that feedback and feedforward processes are needed for goal-directed adapta- tion, and that families differ in degree of adaptability (Kantor & Lehr, 1975). Furthermore, family systems are relatively open systems and need interactions with other systems and environments in order to be viable. Families differ in degree of openness and boundary maintenance (Kantor & Lehr, 1975). The following are the ecological postulates that guided this study. Stress emerges when demands (needs) are unmet and/or when demands exceed resources/capabilities (MCCubbin & Patterson, 1986). Adaptation is achieved through reciprocal relationships, i.e., the "fit" between 25 the individual and family and their environments. Adoles- cent-to-family fit is achieved when the needs of the ado- lescent are met by the family and the needs of the family are met, in part, by the adolescent member. Adolescent- to-community fit is sought through reciprocal relationships in which the adolescent's capabilities are used to meet the community demands and community resources are available for the adolescent’s needs. Family-to-community fit is sought through reciprocal relationships in which the family's capabilities are used to meet community demands and community resources are available for the family's needs (McCubbin & Patterson, 1986). ngglonmgntal Theorv Developmental theory was incorporated into the theo- retical framework of this study since a study of refugee adolescents must necessarily address the developmental issues of the adolescent. Therefore the following developmental assumptions and postulations guided this study. Human development is assumed to be influenced by a progressively changing interaction of psychological, biological, and social forces (Crain, 1980; Erickson, 1963; Hill & Rogers, 1964). Certain phenomena reflecting this psychobiosocial interaction in the early stages of growth have high predictive power for understanding personality at later phases (Crain, 1980; Hill & Rogers, 1964). The family and its individual members must perform 26 certain time-specific tasks, i.e., physical, social, emotional, cognitive, set by themselves and by the larger society. Some of these tasks are "critical" and should be achieved around a certain time in life (Erickson, 1963; Havighurst,1953; Hill & Rogers, 1964; Hooper & Hooper, 1985). What these tasks are and when they should be achieved vary from culture to culture (Wagner & Stevenson, 1982). The successful achievement of one person's task is dependent on and contributes to the successful achievement by others in the family of their appropriate tasks (Hill & Mattessich, 1979; Waller & Hill, 1951). Accomplishment/ mastery of developmental tasks satisfies biological requirements, cultural imperatives and personal aspirations (Waller & Hill, 1951). Successful achievement of developmental tasks leads to "happiness and to success with later tasks, while failure leads to unhappiness in the individual, disapproval by the society, and difficulty with later tasks" (Havighurst, 1953, p. 2). Symbolic Interaction Theory Symbolic interaction theory was also included within the framework of this study since language, culture, and perceptions play critical roles in this paradigm (Burr, Hill, Nye, & Reiss, 1979; Hill & Hansen, 1960). These are relevant issues in a study of refugee youths since-refugees invariably experience clashes between the cultural values and expectations they grew up with and the cultural values 27 and expectations of the new country in which they are now living (Gilzow, 1989; F. V0cci, personal communication, March, 1989). In addition, for the refugee youth, there is a loss of the cultural givens that provide, in part, the "underpinnings" of the usual adolescent identity develop- ment (Nidorf, 1985). Therefore, the following Symbolic Interaction assumptions and postulates guided this study. We live in a symbolic as well as a physical environment (Burr et al., 1979; McCubbin & Patterson, 1986). We acquire complex sets of symbols in our minds and learn to value the worth or importance of the various symbols. Symbols are important in understanding human behavior. We decide what to do and not do primarily on the basis of symbols. Socialization occurs into a general culture as well as into various subcultures (Porter & Samovar, 1976). People engage in a process of "definition of the situation" based on the meanings/symbols they bring to the situation (Burr et al., 1979; MCCubbin & Patterson, 1986). Any human act involves symbolic interaction. Every child is part of a particular culture. From the moment of birth the culture into which the child is Iborn shapes his/her experiences and behavior (Benedict, 1959). No one is born free from other people who have relatively fixed ideas of what children should think and value and how they should be raised (Porter & Samovar, 1976). Culture is assumed, making behavior seem normal and 28 natural and leading people to assume that their particular culture is right or best (Porter & Samovar, 1976). The child’s culture serves a very useful social and psychologi- cal purpose -- it mediates the world and provides a sense of security, cohesiveness, and identity (Porter & Samovar, 1976). Each family creates its own world and its own local culture (Hess & Handel, 1959). Methods and Instrumentation Both qualitative and quantitative methods were utilized in this study. Brewer & Hunter (1989) suggest that multiple methods are more effective than single methods in research. Tripp-Reimer (1983) stated that, in order to obtain a comprehensive understanding of a topic, qualitative and quantitative data should be combined be- cause they provide "complementary data sets which together give a more complete picture than can be obtained using any method singly. Each has advantages and limitations; when fused, the positive aspects of both may be seen" (p. 179). Typically ethnography is eclectic in its use of data collection and analysis procedures (Goetz & LeCompte, 1984). Triangulation, the act of bringing more than one source of data to bear on a single point, is a concept «derived from navigational science that has been effectively applied to social science research (Denzin, 1978). Tri- angulating with many data sources is a way to corroborate, clarify, elaborate, and illuminate the research data. In addition, triangulation helps to prevent the researcher 29 from accepting too readily the validity of initial impres- sions (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Rossman & Wilson, 1985). Observation Observation was chosen as one of the methods of data collection because it is a valuable way of obtaining information about individual and group behavior and provides the researcher with direct access to phenomena under study. According to Douglas (1976), "Direct experience is the most vital basis of the researcher's further methods of getting at the truth" (p. 108). The strengths of observation in data collection are numerous. It is fairly easy to categorize data for analysis, useful for providing contextual data of the current environment, and easy to administer and manage. Observation is useful for collecting data in natural settings, discovering complex interactions and patterns of behavior, obtaining data on nonverbal behavior and communi- cation, and for facilitating the discovery of nuances in culture. In addition, observation is valuable in facili- tating analysis, validity checks, and triangulation. Idfe Historv and the Langpage Experience Approach A.second method that was chosen was the Language Experience Approach with the Life History data collection technique. As a method, the Language Experience approach provides students with the opportunity to utilize their own experiences and vocabulary as a basis for learning to read 30 (A. Whiren, personal communication, February, 1989). It was initially designed to be used with teaching children to read in their dominant language (Balajthy, 1989; Durkin, 1983; Franklin, 1988; Genishi, 1988; Sampson, 1988; Searfoss & Readence, 1985). Currently the approach is also being advocated as a tool for teaching second language learning (Dixon & Nessel, 1983; Loughlin & Martin, 1988; A. Whiren, personal communication, March 1989). The Life History method is useful for defining the growth of a person in a cultural mileu (Marshall & Rossman, 1989) and for examining the perceptions of social and natural relationships, the patterns of beliefs and the conceptualizations of past events (Hammersley & Atkinson, 1983; Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Pelto & Pelto (1979) note that the "richness and personalized nature of life histories afford a vividness and integration of cultural information that are of great value" (p. 76). Combining the Life History method with the Language Experience approach was assumed to be a less threatening method for the students in this study than the traditional method of life history interviewing. According to Whyte (1982), there are times when verbal communication will not be adequate in eliciting information. It was assumed that the young people might be intimidated by sitting face-to-face with an interviewer and talking about their life. In addition, drawing would allow the less verbal students the opportunity to share aspects of their life 31 story in a nonverbal way. The Life History method combined with the Language Experience Approach has a number of strengths. It facil- itates COOperation of the participants, is fairly easy and efficient to administer and manage, and is good for docu- menting major events, crises, social conflicts, and percep- tions. It is also useful in facilitating the discovery of nuances in culture. Drawings generated by this tool are not analyzed in a projective way, but simply for content as is common in anthropological studies. Klepsch and Logie (1982) advo- cated the use of drawings with those who have speech and language barriers. They stated that "while the use of multiple measures is always recommended, drawings should not fail to be one of them" (p. 11). Drawings add a dimension not tapped by self-report or observation (Burns, 1987, 1982). Coles (1967) suggested that "each child's particular life -- his age, his family, his neighborhood, his medical and psychological history, his intelligence -- influences ‘what and how he draws" (p. 45). Furthermore, children's drawings are affected by their "racial background and what that 'fact' means in their particular world (society) at that.particular time (period of history)" (p. 45). Drawings have been found to be useful to those working With Southeast Asians (Burch & Powell, 1980 ; Downs, Lynch and Paulsen, 1984; Rosenblatt, 1983). 32 Surxexs Self-administered surveys were the third method of data collection chosen for this study. The survey method has a number of strengths. It is easy to manipulate and categorize data for analysis, easy and efficient to administer and manage, and uSeful in facilitating analysis, validity checks, and triangulation. Research Design The ideal research design for this study would begin with observations at the start the school year and follow through to the end of the school year. Observations of the students would be done in ESL/bilingual classes and main- stream classes. Where possible, participant observation would be desirable, particularly for establishing a coop- erative relationship with teachers, bilingual staff, and students as well as for providing additional insights. Observation of behavior would be used to obtain descriptive information and to supplement and confirm data obtained by other methods. Surveys would then be developed based on observations and supplemented by review of the literature. The surveys and other methods developed for this study would seek to tap themes various researchers and practitioners consider to be essential in understanding refugee youths from Southeast Asia (Ben-Porath, 1987; Biagini, 1989; Carlin, 1986; Irwin & Madden, 1986; Kinzie, 1985; Nidorf, 1985; 33 Tobin & Friedman, 1984). These themes are as follows: life in homeland with a focus on education, socioeconomic background, health and development, family, trauma, and the problems of war; the escape process; life in the refugee camps such as length of time there, family, and conditions in the camps; adjustment to the U.S. with a focus on losses, expectations and perceptions, adaptation, problems, aspirations and worries, and family. Concerns regarding content, wording, translatability, and cultural appropriateness are relevant to the utilization of the survey method with refugee students. Therefore, the content, cultural appropriateness, and translatability of the surveys would be critiqued and, where necessary, revised by a committee of bilingual professionals. Following this, the surveys would be translated into the first language of the students by a committee of bilingual professionals. Since some of the young people may read better in English than in their first language, the ideal would be to have one version of each survey with the translation directly above or below the English questions for the purpose of equivalency. Bilingual research assistants may be necessary in a study with refugee/immigrant students. Thus, the ideal design would include adequate instruction and training of these assistants in the purpose of the study, instruction in their role and the necessity of confidentiality, instruction and practice in the administration of the 34 surveys with the opportunity for feedback regarding necessary revisions, and a general overview of the methodological and theoretical framework of the study. Where possible, potential bilingual assistants would be screened according to qualities that would enhance or hinder a study with adolescent refugees, particularly by screening for bias and prejudice toward certain subgroups among their own people. Additional training in interview techniques may be necessary if some of the participating students are not able to read well enough in English or in their first language to complete the surveys on their own. Therefore, those students would be interviewed. The interview would consist of reading the survey questions and writing down the answers given by the students. These interviews would be done individually and in a room that ensures complete privacy. Surveys would be administered with a time gap of at least one week between each survey. Surveys written in first language would be translated into English by the bilingual assistants. Students would be given a two month period or more to work on life histories. These could be done as class assignments with all the students or with a select group in the study. Ideally these assignments would be written in English to avoid the time consuming task of translation. After gathering the data from observation, surveys, and life histories, the researcher would organize, 35 triangulate, and analyze the data. Background of the Researcher In any research study, it is important to know a little of the background of a researcher since bias cannot help but infiltrate various aspects of the study. This researcher approached this study from a cross-cultural background. Her experiences have been among ethnic cultures in Central America, such as Indians, other Central Americans, Arabs, Israelis, and Chinese. She had a similar experience as the students she was studying -- that of entering a school in another country and attempting to adapt socially and perform academically with the handicap of not understanding the language or culture. In addition, because she was sent to the United States for high school while her family remained in Central America, she is aware of what it is like to be an adolescent who must adjust culturally and socially without the support of family. Though she has not been to Vietnam and does not know the language, she did not enter this study blindly. She has attended seminars addressing the issues of Vietnamese students at the annual Bilingual/Migrant Education confer- ence, was a participant-visitor in an ESL/bilingual class as part of an independent study, and has friends and acquaintances who are Vietnamese. 36 Implementation This study was conducted in West Michigan. One ESL/bilingual program was chosen because of the proximity of its sites to the researcher. Three high schools which were magnet centers of the program became sites of the study because the students in these schools were adoles- cents (Chapter 4). A fourth magnet center was excluded because it was an elementary school, and the students were younger than 12 years old. Where the data required that distinctions be made between the three sites, they are referred to as school #1, school #2, and school #3. After obtaining UCRIHS permission (Michigan State University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects), written permission was obtained from the director of the ESL/bilingual program and the principals of the high schools. Next a meeting was held with the Vietnamese bilingual staff to explain the nature and purpose of the study and to ask for volunteer help with the project.‘ As noted above, the researcher has not been to Vietnam and does not speak Vietnamese. Therefore, Vietnamese bilingual staff played a critical role in this study as translators and interviewers. In addition, they were valuable "culture brokers" (Chambers, 1985) to the researcher throughout this study. There were five Vietnamese bilingual volunteers, four women and one man. They all were full-time paraprofes- sionals or substitute paraprofessionals in the local L‘——_—___- 37 ESL/Bilingual program. They all participated in the translation work. Three, two women and one man, also participated as interviewers. The parents/guardians of all the adolescent Vietnamese students (ages 12-20) in this program were contacted by a letter written in their dominant language and informing them of the study. The letter was accompanied by an informed consent form (Appendix A). Those students whose parents/guardians permitted their participation in the study were informed of the nature and purpose of the study. It was made clear to the students that they had the right to decline participation. Those who were willing to participate had the option of verbal or written informed consent. The oral informed consent contained the same wording as the written consent form. At the beginning of this study there was a potential total of 42 adolescent Vietnamese students as participants. Two of these students were not permitted by the parents to participate. Two other students who were permitted did not want to participate. Thus, a total of 38 students were permitted/willing to be part of the study. However, two more left school prior to the administration of the surveys, dropping the total to 36 participants. Twenty— six were male and 10 were female (Table 2). Due to time constraints, this study did not meet the ideal framework of one full school year but, instead, covered the months of December through April. Because of 38 Table 2: Participants Ethnicity Male Female Total Ethnic Vietnamese 18 4 22 Amerasian 5 5 10 Sino-Vietnamese 3 3 Ethnic Chinese 1 1 —26— T —3—6— the limited time, observation did not precede and thus did not contribute to survey development. Therefore, the two self-administered surveys (Appendix B) which were utilized in this study were based on the literature mentioned above and included those factors and variables. While the ideal may be to have a more open-ended ethnographic interview, the language and time limitations of the researcher made this impossible. The use of trans- lators and interviewers was a must. The need to control the amount of data to be translated and the need to control for interviewer effects required the more structured ap- proach. Since a panel of experts in the field of refugee research with adolescents from Vietnam was not available to the researcher, a group of experts on the culture of 39 Vietnam and the refugee experience were used -- the Vietnamese bilingual paraprofessionals. The English version of the surveys was administered to and critiqued by the bilingual paraprofessionals. Following this, trans- lations of the surveys were made into Vietnamese using back translation and a committee of bilinguals which consisted of three bilingual paraprofessionals and two former para- professionals from the same program. One training meeting was conducted with the three full-time Vietnamese paraprofessionals. The content of the meeting was as follows: 1) instruction in interview tech- niques and administration of surveys, 2) instruction in maintaining confidentiality, 3) practice in administering the surveys with one another, 4) feedback regarding need for further revisions, 5) provision of a framework for the participating staff by the researcher, i.e., a contextual- ized theory of development with these particular students in mind and based on refugee research, child development, and the Ecological Model. The inclusion of instruction in interview techniques was necessary since some of the students in the study were unable to read well enough in either language to complete the surveys on their own. The researcher observed the students in their class- rooms to describe the behavior of Vietnamese adolescents in U.S. schools. Observations were done in the ESL and mainstream classes as well as at school parties for Christmas and the Vietnamese New Year. In the ESL and 40 mainstream classes the researcher was introduced as a student who was visiting classes in the high school. At school #3 the researcher was a participant observer in the role of tutor for the Vietnamese students and, occasional- ly, as translator for the Spanish speaking students. ‘Observational data were recorded in narrative form using general guidelines. First was sketching out the floor plan of the class(es), then recording who was present, then noting general characteristics and verbal and nonverbal behavior and communications. The surveys were administered with a time gap of two weeks between each survey. Two students at school #1, two students at school #2, and three students at school #3 were interviewed by the paraprofessionals because they were unable to read well enough, as determined by the ESL teachers, to complete the survey on their own. Surveys that were completed in Vietnamese were translated into English by one of the paraprofessionals. The life history instructions were given to the ESL teachers by the researcher (Appendix C). These assignments were administered by the teachers and were done by all the students during class. The teachers then gave the participating students the option of whether or not to have their work included in the study. Those assignments which were permitted to be in the study were then given to the researcher by the teachers. Thirty students contributed at least one writing and/or drawing assignment. Twenty-four 41 contributed at least two assignments, 17 contributed three, and 16 contributed four. While the ideal was to have all the students write in English, this was impossible at school #3. Therefore, the design was modified to allow them to write in Vietnamese. With the exception of one student, all the students at school #3 wrote in Vietnamese. The bilingual paraprofes- sional at that school translated their writings into English. After gathering the materials from the surveys and life histories, the researcher organized and analyzed the data. Triangulation of data was a major factor in the analysis stage. Findings and Analysis The findings were organized into chapters which follow the historical periods of the students' lives, from their growing up years in Vietnam, through escape, refugee camps, and arrival and adjustment in the United States. A dis- tinct chapter was devoted to the Amerasian students because they provide some contrast insights on Vietnamese refugee students. All data on the surveys and life histories are based on the students' perceptions of their experiences and cur— rent situations. Quotations included in the findings are taken from the students writings as well as from the researcher's field notes. Unless otherwise indicated, quotes by the students are as they wrote them in English. Fi— 42 Quotes that are translated from Vietnamese are indicated by an asterisk (*). The criteria for selection of writings to include in the findings involved trying to get at least one male and one female and/or one student from each school. There were no repeats from a single student in a category. An additional criteria, where possible, involved trying to include writings which had accompanying drawings. Drawings which were included with or without accompanying writings were chosen on the basis of illustrative purposes, expressiveness, and whether or not they were clear enough to be reproduced. Since one of the main purposes of this study was to explore the problem area, it was necessary to leave open many aspects of the research process. The analysis was an ongoing process as well as a final stage in this study. Analysis included categorization. Properties of a category were discovered by listing how all units were alike and how they differed from units outside the category. Core properties were then used to develop definitions of the categories. Sorting data into categories was followed by establishing the frequency with which phenomena occurred. Analysis also involved the establishment of link- ages. This was done by comparing and contrasting, by inference, and by identifying underlying associations. According to Goetz and LeCompte (1984), "Guidance for establishing linkages, for the ethnographer, comes from 43 asking questions of participants as well as checking alternative groupings and ordering of specific events in triangulation" (p. 172). A final component of the analysis was speculation. This involved asserting that relationships among constructs occurred often enough to be more than chance happenings. The variety of experiences and characteristics within this particular group of students provided variance. Without this variance the conclusions would not necessarily be the same. Much of the data from the surveys was organized into sets of frequency distributions. Findings from the surveys, direct observation, and life histories were synthesized and compared to see the extent to which they provide new insights for helping Vietnamese adolescent refugees adapt/adjust to school and life in the United States. Limitations of the Study Concerns regarding validity and reliability are difficult issues to resolve in an ethnographic study. However, if a study is to be considered legitimate, it must seek to have as much control as possible over threats to validity and reliability. On the other hand, one cannot judge, or expect to judge, the reliability and validity of an ethnographic design as one would judge an experimental design (Douglas, 1976; Goetz & LeCompte, 1984; Marshall & Rossman, 1989; Tripp-Reimer, 1985). 44 Internal Validity Internal validity, or credibility, an alternative concept proposed by Lincoln & Guba (1985), may be the strength of an exploratory/descriptive study. As Marshall & Rossman (1989) note, "the complexities of variables and interactions will be so embedded with data derived from the setting that it cannot help but be valid within the parameters of that setting, population and theoretical framework" (p.145). The following are threats to the internal validity of this study. The first is observer effects. Observation may have affected the behavior of the students. This threat was reduced by checking with the teacher as to whether this was typical behavior of the students and the extent to which the researcher's presence may have had some effect. The researcher also sought to reduce this threat by remaining as unobtrusive as possible, such as sitting in the back of the room out of the eyesight of most students. The researcher's own personal-cultural frame of reference most likely produced observer effects through her perceptions of what was occurring. This threat was minimally controlled by recording only WHAT was happening and leaving out interpretations. Where interpretations were necessary, they were recorded in a separate notebook. In addition, this threat was reduced by using the bilingual volunteers as "culture brokers" and checking their perceptions of the behavior and interactions. 45 Some of the students who were interviewed, due to inability to read the questionnaires in English or in Vietnamese, may have reacted to interviewer effects. There was little way to control for this. A second threat to internal validity is the selection of the participants. There may have been differences between those who chose/were allowed to participate in the study and those who refused/were not been allowed to parti— cipate. This threat to internal validity was partially accounted for by observing differences in their behavior in the classroom(s). Mortality is a third threat to internal validity. This could not be controlled since students were given the choice of dropping out of the study at any point. In addition, student turnover rate was particularly high in school #3. While mortality could not be controlled, it was carefully accounted for in this study. A fourth threat is spurious conclusions. This threat was reduced by the use of alternative and corroborating sources of data. While this study was not able to identify the precise causes of phenomena, as no research design can, the design did aid in specifying "an array of the most plausible causes and designating among them the most probable" (Goetz & LeCompte, 1984, p. 223). External validity External validity, or transferability, an alternative concept proposed by Lincoln & Guba (1985), is problematic 46 in this study if one attempts to apply it to other popula- tions and settings. However, this lack of generalizability does not lessen the usefulness of the study for the context in which it was made. According to Marshall and Rossman (1989), a study that ties the research to a body of theory and triangulates multiple sources of data can be general- ized and transferable to those who make policy or design research studies within those same parameters. Internal Reliability Internal reliability, or confirmability, an alterna- . tive concept proposed by Lincoln & Guba (1985), addresses the concerns that the natural subjectivity of the research- er will shape the research. One of the primary safeguards against unreliability was the utilization of concepts from a theoretical framework that informed the study. This provided "an anchor for consistency from which legitimate, well-explicated departures can be made" (Goetz & LeCompte, 1984, p. 220). Another check for reliability in this study was the use of bilingual research assistants to check whether what the researcher was seeing and recording and understanding ‘were similar to what the bilingual teachers and students were seeing/meaning. Confirmation was sought for various levels of the data collection and analysis process such as descriptions of events and interactions, interpretation of meanings and explanation of overall processes. An additional check for researcher bias was to 47 indicate the theoretical assumptions underlying the study and the background of the researcher. External Reliability External reliability, or dependability, an alternative concept proposed by Lincoln & Guba (1985), addresses the issue of whether an independent researcher would discover the same phenomena in the same or similar settings. Ap- proaching external reliability is more difficult for ethnographers than for practitioners of other research models due to the nature of an ethnographic study (Goetz & LeCompte, 1984). It requires attempting to account for changing conditions in the phenomena as well as changes in design which result from increasingly refined understanding (Marshall & Rossman, 1989). The researcher sought to enhance the external reli- ability by recognizing and handling the following major problems. The first was researcher status position. Goetz & LeCompte (1984) note that "In some ways no ethnographer can replicate the findings of another because the flow of information is dependent on the social role held within the group" (p. 214). This was complex for this study since it involved not only the status of the researcher but of the bilingual volunteers as well. The researcher handled this problem by making sure that the research report clearly identified the roles and statuses. A second threat to external reliability is informant choices. Since each 48 individual informant has access to unique and idiosyncratic information, this threat to reliability was handled by careful description of those who provided the data. Social situations and conditions pose another problem to external reliability. This threat was handled by describing the social, interpersonal, and physical contexts within which data were gathered. A fourth threat was analytic con— structs and premises. This threat to external reliability was reduced by explicitly stating the theories and assump- tions guiding the study. A fifth problem involved methods of data collection and analysis. Since replicability is impossible without precise identification and thorough description of strategies used to collect data, the re- searcher sought to be as precise as possible throughout the research process. This involved describing how data were acquired and how materials from various sources were integrated. Summary This is an ethnographic study of 36 adolescent Vietnamese students in a west Michigan ESL/bilingual program. The study was designed within a tripartite theoretical framework: the ecological systems model, developmental theory, and symbolic interaction theory. Multiple methods of data collection were utilized, particularly participant observation, life histories, and Surveys. These were triangulated in the findings. Chapter 4 FINDINGS I: THE SCHOOLS This chapter provides a brief, contextual overview of the participating ESL/Bilingual program and the schools which served as sites for the study. Much of the information comes from observation and conversations with the ESL/bilingual teachers. Historical Context For the first 150 years of our nation, bilingual education was a given (Lyons, 1990). Until World War I, all the school districts in such cities as Cincinnati, Milwaukee, and Detroit taught in German and English and utilized immigrant teachers. Following World War I, how- ever, language became equated with loyalty and patriotism. Germans were the largest minority group. Twenty states passed laws that made it a criminal offense to preach or teach in German. By 1920 there was no more bilingual education. There was also a decline in the teaching of foreign languages in schools. During World War II foreign languages gained in importance as the U.S. department of defense recruited German and Italian speakers to intercept :messages, Japanese speakers as interpreters, and Mohawk and Navaho Indians as code talkers to pass messages. These ‘were the only codes never to be broken. In 1968 Congress, prompted by the Civil rights act and 49 50 by a study that showed a high dropout rate of minority youth from school, passed the 1968 Bilingual Education Act (Padilla, 1983). The Bilingual Act, however, "did not require anything of local school districts; it merely gave them money to do something about their failure to educate minority language students" (Padilla, 1983, p. x). Because of the lack of specific guidelines, several different theories and methods of teaching emerged. Cur- rently, there are three major methods being used: 1. Maintenance Program: All subjects are taught in native tongue except one period daily of English (Johnson, 1985). 2. Transitional Program: Provides intensive instruc- tion in English supported by instruction in native language in order to integrate the students into mainstream classes (Johnson, 1985). 3. English as a Second Language (ESL) Program: Intense study of English skills, stressing mastery of grammar and phonology so that the students can acquire the skills to help them communicate with their teachers in the :monolingual classroom (Henderson, 1972). Because of the lack of specific guidelines and the llait of competitive grants, school districts have often had t1) drop one type of program for another in order to meet tflae current administration's requirements (Lyons, 1990). In.addition, political and educational debates seem to have divided the ranks of bilingual educators, administrators, 51 and policy makers. Furthermore, the need to compete for limited resources/funding, has not been conducive to promoting cooperation between the various ESL/Bilingual programs. .As a result, though Bilingual Education has been in existence for almost two decades, little seems to have been accomplished in the area of well-defined programs. The Local ESL/Bilingual Program Prior to 1986, bilingual students within the local five-district consortium were either enrolled in the nearby metropolitan Bilingual program or were sent to the Adult ESL program at the local Community Education facility. The problems with these options were: 1. To attend the metropolitan program, students were bussed out of their district which involved the cost of tuition and transportation to the district. 2. Those attending ESL classes were placed with adult learners, with adult curriculum, to acquire functional English language skills before beginning academic studies. Because of the needs of these students and their increasing number in the area, a local ESL/Bilingual program for K-12 bilingual students was implemented to Serve the five districts. The program is funded by a Categorical grant, which is an automatic grant for any Program meeting the criteria. Each year the amount of.money for categorical grants is spread widely throughout the state of.Michigan. The money is divided between all the programs which 52 meet the criteria. The amount varies from year to year depending on hOW'MUCh money is available. It ranges from $200 to $300 per head. On the fourth Friday of the month of September the ESL/bilingual student count is taken in each school and sent to the State Department of Education. Our program also receives pro-rated state aid and categorical funding for wards of the court. .Many ESL/bilingual programs supplement the categorical grants with competitive grants, but these grants are so competitive that small programs such as ours that are under 100 students aren’t even considered. The competitive grants tend to be given only to large metropolitan programs or to language groups never funded. Because we don’t have adequate funding we don’t have enough books and materials (ESL teacher). The ESL/Bilingual program in this study is a transi- tional program, which is required in the state of Michigan. At the request of the district superintendents, the program was designed to be a half-day program in order to keep the students in their home school mainstream class(es) for part of the day. The half-day program involves a block of three hours and includes the following: lst Hour: ESL English 2nd Hour: Content Area Tutoring which involves bilingual tutoring and integration of language skills with mainstream class assignments 3rd Hour: ESL-World Geography and alternate years U.S. History. Regular Social Studies credit granted. Students may take the maximum of three hours or may be assigned one or two of the hours depending on their area of 53 need. The aim is for students to pass through the program in a maximum of three years. If students are not ready to be fully mainstreamed after three years, they may choose to have one hour of content area tutoring in place of a study hall. Readiness for full mainstream is based on a combi- nation of English Language Proficiency levels and Academic/ Literacy levels. This program uses six English Language Proficiency levels in assessing students. At the monolingual level the student does not understand, speak or write English, but may know a few isolated words/expressions. At the beginner level students understand simple sentences, especially if spoken slowly and they speak only isolated words and short phrases. At the low intermediate level, students, with effort and help, can carry on a conversation in English and understand at least parts of lessons, and follow simple directions. The high intermediate is the stage at which the student speaks and understands English without too much difficulty and has an adequate but limited vocabulary. Quite often students at this level display low achievement which is indicative of language interference. At the advanced level the student speaks and understands both English and the home language without difficulty, and displays normal academic achievement fer grade level. Hewever, the student spends much more time preparing fOr assignments than his English-speaking peers and has difficulty processing new or technical information without the help of a tutor. .At the proficiency level the student has no difficulty with English and maintains grade level with the same effort as his English-speaking peers. There are five academic/literacy levels. .At level one the student is illiterate in own language and English. At level two the student is five or more (years below grade level. At level three the student is three to four years below grade level. .At level four the student is one to two years below grade level. At level five the student is at grade level (ESL teacher). Schools #1 and #2, two of the sites for this study, are the magnet centers of the half-day program for high 54 schoolers and middle schoolers. A third magnet center for the half day program is in an elementary school for the younger group of students and therefore was not included in this study. The fourth magnet center, School #3, is a full-day program and served as the third site for this study. School #1 Located on a large campus in a suburban neighborhood, school #1 is dominated by professional, upper middle class families. However, large apartment complexes have recently been built nearby and thus the school is serving more lower income groups. School #1 is considered one of the best in the area. The school building is a large one story building which spreads into multiple wings. The rooms, like the campus, are large, attractive, and well-equipped. From 11:30 to 2:30 a large science room becomes an ESL classroom. Students are divided into three main groups according to English Language Proficiency Levels. The beginner to low intermediate level group sits in a semi- circle, closely facing a blackboard at one side of the room. In the back of the room are three round tables. At one of these tables a bilingual teacher works with the monolingual group. And in the front of the room the high intermediate level students work with an ESL teacher and a bilingual tutor. 55 The Students The students in the ESL/classes at school #1 are mostly drawn from its own building with some of the students coming from two nearby middle schools. There are 32 students enrolled in these classes. Twenty-one are male and 11 are female. Thirty percent of the students are early adolescent, ages 12—14, 65% are middle adolescent, ages 15-17, and 15% are late adolescent, ages 18-19. Five percent of the students are in their first year of the program, 55% are in their second year, and 30% are in their third year. With the exception of two female Arab students, the students in these classes are Asian (Table 3). The domi- nant group is Vietnamese, particularly Vietnamese males. The Teachers One ESL teacher and three paraprofessionals work with the students. The ESL teacher is an Anglo-American in her mid 308. She has been involved in ESL programs for 15 years, starting out as an aid when she was in high school. She has been with this program since its beginning four years ago. The ESL paraprofessional is an Anglo-American and in her 40s. She has been working with this program for three years. One of the bilingual paraprofessionals is Vietnamese and in her 408. She escaped Vietnam in 1978 because she was in danger of being sent to a concentration camp for having worked with a foreign embassy prior to 1975. She 56 Table 3: Student Population at School #1 Race Ethnicity Male Female Total Asian Vietnamese 15 4 19 Chinese 3 1 4 Korean 2 2 4 Cambodian 2 l 3 Middle Arabic 2 2 Eastern ____ ____ ____ 21 10 31 has been in the U.S. for 11 years and has her degree in Chemistry. The other bilingual paraprofessional is also Vietnamese and in her 405. She left Vietnam in 1986 because her husband was imprisoned by the communists and because she wanted to reunite with her sons who had escaped to the U.S. She was a secretary and elementary teacher in Vietnam and has been in the U.S. two years. School #2 Located in a crowded, business/residential area off a busy main street, school #2 serves mostly factory working/ blue collar families. Since space is at a minimum in the area, the school is built on a small plot of land and is a 57 three-story building. While the external environment is crowded, the inside of the building is very comfortable and roomy, with carpet- ed halls. The inside of the building is rectangular, with an attractive library and cafeteria in the center on the first floor. From 8:10 to 11:10 a large resource room in the center of the second floor becomes the ESL/Bilingual class- room. It is a rectangular room divided into three main sections lengthwise by dividers. One of these sections is further divided into two areas for individual study. Two doors located in the back of the room open into two small conference rooms. As in school #1, the students in school #2 are divided into three main groups. The monolingual group meets in a section at the end of the room, the beginner to low inter- mediate group meets in one of the conference rooms, and the high intermediate level students meet in the larger middle section of the room. The Students The students in these classes are drawn from five other schools besides school #2. Two of the schools are middle schools located in the same business area and serve the same population as school #2. Two other schools are located in rural areas, one serving a conservative agricultural community and the other serving a mixture of upper middle class and farmers. The fifth school is in a ‘r 58 poor district in the city. Fifty percent of the students are in their first year in the program, 30% are in their 2nd year, and 20% are in their third year. Twenty-three students are enrolled in these classes. Eighty-three percent are male and 17 percent are female. Eighteen percent of the students are early adolescents, 78% are middle adolescents, and 4% are late adolescents. There is a wide variety of racial and ethnic groups in this population (Table 4). .As in school #1, the dominant group is Vietnamese males. The Teachers The same four teachers who work in school #1 work with the students in school #2. School #3 In 1989, the ESL/Bilingual program was expanded to include an alternative to the half-day program. Thus school #3 became a fourth magnet center. It provides al- ternative schooling for refugee/immigrant youth who are be- tween 15 and 21 years old and who are three or more years below grade level. It is also for high risk refugee/immi- grant youth who are in danger of dropping out of school, and for the refugee/immigrant youth who are academically motivated but not succeeding in the traditional school setting and who could benefit from a more individualized program. 59 Table 4: Student Population at School #2 Race Ethnic Group Male Female Total Asian Vietnamese 11 3 14 Korean 1 1 Filipino 1 1 European Hungarian 2 2 Rumanian 1 1 German 1 1 Latin Puerto Rican 2 1 3 MIddle Pakistani 1 1 Eastern 20 4 24 The program works in cooperation with other high school completion programs in the building to mainstream the students -- one student this year is taking two main- Stream classes: typing and business machines -- and with an area skills center. After one year of intensive ESL and basic skills instruction, the students will be provided the opportunity to take classes part of the day at the skills center and to work toward specific job skills training ‘While continuing their education with the short range goal 60 of earning a high school diploma. The goal of this program is to provide the students with the opportunity to follow dual paths of school and work. Located in a one-story community education facility off a busy main street, school #3 serves a mixture of people, most of whom are poverty level or on welfare. Besides housing the alternative program for refugee/immi- grant youth, school #3 also houses a high school completion program, an alternative high school program for pregnant teens/teen mothers, an ESL program for adults, and an Adult Basic Education program. The building’s cafeteria also serves the students from the second building: a group of adults who are certified Mentally Impaired, a group of handicapped students, a group of welfare clients who are mandated by social services to take classes as a stipu- lation for receiving welfare checks, and students in a High School Completion program. One half of the building is sectioned off for the alternative education high school for pregnant teens/teen mothers who appear to be the dominant population in the building. At lunchtime the hallways erupt with noisy aetivity as toddlers, teens and adults of different color and nationalities gravitate toward the cafeteria. To the right of the entrance of the building is the Classroom for the refugee/immigrant youths. It is a small room with three rectangular tables that seem to take up the Whole room. There is a study carrel with headphones and 61 tape recorder and a computer with programs for math. On a side wall is a map of the world and two student crayon drawings of the flag of Vietnam and the flag of Honduras. The schedule is as follows: 8:30 - 9:00 Independent study 9:00 - 10:00 ESL: Personal living/VOcational Skills 10:00 10:15 Break 10:15 11:30 ESL: Reading and spelling 11:30 - 12:00 Lunch 12:00 - 1:00 Social studies and science 1:00 - 1:15 Break 1:15 — 2:30 Math and writing The Students All the students are in their first year in this ESL/Bilingual program. Two, a male and a female, have been in the U.S. for a few years. The rest have been in the U.S. eight months or less. The composition of this group has changed so many tiJnes that it is difficult to give a single description. Therefore, Table 5 portrays the changing composition of the 011188. For most of the time the group consisted of all 'Vi£atnamese, with the dominant group being Amerasian. In the 6th month of the school year, two Honduran males joined the class. Sixty percent of the students are middle adolescents aIUd 40% are late adolescent. There are no early adolescents in this group. 62 Table 5: Student Population at School #3 Mbnth Ethnic Group Male Female Total September Ethnic Vietnamese 1 1 2 Amerasian 4 1 5 Laotian 3 3 8 2 1 November Ethnic Vietnamese 1 1 2 Amerasian 3 l 4 4 2 6 February Ethnic Vietnamese 1 1 2 Amerasian 2 3 5 Honduran 2 2 5 4 9 April Ethnic Vietnamese 1 2 3 Amerasian 4 5 9 Honduran 2 2 7 7 l4 63 The Teachers The teacher of the students at school #3 is an Anglo-American in her 503. She has her degree in Special Education and has taught ESL for five years and Job Club for ten years. The bilingual paraprofessional is a Vietnamese male in his mid 20s. He came to the U.S. nine years ago as an unaccompanied minor at age 16. He graduated from a high school and Bible college in the U.S. This is his first year teaching in a bilingual program. Summary The participating ESL/Bilingual Program is basically a transitional half-day program. Three of the four magnet centers are high schools and served as the sites for this study. School #1 has the largest group of ESL students and is located in an area which serves mostly upper middle class and professional families. School #2 has the second largest number of students, is located in an area serving mostly blue collar families, and is the most racially mixed. School #3 is an alternative program for adolescents who are three or more years below grade level. The school is located in a building which serves mostly poverty level/welfare populations. Chapter 5 FINDINGS II: GROWING UP IN‘VIETNAM I was born on the Earth in South Vietnam. I lived there about fifteen years before I came to the united States (17 year old male). This chapter is the beginning of a journey, a journey in the footsteps of a group of adolescent Vietnamese. Through their own words and drawings they share the personal side of each step of the journey, starting with their life in Vietnam, through escape, refugee camps, and arrival and adjustment in the United States. The young people in this study spent their formative years in Vietnam. Therefore, it is important to understand some of their background experiences and environments in order to gain some understanding of their current struggles and strengths. The students themselves revealed a common need for suCh understanding. When asked what they wished their teachers understood about them, the majority theme was, "I wish my teachers understood more about my homeland and culture and the experiences I've been through." This chapter will explore some of the various environ- ments surrounding and impacting the youths in their growing up years in Vietnam, environments such as community, home and family, war and postwar situations, and education. 64 65 Community Environment The students in this study come from areas in North, Central, and Southern Vietnam. Most are from the South. Figure 1 is a map indicating the cities or regions that were home for these young people. gimme. Vietnam is a long, thin country. The Vietnamese sometimes think of their country as a pole with a basket of rice on each end (Hickey, 1964; Wright, 1989). Located above the equator, it has a tropical climate. Differences in temperature vary, however, depending on the region. In the winter Northern Vietnam is cool and wet. Vietnam is a beautiful country. It gets cold in the winter (15 year old male from Dinh Quoi). Southern Vietnam is sometimes wet and always hot. Some cooler temperatures in the South are found in the hill areas. I liked living in Vietnam because it’s very beautiful. The climate is very hot and usually sunny; In Vietnam (you have a duck and a rooster. In Vietnam you have many flowers (15 year old male). In Vietnam the climate is hot and sunny. In the beginning of summer there is much rain. vegetation in my country is very fresh and the flowers are very beautiful. There are.many fruits to eat. They are delicious (13 year old male). Vietnam is by the sea. It has lovely landscapes and a very nice mist in the woods (17 year old male). .My country is beautiful in terms of landscapes, but it is not good in political as well as economics (16 year old female). 66 Dinh Ouoi Vo Dac Thua Thien ° Da Nang o Oui Nhon e Nha Trang Thu Duo 0 Da Lat Xuan Loc An Giang 0 Ho Chi Minh - My Tho Can Tho . Tra Vinh Hau Glang - Fig. 1: Map of Vietnam Ca Mau— 67 City Environment Around 33% of the students spent at least one year living in a city. The majority of these moved to a city, mostly Saigon, around the end of the Vietnam war and then moved back to their village after the war. I was born in small town of Tra Vinh, South Vietnam. When I was 2 years old my family move to Saigon. It was capital of South Vietnam. Our family live there until after 1975, then my family move back to our town again (18 year old male). I was born in Thu Duc. In 1974 my family move to Saigon. .After war, we moved back to Thu Duo (16 year old male). SaigonZHo Chi Minh City. Around 27% of the students in this study spent at least one year in Saigon, now called Ho Chi Minh City. Fourteen percent were born and raised there. I was born in Saigon, the old capital of South VN befbre 1975. After 1975, Saigon still was the biggest city in VN. It a nosy, busy city. I will never fOrget my childhood. I lived in a medium sized home but enough material things and it was very comfbrtable (15 year old male). I was born in Nha Trang Vietnam. When the communists put my father in jail, my mother took me and.my brothers to Saigon (16 year old female). Ho Chi Minh City is the largest city in Vietnam with 'iround 3,500,000 residents (Wright, 1989). This city is on the southern tip of Vietnam, just eight degrees north of the equator. Thus, the city has a steamy average annual temperature of 81 degrees Fahrenheit. The most common forms of transportation are bikes and 68 pedicabs and motor scooters. On the streets of the city, men and boys with patches, glue, and air pumps, busy themselves fixing flat tires on the thousands of bicycles (Wright, 1989). Less than one percent of all Vietnamese own an automobile. Most taxi cars that once filled the streets of Saigon have not moved since 1975. My Tho. One student in this study was from the city of My Tho. This is the largest of the delta cities on the Mekong River (Wright, 1989). Fishing is a major activity in this city. During the Vietnam war, My Tho became known world wide when a Vietnamese pilot accidentally dropped a napalm bomb on a Buddhist temple where civilians were hiding. A photojournalist caught a picture of a burned, naked little girl running down the road screaming. This unforgetable picture in the newspapers made the war real to readers everywhere. Da Lat. Another student in this study lived in the city of Da Lat. I was born in a small hospital in Dalat, South Vietnam. .my family still lives there (15 year old male). Da Lat is a city on the southern edge of the highlands, 4,920 feet above sea level. It has an average annual temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit (Wright, 1989). It is an important city for growing exports such as flowers, ornamental pines and fruits. 69 Da Nang. The city of Da Nang was the home of another student in this study. Da Nang is a large, busy city. During the Vietnam.war it was the site of a huge U.S. air base (Wright, 1989). Today it is one of the major areas in Vietnam where scrap metal from the war is stockpiled for sale to the Japanese. Nha Trang. Nha Trang was home for another student in this study. Nha Trang is the southern most city of the central region. It is a resort town with beautiful beaches (Wright, 1989). A nearby bay, Cam Ranh Bay, is the site of the only Soviet naval base in the southwest Pacific. During the Vietnam war, Cam Ranh Bay was where the U.S. navy unloaded troops and cargo during the Vietnam war. Village Community Environment Sixty percent of the students in school #1, 69 percent in school #2, and 88% of the students in school #3 grew up in rural areas in the north, central, and southern areas. Some of these areas are noted in Figure l. The economy of Vietnam is agricultural and the heart of the country is the village. Vietnamese tradition says that the government can do what it wants, but that its au- ‘thority ends at the village gate (Timberlake & Cook, 1984). Villages range from a dozen to several hundred fami- lLLes (Dillard, 1987). In the village community, support Systems supplement the services of family and religious institutions. For example, each village usually contains a 70 network of health and mental health care providers: folk doctors, midwives, spirit men, religious healers, fortune tellers, matchmakers, and marketplace venders (Timberlake & Cook, 1984). Health care was touched on by several students in this study. I was born in the village and my family grew up in this place. There wasn’t a doctor nearby, just a nurse. If we got sick we could buy medicines, but it wasn’t easy to buy medicines because good medicines had to be imported from other countries (17 year old male). I was a tradeboy for buying and selling medicines. I made a lot of money for helping my family (compare Vietnam’s currency) (16 year old male). This type of rural/folk health care occurs not only in the village community but also in the city. Cities such as Saigon may stand in marked contrast to the village communities, but many village traditions are maintained in the city neighborhoods (Timberlake & Cook, 1984). My mom traded medicines so we could cure ourselves. we didn’t see doctor because of high pay; Besides there were just a few doctors in the city; There were some pharmacists in Saigon so we could buy medicines there. Everyone like to buy medicines in the "black market" because of the lower prices (17 year old male). Each village also served as a source of folklore, ‘WYths, and songs, which were passed along from one generation to the next and served as rich sources of knOwledge, insights, and ancient coping skills (Timberlake 5 Cook, 1984). 71 Ethnic Environment The students in this study come from several different ethnic backgrounds (Table 2). Many ethnic groups live in Vietnam. About 85 percent of the total population are ethnic Vietnamese (Wright, 1989). They are descendants of Thais, Chinese, and Indonesians who mixed to create the distinctive features of the Vietnamese people. The ethnic Vietnamese tend to see themselves as three distinct groups: Northern, Southern, and Central. The Republic of Vietnam is represented by its flag (the old flag not the new one of the communists) of yellow fbundation with three red stripes. The three stripes stand for people from three parts, NOrthern, Central and Southern Vietnam, but become one nation under the common spirit of people bearing the same blood (red) and the same color of skin (yellow). While Vietnamese is spoken throughout Vietnam, it varies slightly from one region to another. There are three main dialects: the Nerthern dialect with six tones, the Southern dialect with five tones and the dialect in the Central area with 4 tones. People from the different areas also have some different charac- teristics. The people in the NOrth tend to be ag- gressive, the people in the Central area tend to be controlling (they are descendants of the royalty), and the people in the South tend to be passive (Vietnamese Paraprofessional). Other ethnic groups include dozens of hill tribes in the central highlands, Cambodians who are living along the Mekong River Delta on the southern tip of the country, amd some Sino-Vietnamese, Vietnamese of Chinese descent, who Llive in the suburb of Cholon in Ho Chi Minh City. Cholxan is almost all Chinese (Wright, 1989). 72 Socio-Cultural Environment I have been in the new land (U.S.) with the experience my biological family taught me when I was a child that really helpful when I left them (16 year old unaccompanied male). According to Nguyen-Hong-Nhiem (1989) Vietnamese young people in the U.S. are influenced greatly by their family ideology. Therefore, it is important to gain at least some understanding of what those values and beliefs are. While Vietnam may be a backward country economically, the Vietnamese are a complex people, and there are many ancient rules that tell them how they should conduct their lives. The Vietnamese World View The major religion in Vietnam is Buddhism. Other religions include Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam, and dozens of religions among the hill tribes. The Viet- namese tend to have a "pluralistic approach to life, which does not preclude, for example, identifying oneself as Bud- dhist and practicing Christianity at the same time. They search out alternative approaches to problems" (Dillard, 1987, p. 204). While most Vietnamese are Buddhists, the philosophies of Chinese Confucianism and Taoism shape the Vietnamese ‘world view. These teachings offer moral and practical guidance and link personal, family, social, and biological levels of existence (Khoa & Van Deusen, 1981). Traditional 73 teachings emphasize loyalty, filial piety, and submission of the individual to the common good. Confucianism is a philosophy of life that provides guidelines on how people should behave (Forest, 1971; Khoa & van Deusen, 1981). According to Confucianism, people are expected to be able to live together peacefully only if their minds are shaped by education and clear rules of conduct. Some rules of conduct include studying constantly and practicing self—examination, being reverent in worship, and sincerely respecting one's father and one's ruler. High morals and ethics, sound education, and honest government are greatly valued. Rulers are expected to protect the people as their own children, and the people, in return, maintain order by honoring good rulers. Taoism is a belief in the occult/spirit world. It teaches that man’s relationship with the universe is very important. This religion includes ancestor worship, which takes place in almost all Vietnamese homes (Dillard, 1987). It also involves a belief in good and bad winds which are believed to affect health and other aspects of life. Socio-Cultural Values Socio-cultural values are very closely linked with the Vietnamese world view. Children are taught these values by their parents and family as well as by their teachers in school and by religious figures in the commu- nity. 74 Respect. An important value in the Vietnamese society is respect. Traditionally, the Vietnamese have been brought up to respect and accept the opinions of their elders, or at least not to disagree openly (Dillard, 1987; Khoa & van Deusen, 1981). In a social situation it is very important to maintain harmony between speakers or to save the face of someone whose opinion might turn out to be wrong. Disagreement would be put in a subtle form of alternative suggestions or in a question (Vietnamese Paraprofessional). First you learn to respect, then you learn Literature (Vietnamese proverb). Education. Based on Confucianist teachings, education is highly valued in the traditional Vietnamese society, and parents tend to play an active role in their children's education (Dillard, 1987; Khoa & van Deusen, 1981). In the Vietnamese culture, education is believed to be the best way to get respect (Caplan et al., 1989). An uneducated person is like unpolished jade (Vietnamese Proverb). .A knife gets sharp through honing; a man get smart through study (Vietnamese Proverb). When a father and a mother look away, the child becomes fOOlish; when father and mother look toward him, the child becomes smart (Vietnamese Proverb). Hard work. Closely linked to education is the value of hard work which is believed to be the key to achievement and success in school and in work (Caplan et al., 1989). 75 Self-control. Another value in the Vietnamese society is self-control. From early childhood each individual is taught the art of self-control by both family and religion. This value is taught by means of rote learning of rituals such as manners and customs, by diversions such as lullabies, music, poetry, enjoyment of nature, contempla- tion, and through punishment of deviant behaviors (Dillard, 1987; Khoa & Van Deusen, 1981). Open expression of emotions is considered in bad taste except among very close relatives or friends. Closely linked to self-control are _' the values of modesty and humility. According to Vietnamese custom, one should remain modest and humble, showing the extent of knowledge or skills only when asked. Modesty and humility for Vietnamese are important social graces. These are sometimes misunderstood by people from other cultures who think that we are insolent or impolite. But the Vietnamese behavior stems from the fact that we have been taught not to be demonstrative in public, especially not to express personal emotions which might be considered immodest or boastful (Vietnamese Paraprofessional). Social recognition and admiration. Respect and admiration of an individual’s peers are very important values among Vietnamese (Penner & Tran, 1977). Social recognition is linked to the Confucian ideology that emphasizes respect and admiration. Cultural Expressions One major form of cultural expression in Vietnam is the celebration of Tet Nguyen Dan, or Tet for short. It is 76 one big three-day celebration which seems to combine the elements of Christmas, birthdays, New Years, Easter, and . the Fourth of July. Like a big birthday party, everyone’s birth is celebrated with gifts of toys and money. Like Christmas it is a religious holiday. Like New Years it welcomes in the Vietnamese Lunar New Year. Like Easter it comes in the spring. Like the Fourth of July there are parades in the streets and firecrackers. It was fun in Vietnam and when New Years Day was coming it was more fun than the other days. When the New Year was coming every family around my house were playing with fireworks and when the sun was coming up we went to see the animals at something like a zoo and we went to play games. MOm gave money to my brother and sisters and I (15 year old male). The celebration of Tet revolves around Ong Tao, the Spirit of the hearth which protects the family from bad spirits that are always trying to get in (Dillard, 1987; Hickey, 1964). At Tet Ong Tao leaves the family to report to the Jade emperor on whether the family had been good all year. With Ong Tao gone the family has no protection against the bad spirits lurking around, so they set off firecrackers to scare them away. On the eve of Tet, Ong Tao returns. At midnight, the Spirits of the Ancestors also come to celebrate Tet with their living family. Then, on New Years day everyone goes to the pagoda to worship, join a parade, or visit with friends. The children dress up in their new clothes and receive toys and gifts of money to play the gambling games. Tet ends with one last feast 77 for the departing ancestors. The Vietnamese believe that bad and good signs are everywhere and whatever happens on the first day of the new year will happen the rest of the year. Home and Family Environment The students in this study had similarities as well as a variety of differences in their home and family life. Housing Climate influences the housing styles. In the cooler areas many people build simple wood or bamboo houses with tiled roofs. In the warmer areas most homes are made of palm leaves or straw. In the modern towns and cities, homes are made of wood, brick, and tile. The difference between my home in my country and here is that was built from different materials (14 year old male). .my house wasn’t very big. It was made of coconut palm leaves and wood (16 year old male). In Vietnam not like the U.S. The houses are differ- ent. The way of living are different. .At home I and my family are farming, but not in the U.S. (15 year old female). Virtually every Vietnamese home has an altar in a Prominent place. This altar is covered with red and gold Paper, which are the national colors, and holds smoldering inCerise, candles, scrolls, and snacks for offerings. PiCtures of deceased relatives are often displayed on these altars as are symbols of one’s God. 78 One of the students in this study wrote about and illustrated his home and family life in Vietnam. Like many others in this study, this student's family are farmers. I am very happy that you would like to know about my background, my "family life." You know that the people all over the world have different ways of living, housing farming, etc. Like my family, we built houses right on the farm. The houses we built are separate and different shapes [Figure 2]. A big house, we called the "main house," it included some bedrooms on one side [Figure 3], the other side is a big living room. In the living room we decorate. Right in the middle we put a table and some chairs for invite someone or someone visit. At three corners we put 3 big beds for sleeping or sitting. At the other corner we put a closet. 0n the walls we hang an o’clock and some of the pictures of God we believe. Another house is right on the left side of the main house. we use to store things on one side, the other side is a dining room. Every.member of my family must be there at 7:00 AM and PM fer breakfast and dinner. When we eat we have to share the new ideas or any problem was happen. Between the main house and store house is a driveway. .At the end of the driveway is a bathroom. Outside the bathroom is a place we use to wash the dishes. The kitchen is located between the bathroom and storehouse. Behind the bathroom is a pig house. Next to the pig house is a restroom. we built like that because we thought if the fire happen it can destroy only one house, not all the houses we built. 0n the farm we grow crops. Coffee and black pepper are main crops. we also grow several kinds of fruit. we like to work in farm than in factory because all of family work together and do the same jobs. Also, we can take break anytime we want. When we don’t to work we can take a day off to go around (16 year old male). The Vietnamese society is built on strong family ties. Traditionally, Vietnamese are raised to place a high value on.a cohesive extended family relationship network. 79 Eon «m .mem 81 Based on the surveys and life histories, most of the students in this study had between five and 18 members living under one roof. The most common household composition consisted of mother, siblings, and at least one grandparent. Other compositions included fathers, cousins, aunts, and uncles. In Vietnam the individual owes loyalty to the family before all else and holds the family interest above personal/self interest (Brown, 1982; Penner & Tran, 1977). Typically, the Vietnamese family is highly structured. There is a hierarchy of priorities with parental ties paramount. For example, a son has distinct obligations and duties to his parents that assume a higher value than obligations to his siblings. Next in priority are sibling relationships which are considered permanent. Expectations of helping out the family, assuming responsibility, working hard, and achieving pervade parent-child relationships (Dillard, 1987). These roles and responsibilities are (finite evident in the students' writings in the following chapters. When given the material resources, the family has both thfii desire and personnel to provide unconditional help to its network of kin (Timberlake & Cook, 1934). In this network, the rich take care of the poor; the strong take Care of the weak; the healthy take care of the sick. Thus, the family is the primary caretaker of its members' physi- Cal, social, and emotional well-being. 82 Traditionally, Vietnamese families are patriarchal. The oldest male is head of the family, and his oldest son is the second most important family member. Children, particularly female children, are given very little freedom to meet individual needs. The individual's primary respon- sibility is to the family and to society. Females are taught to adhere to an obedient role in family and society. The hierarchy for obedient behavior among Vietnamese women is to obey the father, then their husbands, and then the eldest sons, should the father die. This ideology under- scores "filial piety and the subservience of women to, first, their fathers, and later in life, their husbands" (Penner and Tran, 1977, p. 189). Some have "internalized the subservient role assigned to them in the Vietnamese culture" (p. 201). Two females in this study provide illustration of their role as females in the Vietnamese family and society. #1 S: I worry about my future because what my mom wants and what I want are different. I should do what she wants because she’s my mom. I: That’s important to you, isn’t it? S: Yes. But its hard. I:.Are Vietnamese children taught to follow their parents’ decisions even when they are adults? S: Yes, especially girls until they’re married. I: Even regarding the person they marry? S: Yes (Field notes, February 13, 1990). 83 S: (Had been talking about her boyfriend) I: Are you planning on marrying your boyfriend? S: Probably. I: Do you love him? S: (Pause) Uhm. Yeh. Besides my mother likes him. I: weald you marry him even if you didn’t love him, if your mother wanted you to? S: Probably. That the way it is in Vietnam culture. Vietnamese girls have to obey their parents. I: Even in marriage? S: Yeh (January 23, 1990). In the Vietnamese family, the grandparents are the ones responsible for transmitting guidelines for social behavior, preparing younger people for handling stressful life events, and serving as a source of support in coping with life crises (Brown, 1982; Weroha, 1989). One of the common losses the students in this study mentioned over and over was missing extended family, particularly grand- parents. One can begin to understand the depth of this loss when one begins to understand the role of grandparents in the lives of the young. I was born in Vietnam. I lived with my mother, sister and my grandparents. .My grandparents are very nice. They bring me with them almost everywhere they go. I am now in America. .my grandparents are in Vietnam. I miss them very much (15 year old female). war and Postewar Environments Vietnam is a very small country with a long history of struggling for survival. .Although, after one ¥_— 84 thousand years dominated by the Chinese, hundred years under the rules of the French, the Vietnamese people still speak Vietnamese language and preserve their own culture. In 1954 the Republic of Vietnam was attacked by the communists and narrowed to the southern part of Vietnam and completely fell into the hands of communism in April, 1975 (Bilingual Parapro- fessional). For centuries Vietnam has been subjected to social turmoil. The majority of the students in this study were born toward the end of the Vietnam war. Their writings reflect the impact of that war on their own and their family's lives and the impact of living under communism. .My father was born in Nerth Vietnam. In 1945, When the communists had taken over Nerth Vietnam my grandparents and father fled and came to Saigon, South Vietnam. Then South Vietnam belonged to the French. I was born and grew up there. BefOre the communists our lives were very happy because we had freedom. But on April 30th, 1975, the Nerth Vietnamese communists attacked Saigon and took over all of South Vietnam and took away our freedom. I hope in future Vietnam will have freedom for all people. I hope the world finish war and have peace forever (17 year old male). I was born in 1972 in a village. It was a poor village. When my mother was giving birth the communist and Vietnam Army was fighting around my house and my mother almost lost me. My.mom and dad worked all the time, but they never had enough money to take care of a family (18 year old male). I am 16 years old. I was born in a small village in South Vietnam. I’m always thinking about my childhood memories. I had.many friends. But after 1975 when the Communist forces overpowered South Vietnam, the people lived in poverty and harsh rulers under Communism. When I was in 9th grade I stopped going to school. .my.mother told me "you cannot live under Communism, you need a good future." She really didn’t want me to leave (every mother is like that). But she did. Because of my future (16 year old male). A student at school #2, shared in some depth about the 85 impact of the war on his life. I was born in 1972 in a small village in South Vietnam. I was born at the time of the war between Nerth and South Vietnam. Sometimes I remember the Nerth and South Vietnam fighting. .My mother gave me some sweetened condensed milk because she thought that if South Vietnam was defeated she could escape easily and not worry about fead for me. .After a few years, when I was no longer a baby, but a boy, I would play with some children who lived near my house. Sometimes there was fighting, and I had to run home quickly and go down to the basement to hide in the corner because I was very afraid. Sometimes bombs dropped near my hiding place. Then I couldn’t hear anything. I don’t like war because it can kill everybody. I remember sometimes I saw bombs drop on the ground, and they destroyed a big place. In some places many people died, you know? Some people lost a hand or a leg. I remember a day I will never forget in all my life. It was.March 1975, I think, and there was fighting in Xuan Loc day after day. Everybody who lived there had to move. .my family couldn’t hide in the basement as befOre, so we had to move too. we moved to Saigon. .After a few weeks in Saigon, South Vietnam was defeated by NOrth Vietnam so there wasn’t anymore fighting. So my family moved back to our house. we lived there for a long time. After the war stopped, I went to school to study Vietnamese education. Even though they were not fighting anymore, South and Nerth Vietnam were ruled by the communists. At that time I thought Vietnam had independence, peace and freedom. But it’s not true because the Vietnamese people are ruled by the leader of the communist party. They can not go anywhere and can’t form a corporation or do anything (18 year old male). 41m act on the Family Environment With the fall of Saigon and the defeat of South Vietnam, three main groups of people faced persecution -- t1lose who had worked for or had been associated with the fOrmer regime, e.g. , officials and soldiers, those who had 3been.associated or worked for Americans, and ethnic Chi- 86 nese. Many of the soldiers and officials were killed. Those who had worked with the former regime or with the Americans were imprisoned in "re-education camps." Re-education camps are hard labor camps where the prisoners are treated badly. They are brainwashed, beaten, and are not given much food. Some are starved. They are forced to do hard manual labor such as clearing dense forest. Many get sick and die. Some, like my brother-in-law, became so desperate that they could not go on living any longer and took their own life (Vietnamese Paraprofessional). The families of these men also suffered. They were refused food and faced a number of hardships due to dis— criminatory policies and practices. One of the common impacts of the war on the families of the students in this study was the creation of father absent homes. This seems to cut to the very heart of the Vietnamese home life and traditions which center around patriarchal leadership. Over half of the students grew up in homes without a father. When compared by schools, the students in the different schools showed unique patterns. Data revealed t1Iat 41% of the students in school #1, 62% of students in SCfliool #2, and 90% of the students at school #3 were from fatherless homes. One of the major impacts on the family was death of fathers and older brothers in the war. Before 1975 my father was in the army for Viet Cong. He died in 1974, and at that time I was one year old. My mother died in 1980 of sickness. My family consisted of 11 members. All my older brothers and sisters had family of their own so I and my other sister moved to live with my uncle (17 year old male). 87 My father was die in my country at wartime (15 year old male). I don’t remember my father. He died fighting in war (16 year old male). A.majority of the students in this study experienced the absence of their fathers for several years due to imprisonment for having been associated with the former government, for having fought with the South, and/or for having been associated with Americans. I am 16 years old. I was born in Saigon, South Vietnam. I was born at the time of the war between Nerth and South Vietnam. Many people died in that war. In 1975 South Vietnam lost the war. .My country then belonged to the Communists. .My father was an officer in the South Vietnam army. Then the Nerth Vietnam government took my father to prison. .After 5 (years, my father came back to our home (16 year old male). .My family grew up on a farm. Before 1975, my father was a soldier for the army in South Vietnam. .After 1975, the Communists won the war. They went to South Vietnam and they took my father to jail because my father worked for the American army. Then my family had many problems. (15 year old male). BefOre 1975 my father was in the army and my mother was involved in business. .After 1975 my father was in jail and my.mother had to take care of the family. Some homes were without fathers because the fathers were American GIs (Chapter 9). In other cases the fathers escaped Vietnam at the end of the war or following imprisonment. A.few students in this study were sponsored by'their fathers whom they had not seen in years. One shares his story below: 88 I was born in Saigon, South Vietnam. I was the first child in my family. I grew up in a small town. .My family was kind of poor. .My parents worked very hard to feed us. My dad was in the Navy working fer the Republic of South Vietnam. One day in the Spring of 1975 when the Vietnam war was almost ended, my dad left my family to come to America. He couldn’t go back home to get us because it was very dangerous and he would have got shot if he came back. I thought I would never see my dad again. But a few months later, my family received a letter from him. He said that he was safe in America and later he would bring us to America with him. I was very happy my dad was still alive. I tried to work hard to help my mom take care of my brother and sister. I was very happy when I heard that my family would come to America very soon, be- cause my dad had already sent the document to the Vietnamese Government, and they said we could go. In .May, 1986, my mother went to the Airport to get the Airline ticket, and we left Vietnam five days later. When we arrived in Michigan, I was the last to get off the airplane and I saw my dad hugging my mom and there were some tears in his eyes. New I was seeing my dad after not seeing him fer 11 years (18 year old male). Many families lost everything after the war. Their property, possessions, and means of livelihood were taken away. The Communists came into our home and took all our possessions (18 year old male). The confiscation of family possessions and livelihood impacted the families in a number of ways, not the least being that mothers had to enter the work force while fathers were jailed and later denied employment. Befbre 1975, my dad worked fer the Americans. .After 1975 the communists took him to jail. .My.mom had to become a seller in the market. When my dad got out of jail, he couldn’t get a job. He had to stay at home. Then one day he left. He escaped Vietnam (17 year old male). 89 A female Vietnamese student (age 16) shared that prior to 1975 her father had been a chief of police. .After the war he was taken to Hanoi and imprisoned there for five years. Her mother was only allowed to visit him once a year. While in prison he was treated badly and degraded and did not have enough food to live on. Her mother would bring a years supply of food for him each time she visited. .After five years, he was trans— ferred to a prison in the South, near Saigon. He was there fer two years and then released. He reentered the household after seven years of absence. He was unable to find work while his wife continued to work at the job on which she had been supporting the family; He could not accept the situation, so he tried to escape Vietnam but was caught and imprisoned again (Field notes, March 1, 1990). Multiple changes in home and family make it difficult to get an accurate description of individual families, much less to be able to provide a group profile. Perhaps the change itself is a group characteristic. Multiple changes are a definite theme throughout the students' writings and were portrayed most graphically in their timelines. Some are shared below. Those that have been translated from Vietnamese are preceded with an asterisk (*). * 1972 -- Born in Saigon 1976 --.MOved to Nha Trang after communist took over South Vietnam 1978 -- Started School 1980 -- Quit school; got a job as fisherman (age 8) 1981 --.M0ved back to Saigon 1986 -- Left Vietnam (age 15); lived in Philippines 1987 -- Lived in Texas 1989 --.M0ved to Michigan (17 year old male) 1971 -- I was born in V0 Dec 1975 -- Communists took over South VN 1976 -- Mbved to Da Lat 1978 -- I start school; my brother was born 1979 -- MOved to Thu Duc; I quit school and helped work on farm 90 1981 -- went back to school 1983 --.MOved to Saigon; I quit school 1988 -- Left Vietnam, went to Thailand then the Philippines 1989 -- Came to America (18 year old male) 1973 -- I was born 1975 -- My father in jail; my brother born 1976 -- we move to a different place 1977 --.My.mother start working job 1978 -- I start school 1980 -- My father came home from jail 1982 -- My sister was born 1983 --.My grandmother come to live with us 1984 -- I was lrst student in math in my school 1985 -- I was in trouble in Vietnam, went to jail 1986 -- I escape from Vietnam 1987 -- I escape from Malaysia 1988 -- I come to America; I start school 1989 -- I move to a different school; I move to a different house (16 year old male) lppgct on the Socio—Economic Environmepp .My country is very poor and in my country there is no freedom fer anyone (16 year old male). Initially, after the fall of Saigon in April 1975, communist rule in South Vietnam was not drastically different from before -- many people were able to continue their same occupations and to live more or less as they had been (Feith, 1988). However, after a few months and as the communists consolidated their regime, conditions became more difficult. Due to a combination of bad management, low investment, and natural disasters, food production declined. Many people were moved from the cities into the New Economic Zones, where they had to clear forests and attempt cultivation. 91 The family socio-economic status of the students in this study ranged from middle to low class. The most common occupations of the parents were farming and street vending/open air market (Table 6). In several cases these two occupations were combined. Table 6: Occupation of Parents in Vietnam Occupation F M Total Farmer 6 14 20 Street/Market vender 12 12 Tailor 1 3 4 Factory Worker 2 2 4 Store Clerk 1 2 3 Fisherman ' 2 2 i Own Business _ l 1 2 [ Carpenter 1 1 The students writings reflect a range of life styles and socio-economic conditions while growing up in Vietnam. Some had a comfortable life in Vietnam, others revealed lives of hardship. I was born in Saigon, the old capital of South VN before 1975. .After 1975, Saigon still was the 92 biggest city in VN. It a noisy, busy city; I will never ferget my childhood. I lived in a medium sized home but enough material things and it was very comertable. My mom was a great mom. She took very good care of us. My dad was in jail fer a long time. He got out and stay at home several years befbre I escape VN. I have three sisters. we were all top students in school. But I didn’t ever study. Just.my sisters because I was very lazy. .My mom is a business woman. She made a lot of money. .My sisters and I didn’t have to work so we loved her very much. Every weekend, my mom would take us to the restaurant and sometimes we went to the beach. Besides that we had our own enjoyments. I always went to the movies, cafeteria, dancing etc. with my friends and.my girl friend. I had a bike and a motorcycle so that I can ride everywhere. I like soccer, that’s the best sport in my country (16 year old male). * In Vietnam.my family was so poor. we didn’t have fOOd to eat. we have to work so hard in order to survive (18 year old female). .My home in VN very poor. I can’t do anything in VN. I must pay the money for school. But in U.S. I can go to school. I can do something (15 year old male). I was born and grew up in a village in South Vietnam. When I was young, just like other kids, I left my parents and went to school every day; My house wasn’t very big. It was made of coconut and palm leaves and wood. .MOst of my mom’s love was spent on me because I was her only child. I went to school everyday and after school I helped my grandparents do things. They had a shop fixing the cars and engines, etc. Because of that, my family had a better standard of living than other families did. I think I was luckier than the other kids who were my age. I had enough food to eat, clothes to wear, and when I got sick my parents could buy medicines (17 year old male). Educational Environment The students in this study came from a range of educational experiences and environments, though some coIrlmon patterns can be seen. I spent most of my life in An Giang. .At the age of 6, I started school in Kindergarten. .After one year, I was in first grade of elementary school and I went 93 there for five years. Then, I began high school in sixth grade and finished in ninth grade. I studied very hard because all my classes were very difficult. I usually went to school 5 days a week by bike [Figure 4]. The distance between my house and school was about a half mile. .My school always began at 7:00 AM and dismissed at 12:00. I didn’t have lunch at school but I had only 15 minutes for break time and 15 minutes for exercise during the five hours. I had a lot of friends in school. They were very friendly because I was a good soccer player. When I got home from school, I helped my family do (16 year old male). To enter public secondary schools (6th grade), the student must pass a national competitive entrance exam. Results of semiannual tests determine whether the student is promoted upward or has to repeat his grade. The student must pass all subjects. Failure in even one subject will cause him/her to fail the whole year. At the end of grade 12, the student takes a national examination to obtain the Tu Tai diploma which is equivalent to French Baccalaureate. Some of the students in this study attended large schools in Saigon, others attended small schools in villages. Some of the village schools only had elementary education. Because of that, those who wanted to continue their schooling went to live with relatives in the city and attend school there. The students in this study described their Vietnamese schools in the following ways: Uhlike America the children in Vietnam stay home without education by choice of the parents. It depends where you live, like a small village. In America there is more materials and equipments in school than in Vietnam. You have to pay money for school in Vietnam. .And there is no lights in the school (17 year old female). 95 School in my country different with school in U.S. School in my country very small [Figure 5]. It doesn’t have any light. Students must pay the money fOr school every month (13 year old male). When I was 5 went to school, I walked to school every day. In the class they taught me the alphabet and how to pronounce words. When I was in first grade I stu- died math. School was just half day. Every student took a class. I had a textbook, but no notes or study sheets from the teacher. In my class they taught in the Vietnamese language. When the person was a fifth grader, they started to study other languages. I flunked two grades. School started in September. we celebrated New Years and other holidays. we didn’t go to school when there was a holiday (17 year old male). I went to school about 1 mile away from my house. It was a very big school. It had fbur floors [Figure 6]. There were alot of students in that school. I had many friends to have fun with on break time. I liked my chemistry teacher. She was my favorite teacher. She helped me alot to learn until I graduated from middle school (17 year old male). Work or School School in Vietnam costs money for individual students, and only those who have the money can attend school. Several wrote that they were not be able to afford school. Instead, they worked to help support the family. The ages they began working ranged from six to 15. The types of jobs they did were: farming, fishing, selling lottery tickets, selling things on the street/street vending, carrying things for people, pedicab helper, taking care of the house and younger siblings while parents worked. When I was 9 years old I quit going to school. Me and.my brother walked around selling tickets [lottery tickets] every morning. We had to wake up at 5:00. Then we walked about 20 miles or more. we had to sell all the tickets. If we were not done with selling the tickets we had to pay for it (16 year old male). 98 When our family lived in Vietnam, we had to work hard every day to earn money for living. .MOst Vietnamese children that are 5 or 6 years old and older didn’t have a chance to go to school because their family are poor and they needed children to stay home to cook, watch the house and to take care of brothers and sisters. My family was a farmer so I didn’t get a chance to go to school because I have to stay home and work (18 year old female). .My family live in VN. .My father is a farmer and my mother is a farmer too. When I live in VN I don’t go to school. I at home and helped my father working because my family too poor [Figure 7]. I don’t have enough food to eat. My family don’t have money give me go to school. New I live in the U.S. I can go to school and study. I have enough food to eat (15 year old male). * .My family were working real hard in order to get enough food to eat. Being a little child, I had to quit school to help my sister carry vegetables to the market and I had to help sell them everyday from morning to evening [Figure 8] (17 year old female). Role of Teachers Traditional Vietnamese learning theories emphasize memorization and recitation of Confucian ethics. Knowledge is conveyed from teachers to students without any chal- lenge. Students are not encouraged to ask questions or to demonstrate creative ability (Dillard, 1987). Most impor- tantly, students are taught to respect teachers. In Vietnam school disciplines is more severe than America. Students must respect their teachers like parents (17 year old female). Traditionally, the teacher was considered as the spiritual father (both morally and academically) who guided his student to the right path in life. The terms "Thay" (father, teacher) and "Co" (aunt, teacher) have been used by students in Vietnam for many centuries to address their teachers (Vietnamese Paraprofessional). ¥ Sums or» so asexu03 "b .mem hurl-o .I 'Ililtifi" 1.2.... c .1: ..... :il . - .. | . . .. . .uo 5.- d 3' ‘ol- . Ia. "ll‘. .. 333333303 - .......-: I. _._..-.... .- .- . a- {33333 .333 _- ._ _ .. .-..-. .3 .933 333.3 3.333. 33333 3333332633 u": .. 2.. mun... an. .. .. . . a “a 3.... \Wfl’. \u §M \g. 1 .. 3.3 M3333 33.33 33 333 3 3333333..» F1333 é N3 .3323 n. Q3Vf<3< .33. 2.3 “33W gr» 100 101 The students are taught to stand up when the teacher enters the class and sit down when the teacher gives permission to do so. Inside a Vietnamese class- room, the courtesy observed is silence, to allow the teacher to speak without interruption and classmates to study without interference (Vietnamese Paraprofes- sional). Changes in Education After 1975 Vietnamese society and its educational system has been subjected to the often time forced introduction of new con- cepts, values, practices, and ideologies of foreign cul- tures. French colonialism, Chinese and Soviet communism, and American capitalism all marched through their lives. Today, the educational system has a close link with produc- tive labor and social activities in an effort to "wipe out the remnants of backward ideas like studying in order to gain a higher position" (Cohon, 1983, p. 153). Traditional Confucianist teachings emphasized revering and respecting fathers as authority figures at home and respecting and revering teachers as authority figures in the community. It seems that when Marxism took over, there began a subtle destruction of family values. What happened was teachers remained authority figures in the community, but fathers began to lose authority in the home. Parents who retained traditional values in home had to do so subtly. Parents who were aware of communist manipulation in school would wisely counsel their children to show respect and to pretend like you accept all the teaching. But you treat it like you treat a chicken: you keep the good and throw away what you don’t like (Vietnamese Paraprofessional). After 1975 the curriculum in the schools changed in a 102 number of ways. In the area of language arts, English and French classes were thrown out and Russian was put in. When I was in sixth grade, I had to take a language class (Russian). I really didn’t want to take it, but I had to (16 year old female). Another change was the inclusion of Marxist teachings in the curriculum. At school I was study about things, but I didn’t understand about the communism (15 year old male). At school there was a lot of communistic subjects and new education (14 year old male). There seems to have also been a change in orientation. 'BefOre 1975 there was an emphasis on academics. Today emphasis is on indoctrination of Marxist teaching, less time on academics with the exception of math, and more time on competitive community work and physical labor to improve the community; The students are taught to be competitive in working for the party and community in the framework of clubs similar to boy scouts and girl scouts. The old way was replaced by the new way. School awards used to be given for academics, but they are now being given to kids who do the most for the communist party or community (Vietnamese Paraprofessional). None of the students in this study attended school beyond 9th grade in Vietnam (Figure 9). Many of the students wrote about being denied education because their fathers had been associated with the South Vietnamese government or army. The Vietnamese communists put my father in prison because he was an air force sergeant befbre 1975. I couldn’t go to school any more (17 year old male). Percent of students 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 35% 18% 18% 16% 13% 0 - 1 2 — 3 4 - 5 6 - 7 8 - 9 YEARS OF SCHOOLING Figure 9: Highest Grade Completed in Vietnam I went to elementary school. I was very intelligent. After a few years I was in 6th grade. When I reached 9th grade they wouldn’t allow us to go to continue school. I didn’t know why they didn't want me to go to school anymore! [Figure 10] (16 year old male). My oldest sister was an engineer after studying 5 years in college. She is very smart so she could go to college, although the government hates some students who have fathers or brothers who worked in the South Vietnamese government before 1975 (16 year old male). Some students who’s fathers and brothers fought with the South and were associated with Americans left school because they were persecuted by teachers and students and were called "Nguy" which is a very degrading word. It means "despicable, deceiver, enemy." Americans were called "My Nguy" during the war (Vietnamese Paraprofessional). 104 Fig. 10: Denial of Education 105 Summary The students in this study came from the north, south, and central regions of Vietnam. .Although each of these areas of Vietnam differs in dialects, housing, and general characteristics, they all adhere to a culture which emphasizes Confucian values and ethics. Thus, most of the young people in this study were raised to respect and obey their elders and those in authority, particularly teachers, parents, and grandparents. Most were taught to value education, interdependence, and responsibility for the good of the family. However, with the war and postwar environments, there seems to have been a gradual erosion of many of the values of traditional Vietnamese society. While the young people in this study had a wide range of backgrounds and experiences, most experienced some form of hardship due to war and postwar environments because their families had been associated with the South Vietnamese army/government or with the Americans. These hardships included father absence from the home, mothers entering the work force, extreme poverty and near Starvation, and denial of education. Chapter 6 FINDINGS III: LEAVING HOME In Vietnam there is a modern saying: "If the electric light poles had feet, they would try to leave" (Caplan et al., 1989, p. 6). Leaving one’s homeland with the irreversible severing of ties with family, kin, and friends is a heart wrenching experience that will bear its impact on the Vietnamese refugees for the rest of their lives. The reality of never being able to return home is even more weighty when one realizes that over half of those leaving are under the age of 18. What motivates the exodus of such a young generation? What is the context of their leaving, and what experiences do they encounter in the process? This chapter will explore these questions as they relate to the young people in this study. Deciding to Leave Most of the students in this study left Vietnam at the urging of their families. This was true even among the unaccompanied minors who stated that the decision to leave was made by parent(s) and/or grandparent(s) . Most had mixedfeelings about leaving. Many did not want to leave at all but, as one student stated, "My family made tflua decision, and I did not dare protest their opinion." Having this major life-changing decision made for them 106 107 may seem "wrong" to those brought up in the U.S. culture which values individualism, manifested in making one's own decisions regarding one's life. In Vietnamese society, however, decision making is not done by the person most affected by the decision but by the occupant of a tradi- tional role in the social group (Stewart, 1979). First of all, I introduce my family. I have four brothers and three sisters and a mother. They are still living in Vietnam. They are all tailors. I don’t have a father because he became sick and died when I was nine years old. I escaped Vietnam on June 8, 1986. The reason I left that I didn’t like the communist because they didn’t let all of us had freedom. They also had a lot of weapons to control the people. So my mom realized about that and told me to leave Vietnam fbr a better life. During that time I didn’t want to leave my country. I was making money for helping my family. Also I wouldn’t like to live away from my relatives. Later I was convinced by her. She said, "You have to leave as soon as possible. By the way you have freedom of religion, speech, press, petition and a good education. If you don't, I’m sure you will become a soldier of the communism when you get 18 .years old, and then they will send you to Cambodia for killing the Cambodian." At that time I really understood how the government of Vietnam ruled. But I still had some curious about who I was going with, when I was leaving, hOW’I was escaping and hOW’mUCh it cost. She replied that I was leaving alone by boat on the eighth of JUne 1986. It cost about 150 gram gold. During that time I knew I would never see my family again. So I was very sad and crying. She was crying too. She said, "Don’t ever worry about those things, the God will bless you. Everything will be fine” (16 year old male). Reasons for Leaving The young people in this study gave a variety of reasons for leaving Vietnam, though some common themes were noted (Table 7) . Table 7: Reasons for Leaving Vietnam (N=36) Responses Percent* For My Future 52 To Find Freedom 50 Because of the Government/Communists 19 Not Allowed to Go to/Continue School 16 Didn't Want to Go Into the Army 16 To Help My Family Come to U.S. 13 Because I'm Amerasian 13 Reunion With Family in U.S.A. 11 Hunger and Poverty 11 I Don't Know 5 Had no Choice 2 ‘ The total is more than 100 percent since a few students gave more than one answer. For Freedom and the Future Fifty-two percent of the students stated that the reason for leaving Vietnam was for a better future, and 50% Stated it was for freedom. Some of the students combined these two together or combined one of these with other anSW'ers, such as education, to avoid induction into the armY) and hunger/poverty. From the time I lived in the camp and arrived in the U.S., I had to answer many people who asked me why 109 I had come to the U.S. I thought when the people left VN, everyone had their own reasons. Some people must have left because they hated the government. But others escaped VN because they wanted to find a better life in the new land. I had a good life in Vietnam, but little by little I realized that was just temporary. I always asked myself, "Where’s my future going?" because my mom can’t protect me all my life. .My father was an officer before 1975 so I couldn’t go to college. In school they tricked me in everything about history. .All the opposite of what my mom and dad taught me. That’s why I escaped VN although I love my house, family, my friends, my city, etc. (16 year old male). * I am the oldest in my family. .My parents were worried that I could not continue my education because my father had been in the South Vietnamese army. Because of my situation my parents made me move to the U.S.A. on.NOvember 9, 1988 (16 year old female). .After I was finished 9th grade, I had to stop my schooling. I had to stay at home. .My parents decided me to leave my country. Because if I still in Vietnam I had to go to army and go to Cambodia and fight. I could get shot anytime. ‘And the other reason that I would have no future if I still stay in Vietnam (17 year old male). We lived in southern part of Vietnam. We escaped from South Vietnam fOr many reasons. Some of these reasons are because the communists from Nerth Vietnam took over South Vietnam and ruled the southern and became government of Vietnam. No matter where you live in South Vietnam or what kind of job you have, the government takes everything that we own and our work money. .Most of the families in Vietnam have 10 or 20 children in their family. They can’t afford to give what they have and money to the government. If they give it all to the government, they would be starved and die. That is why a lot of families from Vietnam escape to have freedom (18 year old female). The association of freedom with these other answers Squests that the word "freedom" has many meanings for the‘se students. For many it means freedom from oppressive and discriminatory policies of their government. For ‘others it means freedom from poverty and hunger/starvation. 110 And a few male students suggested that freedom to them meant "not being ordered around" and "doing what you want to do and no one can tell you can’t." Nineteen percent stated that the reason they left was because of the communist government. This involved not just the oppression and discriminatory practices, but fear on the parent’s part of the indoctrination of their children. My family told me to leave VN. The reason they told me to leave was they were afraid I would become a communist. I didn’t want to leave, but I did, to please them (16 year old male). For Family Reunion Thirteen percent stated that one of the reasons they are here in the U.S. is to help their family come. This seems to be another cultural aspect of the decision to leave. The decision, in some cases, was not for the benefit of the individual as much as for the family. I came from South Vietnam. I have mother, father, brother and two sisters. They are living in Vietnam. They want me to come to America and study hard and get good job so they can come to America (16 year old male). Eleven percent left Vietnam in order to reunite with family already resettled in the U.S. I was born in Ca Mau, Vietnam. My family has 9 people. In 1975 the Communist Vietnamese occupied Vietnam. My father didn’t want anything to do with the Communist. My father told my family we had to move to Hau Giang. I lived in Hau Giang for 5 years. When my mother found my uncle, she wanted to live near 111 him. The communist said if my father worked for them I may go to school. .My father asked me if I wanted to escape to America. In 1984 my father, one sister and two brothers escaped from Vietnam. They went first to.Malaysia. They wrote a letter to my mother. They lived in .Malaysia for about 6 months then my father, one sister and 2 brothers went to the United States. They sent clothes, candy and pictures to us. The pictures looked very nice. I wanted to come to the united States. I came to the united States in 1987 with two sisters and a brother. One day I went home and my mother had written a letter. She told us she was going to Malaysia. She then went to the Philippines. She studied 6 months. She and two sisters came to the united States in 1989. I’m very happy because my family is together (17 year old male). Some family members who escaped Vietnam were never heard from again. Such losses had many impacts on the family, one of which was being a catalyst for younger members escaping. When my older brother was 18 years old, he wanted to continue going to school but my government didn’t allow him to go. They took my brother into the army. .He stayed there a few days. Then he escaped the army and went home because he said in the army they didn’t have enough food to eat and all the soldiers were very hungry. .He said that he must escape. So he escaped Vietnam in 1982. ‘After he escaped, my family did not get any letter or message from him. we though he must have died in the ocean because at the time he escaped the weather was very bad. Later we got a letter from his friend and he let us know that my brother was dead. we were sad when we heard about my brother’s death. .My‘parent’s didn’t want their children to escape Vietnam anymore. When I was older and wasn’t allowed to go to school anymore, I asked my parents about my brother. I wanted to know why he died. I wanted to know more about his life. So they told me. .After that I told my parents I must escape. They agreed to let me go. BefOre I escaped I thought I would die as .my brother had. But I really didn’t want to live in Vietnam anymore. I would have to go into the army and I would probably die anyway (17 year old male). 112 The Escape Plan .A number of factors enter into the escape plan, such as the means of escape, payment, and who, if anyone, would be accompanying the youth. The students in this study utilized a variety of means for escaping. Some, mostly Amerasians, left legally under the Orderly Departure Program (GDP) and the Homecoming Act. They were flown out of the country (Chapter 10). One stu- dent utilized car, walking, and boat in her escape (Figure 11). Two students escaped through Cambodia on foot. The majority (78%) made their way out of Vietnam by boat. Setting out to sea in fragile overcrowded vessels, Vietnamese boat people are confronted with enormous risks in their efforts to leave their own country. The boats seem to be becoming smaller every year (UNHCR,1989). In 1988 several refugees were saved from disintegrating vessels which measured around 7.5 by 1.5 meters. These tiny crafts were built for coastal fishing or river travel, not for withstanding a gale on the high seas. Several students wrote about the expense of the escape. .My parents tried to set up fOr.my trip to flee. During that time my parents met a man who was a smuggler and was setting up a boat to escape. .My parents talked with him and decided to get one seat for.me in the boat. I had to wait about two months befbre the trip started. .All seats in the escaping boat was too much money for the Vietnamese because of the danger. .My parents paid fer my seat by gold. It was about fifteen hundred dollars which was a very big bite for my family (15 year old male). 113 I Leg! mg, MW (79‘ ccw/ waLICJMMoaé. Fig. 11: Leaving Vietnam 114 I didn’t have to pay any money because I could fix and control the machine fOr them (I was an auto mechanic) (17 year old male). .My parents gave me money to escape and I had to look for the way to escape I escaped Vietnam by boat. .At the time I escaped I had to pay a lot of money. To earn that money I think one person needed to work about 10 years. The person I had to pay was a man who made a boat and fOund the way to escape (16 year old male). Another aspect of the plan was who would accompany the youth on the journey. Thirty percent of the students were accompanied by their mothers, and 8% were accompanied by an adult other than parent, such as an older sibling, aunt, uncle, or acquaintance/friend of a parent. Only 3% had a father accompanying them on the journey. Sixty-three percent of the students in this study made the journey alone as unaccompanied minors. The decision and the impact of such an experience is touched on by two students. In the boat I left in there were 77 people. we had to stay on the ocean just 2 days but it was scary. If I had left with my family and friends, I feel that they could have taken care of me (15 year old male). When the radio announce that the weather in the next five days is going to be fine, on that night we began to leave Vietnam. There were fifty people on my boat. They were all unfamiliar and I didn’t know anyone. When the night came I looked up. There were the moon and stars. I thought about my family and my friends. I missed them and I will never see them again (16 year old male). Perhaps a key factor is the age of the youths at the time of the escape. This may be particularly important if the youths were unaccompanied. Eleven percent were 115 preadolescents, 53% were early adolescents, 28% were middle adolescents, and 8% were late adolescents. One of the students was 10 years old and had to take care of his eight year old brother throughout the journey because the father, who had accompanied them into the escape boat, jumped out at the last minute, leaving the two young boys to make the treacherous journey alone. It is unknown whether this was part of the plan to get the boys to leave or was simply a case of changing one's mind at the last minute. Context of the Journey by Boat A number of factors work together to provide a context for the escape by boat, such as the consequences if caught, piracy, and length of time to first destination. Some of the students wrote about the consequences of attempting to escape Vietnam and being caught by the soldiers or police. It was December 22, 1987. In the dark at night nobody can know we are escaping my country. I knew they would take us back to jail for about one or two years. But I decided to escape because I thought I had just two ways. The first way is to live, but I didn’t want to live in a Communist country (17 year old male). .MOst of the families that escape now they might be caught by the soldiers and might die. But they try anyway. {Mest of them think that if they stay in Vietnam, they will die sooner or later. Why not try to escape to have freedom. .Maybe God will help you escape safely. If we get in the ocean we might die. But with God’s help we will be all right (18 year old female). When the weather on the sea was good, we leaved. But I was caught and got in jail (16 year old male). 116 One of the students wrote and illustrated his experience in escaping and being caught in the attempt (Figure 12). The first time I tried to escape was not successful because the Vietnamese police knew we were escaping and they took us back. There were about 2 women with us and they were crying very much and told them we want to go to jail. But we did. The next time I decided to escape, there was a person who made the plans for me and told me things I should know; Before I left my country I had to wait about 3 months (16 year old male). Another student (age 15) along with his uncle tried to escape Vietnam on foot by crossing through Cambodia to avoid the dangers of the sea. They were caught and attacked by police and beaten. Most of his possessions were stolen. Then they were forced to work in the fields in a hard labor camp. He eventually escaped to Thailand. Some of the students in this study were jailed several times for trying to escape before they were finally suc- cessful in leaving their country. One student was caught eight times before he finally made it out of Vietnam. He drew a picture of himself in Vietnam -- behind bars (Figure 13). I tried to leave my country many times but I was caught and got jail for three months each time. Jail in Viet Nam it was a hard time fer.me. In the jail I had seen things I didn’t see before. I had to work hard. If not, I wouldn’t have nothing to eat. But in jail I was learned something good, I knew what a price I had to pay fer the word "FREEDOM" (17 year old male). umfimuufl gonna 5.. “5980 «NH Roam 118 scape Attempt Fig. 13: Jailed for E 119 Because my father was an officer in the South Vietnam army, the Nerth Vietnam government took my father to (prison. .After 3 years my father came back home. .My (parents decided we should escape Vietnam. .My father and I tried to escape many times, but we failed. When I was 16 years old I finally got out of Vietnam. I wanted freedom and I was going to get it (18 year old male). Another threat those who escaped by boat face was encounters with pirates. It is estimated that only half of the people who leave Vietnam make it to a country of first asylum (Biagini, 1989). The other half die from natural disasters, starvation, and pirate attacks. Eight percent of the students in this study stated that their boats were attacked by pirates. Another traumatic aspect of the escape process was the length of time many spent on the high seas in overcrowded and unseaworthy boats, often without food or water. Thirty-three percent of the young people spent two to six days on the ocean before reaching their first destination. Forty-seven percent spent one to two weeks, and twenty percent spent three to six weeks at sea! A disheartening aspect of the journey is that most of these boats are passed by and ignored by ships that could help (UNHCR, 1989). A few lucky ones are taken aboard merchant ships, naval vessels, fishing boats, oil rigs. At the time when they are rescued, the refugees are exhausted, starving, and dehydrated, and their boats are generally leaking. Typically ships pass within a kilometer, and some may briefly stop. However, they tend to ignore the 120 distress signals of the refugees who usually wave a white flag and burn a fire on deck. Individual Experiences A few students wrote about their escape. Their stories illustrate both the common experiences of all who leave Vietnam by boat, as well as the individual aspects of each one’s journey. One student (15 year old male) who spent a month on the ocean drew a picture of that experi- ence (Figure 14). On very first day, we cross borderline on sea and we try to reach to Malaysia. One day we see boat. Oh my God, pirates! we so scared. They take money and jewelry. They let us live, thank God! Next day we get into storm. Wind blow very hard. High waves hit our boat very hard. Everyone get very cold. During that day we lose most our water and food. Day after day we go on with no water and no food (15 year old male). I escaped Vietnam by boat. I was lost 5 days and 6 nights on the ocean. There were thirty persons on boat. I didn’t see pirates, high waves or starvation. I thought I very lucky! (16 year old male). On a day that was dark, at six-thirty at night, I went down into a small boat. My.boat was about 50 feet long and about 20 feet wide. There were 67 people on the boat. Then the boat went. we started at Dai.NOai river and it took about 1 hour to get out of that river. .After a day in the boat I was on the ocean. On the first day I felt tired and I vomited. I couldn’t eat anything. I was seasick. The next day I felt better and I could eat some rice and drink some water. we saw a lot of fish running after our boat and some of them leaped into the air in front of our boat. I was very afraid on the ocean because the boat I was in was very small compared to the ocean. I saw only water and sky. Sometimes the waves came and took the boat high. Then the waves sent and the boat came down quickly. That happened many times. I thought there was a 99 percent chance that I would die on the ocean, so I prayed fer help. .At that time I could only believe there was help because around the 121 “mom .3 kmchsofi ”Vs .mwm . {Irvulrcfnlo‘iu . . . . u... .. l I. n | .ll‘y‘f . 3‘. .0 1001‘“... Iloa‘llllIIH-lllllrt-r . fa Mdmulll h. to. l ’ I. v'I-‘e..$0.‘k.n‘. I I'll. -.u.lt. a...l..!..-o. . "05‘ .Ibl. 10.... n, u. o n .l . .l I!) -.0 ’E-“ h... . . .. . ‘0'! . (I 31“: .0 a I . l. . . . u... Io. .. . -. ..l l a. n‘O‘II:..¢‘ L II‘ n u...l . . . o -. oc‘ . II {I o .I" v l!‘ 2;, . . 0‘00...oouia. “a I...’ ll . .. . .lfuiu‘xad . . I .15 x . . . . .a " conic cl . 6:... I o. .‘I‘dvf :- ~ .o .. .. .l" i . . . u . . . . 00 O "I n . . . .. u .. y. . .. . v.9 ./ I 1.0... ...I.o plinhhjasi. .0. . . 7 . a ' 0. . .Iv? I . I.) . I 4...... .. . . .(c...l...l.ic...!|¢l: .! . .3..- .. . till}. . . .. 7 . . . . . - I o - .lb ‘01s. +- C . . ' . u . ‘l'll -. 0 III... I . .‘x I I. at |. ‘l .. .... . I. c'o OI..- uu.'.‘t.ll.|ol.l .I....ull Pr, ’- II. In! D’hdfllo-lll c‘et guni‘ol‘l-‘q 9.. a 0"— . o .. .. 5 .. ...Il0u.bn|ntiz9 . . ll . ’ . . to; II. . a O I . . . ."0!‘.¢b‘.. - .. .2... a... . ._ .H“....«wm.m\.2auu< “Hm .uem fires 3. 147 ‘ (‘1 :. -.__ . ‘. . \\\\‘.‘J'\\§z -'\l. ‘\ \ ‘ . \ . Fig. 22: Living in the PRPC 148 Once the students were accepted for resettlement in the United States, they began thinking about what their new life would be like. Table 9 shows their expectations of life in the United States. The most common expectations were that life would be rich and comfortable. A life of freedom and fun were also common answers. One student stated that he expected a "honey land." His answer touches on the commonality in most of their answers —- that of expecting some sort of utopia. Table 9: Expectations of Life in the United States (N=36) Responses Percent* Rich 28 Easier Life/Better Life/Comfortable Life 28 Freedom/Life That's Free 25 Fun 14 Have Chance to go to School/Good Schools 8 No More Hunger 5 Big and Beautiful 5 More Chance to be Successful 5 Full of Criminals and Crimes Everyday 2 A Honey Land 2 * The total is more than 100 percent since a few students gave more than one answer. 149 When I heard I was coming to the U.S., I was very surprise because I knew the U.S. is a very good country so every immigrants want to come. I felt when I was living in my country and in the camp, my life was like a jail or slavery. But in the U.S. I knew I would have freedom and liberty (17 year old male). Leaving Camp ‘The students shared a variety of feelings about leaving camp. Some were excited, others had anxious and mixed feelings. One student stated he was sad because he was leaving friends with whom he had spent the last three years. I was in Thailand for a few years in the camp. I waited three years to come over to the U.S-A. The day I left the Thailand refugee camp I felt very sad because I wouldn’t see my friends there again (16 year old male). One student shared his experience and feelings in depth in the following writing. I lived on a small island which was named Pulau Bidong Refugee Camp of Malaysia. While I lived there, I only studied English and waited for the delegation to interview me. .After a year the U.S. Delegation allowed me to move to Sungei Besi Refugee Camp. I lived there fer a few months then I was accepted by the U.S. delegation in December 1986. Suddenly on March 20th, 1987, I saw my name on the list fer leaving on.March 25th, 1987. When the time came, I couldn’t sleep well because I wondered hOW’I was going to live and what I was going to be in the united States. I really worried all about those things because I was still a lonely kid and I didn’t have any relative in the Uhited States. In the early morning on.March 25th, 1987, the officers called me to leave the Sungei Besi at 5:00 AM} Befbre I left, I saw many Vietnamese refugees who were waiting fOr me. They really wanted to take me out the gate and they said very nice things to me. During that time I was very sorry for them because 150 they didn’t know when they would go to the third country and I was luckier than those people who were still living in the refugee camp. Hewever, I was sad and crying for them. .At this time, I thought I wouldn’t see them again, so I only knew to say, "Good Luck” and "Good Bye" (17 year old male). Summary Most of the students in this study spent time in refugee camps in Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong. They lived in conditions ranging from difficult to dangerous. The time spent in camps ranged from one month to three and one-half years. Some took advantage of opportunities to go to school and learn English. Others were too preoccupied with surviving/subsisting to go school. Still others simply did not want to go to school and spent their time unsupervised. Many stated that one of the most difficult aspects of living in the camps was waiting to get out. Many were afraid they would not be accepted for resettlement and would never get out of the camp. When they were accepted to the U.S., most had high and unrealistic expectations of life in the U.S. which they imagined as a utopia where life would be rich, free, and fun. Chapter 8 FINDINGS V} EAST MEETS WEST When we first came to the united States we didn’t knOW’hOW'tO speak English. All we could do is to do all different kinds of hand signs and do some drawing to make others understand what we say. When I first got off at Michigan airport, I didn’t understand why these people’s skin color and hair colors were dif- ferent. I thought, "We will be killed by these people!" (18 year old female). The impact of uprooting and resettling in a foreign culture and society takes a tremendous amount of energy and coping/adaptational skills. The students in this study experienced resettlement in similar ways as well as in very unique and individualistic ways depending on their back- ground experiences and personal strengths and styles. This chapter will explore the changes and stressors they experience in the U.S.A. and how they are coping with those. Changes in Cultural Environment Culture is rational within its own context (Asia Society, 1979, p. 154). One of the first reactions of these young people to the United States was various degrees of culture shock, as the student in the above quote so poignantly illustrates. Upon arriving in the U.S., the refugee youths were faced ‘with the loss of all the familiar cues and symbols of socio-cultural interactions, such as gestures, facial expressions, words, customs, and norms which they had 151 152 acquired in the course of growing up in Vietnam. It is a loss of the "thousand and one ways in which one orients oneself to the situation of daily life" (Oberg, 1966, p. 43). For these students culture shock was manifested as feelings of frustration and/or fear. * I’d like to tell you something about my new life in America. Coming to America was a fortunate thing fOr me. Living in America is a wonderful country. I like it alot. But I still have many problems that I wish you and others understood. The very first problem I had was culture shock. Vietnamese and.Americans are almost totally different with different lifestyles. .Many times I got confused and misjudged and misunderstood people. At school I have problems with communicating (17 year old male). * Living in America was strange and different for.me at first. I am getting better and used to it. I try real hard to adapt to a new life in this country (18 year old female). When the plane landed in the U.S., somebody said I shouldn’t go outside. If I did, someone would kidnap me and kill me. I was scared. (15 year old male). When we came here, I was so scared. But I’m getting better and better (16 year old female). Following the initial cultural shock, these students began experiencing socio-cultural stress as they attempted to interact with their new environment and its people. Stress arose from cultural discrepancies, misunderstand- ings, or clashes, particularly over the subtleties of meanings . Nonverbal Communication .A common area for misunderstandings occurred in the realm of nonverbal communication. Several types of 153 nonverbals were noted to be especially troublesome during interactions between the two cultures. These are chronemics, oculesics, haptics, and kinesics. Chronemics is the timing of verbal exchanges during conversation (Schnapper, 1979). Southeast Asians time their exchanges to leave silence between each statement. Americans tend to expect their partners to respond immedi- ately to their statements and find silence unsettling. The Americans may take the silence to mean the Vietnamese did not understand, are shy, inattentive, bored, or nervous. .Misunderstanding between Americans and Vietnamese have been observed over the use of silence. For example, today one of the American teachers was trying to hold a conversation with a Vietnamese paraprofessional. The teacher would jump in quickly when the Vietnamese paraprofessional did not respond quickly to statements or questions. The teacher tended to repeat the question/statement, rephrase say it louder, and/or say it slower. Similar incidents have occurred on other occasions with some of the other American teachers and staff when conversing with Vietnamese paraprofes- sionals, students, or parents (Field notes, February 26, 1990). Oculesics is the eye-to-eye contact or avoidance (Schnapper, 1979). American teachers invariably try to make the Vietnamese students look them directly in the eye. Americans tend to be dependent on eye contact as a sign of listening behavior and do not feel that there is human contact without eye contact. To Americans, avoidance of eye contact may carry the meaning of insecurity or ‘untrustworthiness. Most of the Vietnamese students, Ihowever, were taught not to look directly into the eye of 154 the other person because this exemplifies disrespect toward that person, particularly an older person or a person considered to have authority. Instead, they may look downward and only intermittently glance upward. Haptics is the tactile form of communication (Schnapper, 1979). Some misunderstanding over touch may occur when teachers communicate with their Vietnamese students by a pat on the head. While this is culturally appropriate in the U.S., to the Vietnamese student this form of tactile communication is likely to be inappropriate. In Vietnam one does not touch another person's head because it represents disrespect for the spirits of their ancestors (Weroha, 1989) Misunderstandings also occur over public touching between genders. The Vietnamese are shocked by open displays of affection. Even common greetings can be offensive. The typical American handshake is appropriate between two males and between two females, but if an American male reaches out and shakes the hand of a female in greeting, cultural tension/misunderstanding may result. Another potential for cultural misunderstanding regarding haptics is the behavior of holding hands. It is not unusual to see Vietnamese students of the same gender, particularly females, holding hands for extended periods of time. The females (ages 17 and 18) at school #3 are frequently observed holding hands. When standing and talking with a teacher two or three of them will be 155 holding hands. When walking down the hall in groups of two or three, they also hold hands. Today when the researcher was walking down the hall, one of the female students came along side, slipped her hand into the researcher’s and walked back to the classroom in this manner (Field notes, January 4, 1990). Misunderstandings can occur over another form of haptics. This morning one of the male Vietnamese students patted the buttocks of an Afro-American male (a custodian) who had his back to him in the student lounge. The American erupted in anger, stormed up to the front desk and irately told what the student had done. He then called the Executive Director to file a complaint. Following this complaint and misunderstanding, the supervisor and teacher talked with this students and educated him on the meaning this gesture can have to Americans. He was told not to do it again. The researcher asked the Vietnamese paraprofes- sional about this behavior, sharing that, prior to this incident, a couple of the males at school #3 had been observed patting the buttocks of Vietnamese male acquaintances as a ferm of greeting or salutation. The Vietnamese paraprofessional stated that while this is not appropriate in mainstream Vietnamese society, it is apparently appropriate sub-cultural behavior among certain groups (Field notes, December 20, 1989). Kinesics is the movement of the body, such as hand gestures and facial expressions. Facial expressions, particularly the "Vietnamese smile," is typically open to cultural misunderstandings since it may exemplify happiness or may mask emotional anguish or hostility. .Many foreign teachers in Vietnam have been irritated and frustrated when Vietnamese students smile in what appears to be the wrong time and place. They cannot understand hOW'the students can smile when repri- .manded, when not understanding the lessons being explained, and especially when they should have given an answer to the question instead of sitting still and smiling quietly. Smiling at all times 156 and places is a common characteristic of Vietnamese. They will smile as a silent friendly gesture, to please their superiors, or as a polite screen to hide confusion, ignorance, bitterness, disappoint- ment, shyness, and even anger. There are no guide- lines to tell fereigners what meaning each smile represents in each situation (Vietnamese Parapro- fessional). Using smiling as a mask is the result of the Vietnamese value of self-control. In traditional Viet- namese society, open expression of emotions is considered in bad taste except among very close relatives or friends. "To avoid confrontation or disrespect, disagreement, frus- tration, or even anger are usually expressed in an indirect manner by inference, silence, or a reluctant smile" (Khoa & Van Deusen, 1981, p. 49). The majority of the students in this study did seem to have the tendency to display a reservation in openly expressing emotions and to utilize "the Vietnamese smile." The ESL teachers in this study seemed to be very aware of this aspect of the culture. A male student (age 16) entered the ESL classroom where the teacher was grading papers. He stood at the door smiling. T: (looks up) .May I help you? S: Do you have my reading paper? (smiling but voice trembling) T: I do, but I didn’t correct it yet? S: Oh (stands there smiling; starts to say something about the bilingual tutor when the tutor enters the room). The tutor proceeds to recount that this student had been caught going through the teachers desk. The student stood there smiling, but when the tutor left, he broke down and cried. He said he had been looking for his reading paper but the tutor accused him of wrongdoing, and when he walked away and picked up a book off the shelf, the tutor humiliated him in front 157 of the class by saying he didn’t know enough English to read that book. He said he was angry at the teacher fOr humiliating him (Field notes, January 17, 1990). .At break a male student went up to the teacher with a big smile on his face. T: (looks up at him) May I help you? S: I want to get out on Independent living. T: Why do you want to do that? S: (continues smiling) I don’t want to be in foster care anymore. : Then you’re not happy? S: Yeh, I’m happy. I just want to get out. I’m old enough. T: What’s the real problem. S: (loses smile, looks sober) Our fOster mother gets real angry. She’s always hollering at me. .Makes me not happy. She works too hard, I think. I can’t study when she’s angry. T: (Teacher suggests alternatives, such as going to the library to study rather than spending all the time at home. The student leaves, agreeing to think it over.more (Field notes, February 6, 1990). A.female student came to class with a big smile on her face and continued smiling excessively compared to her usual patterns of expression. The teacher noted that though she was smiling her eyes seemed "sad and hollowx" The student, at the end of class wrote a note to the teacher saying that she came to class very sad that day (Field notes, March 1, 1990). Health Beliefs and Treatment Misunderstandings have also occurred over health treatments and health beliefs, which had the potential of grave consequences, as the following incident illustrates. A male Vietnamese student (age 15) came to school with bruises on his forehead, face and neck. One of the teachers suspected abuse and consulted with the counselor. Since language was a problem, one of the bilingual paraprofessionals was asked to talk with the student and find out how it happened. .After talking with the student the paraprofessional stated that the boy’s uncle had administered a health treatment called coining because the boy had had a headache (February 13, 1990). 158 Coining, cupping, or "scratching the wind" involves a therapeutic massage in which a mentholated ointment or wax is applied to the sore areas, primarily on the forehead, around the neck, or over the shoulders and back of the patient in cases of general discomfort (Biagini, 1989). With the edge of a coin or a spoon or a piece of broken glass, the skin is scratched until dark spots that look like bruises can be seen. Sometimes just pinching the skin will be enough. The sicker the patient, the darker the spots will be. It is believed to provide temporary relief for colds, fever, vomiting, upset stomach, muscle pain, general discomfort, shock, fainting. This practice is based on the belief that "bad wind" or unhealthy air currents get caught inside the body causing illness. Scratching the medicated area lets the "bad winds" out of the body and restores health. Cultural values The differences in cultural values of the Vietnamese culture and the mainstream U.S. culture have been points of clash, often with confusion on both sides since values may be subconscious and/or assumed. Based on observations, clashes were noted over values of honesty versus "saving face," independence versus interdependence, openness versus reservedness, freedom of choice versus authoritarian/ hierarchal control. One of the students in this study seemed to indicate a 159 better fit with the U.S. values of independence vs. the Vietnamese values of interdependence. In answer to the question, "What do you like best about the United States?" he answered the following: Everything depends on you. You don’t have to depend on everybody else (16 year old male). name and Family Environment Another area of change the students experience is in their home and family. The type and degree of change varied from student to student. Family Composition Eleven percent of the students live in two-parent households. Only one of the families came over together. The other two were reunited with the fathers who had arrived in the U.S. previously and served as sponsors for the rest of the family. In one such family there are 12 people living at home. All, except the two youngest children, work in a factory or restaurant to contribute to the family income. The family had 18 members in Vietnam, and came over individually or in small groups until all, ‘with the exception of grandparents, were gradually reunited over a period of seven years. One daughter who had made the journey out of Vietnam and to the U.S. alone, was hit by a train and killed one week after arriving in the U.S. The family is still in mourning over this daughter as revealed in the students' writings and behavior. 160 Twenty-eight percent of the students in this study live in single parent homes headed by mothers. I’ve been in the U.S. three years. My family lived together in Vietnam, but in the U.S. only my mom and me live together (17 year old female). Thirteen percent are living with relatives, such as a cousin, aunt, uncle, or sibling, who either came over with them or had arrived in the U.S. earlier. Forty-seven percent of the students live in foster care. All these live with Vietnamese families except for two Amerasian males who live with American families (Chapter 9). A few students wrote about living in foster homes. They express differences in their experiences and in their feelings. Right now I’m living with foster parents. I feel very happy living with them, because they always give me good advice and they take care of me very well. I’m a foster child until I reach my nineteenth birthday (17 year old male). I want to move out of my foster home. I don’t like my foster mother. She yells at me all the time. I think she works too hard and is tired. I just don’t feel comfortable living there (16 year old male). In VN I was living with my family. There were 9 people living together. They all loved me better than I’m living with my foster parents here (15 year old male). One ethnic Vietnamese student (age 16) had asked to be placed in an American foster home. In the midst of pressing for this request, he became very anxious and, for a period of several weeks, came in daily to the ESL r,” 161 classroom with questions for his ESL teacher regarding how American families function. The following is an excerpt of one of those conversations. It seems to reveal the Vietnamese cultural expectation of clear social rules and a definite "right" way of doing things. What rules do you have in your house for your son? (Teacher shares some of their family rules) when you get up in morning what do you do first thing? Do you eat breakfast? Sometimes. we usually get our own breakfasts. When you get up in morning, what do you say first thing? well, we say "Good Morning". Do I say good morning first or do other person say it first? It doesn’t matter. What other rules do American families have? well that depends on each family. Each family has its own way of doing things. Each family is different. (Looks surprised) Then how can I know what to do?! (anxious tone in his voice) What if I make a mistake?! well, the best thing to do if you’re not sure is to ask (Field notes, January 17, 1990). When the participating students were asked what makes them sad, the top answer was missing their families (Table 10). Most who gave this answer were unaccompanied minors/ foster children. In their writings, many of these youths had the common themes of loneliness, homesickness, and, in 162 TABLE 10: What Makes Students Sad (N=36) Responses Percent w [—1 Family far away from me/Missing parents N N Getting bad grades/Failing a test Not getting good grades When I get bad grade and someone yells at me School/The students in school Love/Girlfriend turn me down Death/Accidents kill If I’m not successful I can't learn English good Not getting a letter from my family Getting a letter with bad news from.my family Loneliness No mother No money NNNNNNWUIUIUIUIUIUI My family still treating me same as in VN some cases, a yearning to go home, particularly for those who felt coerced/forced into leaving Vietnam. I surprise with the new life in the U.S. after I arrive here. In the U.S. I really have freedom and liberty. New that I am in the U.S. Sometimes I’m disappointed that I came here because I don’t see my 163 (parent or my brothers, sisters every day. But I hope in sometimes soon I will be see them. On the other hand I’m not disappointed with everything I have (16 year old male). I am living and studying in the greatest nation in the world. I can have everything but the love from my family (14 year old male). I wish my foster parents understood about me because I’m a lonely child so I need love from adult person who is like my parent. When I left my family in VN there’re many problems happen to me. I think about my family all the time. Loneliness is a life no one can live. I have everything my mind wants, freedom, but I cannot forget my family. Sometime I dream that I meet .my family but when I open my eyes I see nothing (16 year old male). Another issue for the young people in foster care is the temporary nature of the family, a stark contrast to the typical interdependent Vietnamese families. When these young people turn 18 or 19, they are totally on their own. Many worry about what will happen when they must leave their foster home and live on their own in this foreign society. I think English language is very important to me. English is use everywhere in the United States. If I get through high school possibly I don't learn English well. I think that will be a big problem to me because I think when I’m 18 I must go out to live by myself. I don’t know what can I do when I 18 years old (17 year old male) Not all unaccompanied minors can handle foster care placement. Two male students (ages 17 and 18) at schools #2 and #3 have been put on independent living because of being unable to handle foster care. One of the students has been in five different placements in eight months. 164 Independent living is a controlled placement for 17 and 18 year old wards of the court who live on their own under the supervision of a caseworker. They receive income for living expenses from the government through the foster care agency. Independent living is a pre-step to being totally emancipated from the court-placed jurisdiction. As a result of knowing these two students, two other students at school #2 have decided they would like more "freedom." They are now in the process of being placed on independent living and plan to live together. Family Expectations Stress comes from many sides for these young people, including family, both in the U.S. and in Vietnam. When asked what their family in the U.S. expected of them, the three top answers revolved around school: to get good grades/get all "A’s" (28%), to work hard in school (22%), to go to school/become more educated (19%) (Table 11). There is a tendency of the Vietnamese to think that school failure is simply due to a lack of effort (Khoa and Van Deusen, 1981). This belief is based in Confucian teaching. The high expectations seem to be stressful on the students in this study. Two students made the following comments: I wish my parents could understand that it is hard to get a good grade in every class I take (16 year old female). I wish my family would understood in skills of reading English is hard for me (16 year old male). 165 TABLE 11: Expectations of Family in U.S. (N=32) Responses Percent* Be a Good Student/Get Good Grades/Get all "A's" 28 Work Hard in School/Study Hard 22 Go to School/Become More Educated 19 Get a Good Job 13 Be a Good Person/Be a Good Boy in Family 10 Graduate From College 6 I Don't Know/Mother Did Not Give Me a Signal 6 Live a Good Life 3 To Speak Vietnamese 3 * Total is more than 100 percent since a few students gave more than one answer. In contrast, it seems that these young people perceive that family in Vietnam have a different set of expectations for them. The emphasis is on making money in order to help the family financially or to sponsor them (Table 12). During the past two years I have kept writing letters and sending money to my family in Vietnam (16 year old male). I have a job. I make money so I can send to my family to help them (17 year old male). 166 TABLE 12: Expectations by Family in Vietnam (N=32) Responses Percent* Send Money Back/Help Them 31 Help Them Come to U.S. 22 Have a Good Job 13 To Study Hard/Werk Hard 13 To Be Successful Get All "Afs"/Be a Good Student Live a Good Life/Have a Better Life To Think of Them a Lot To Become a Doctor Go to College wwwmcsmto Go to School Everyday * Total is more than 100 percent since a few students gave more than one answer. HgmeyLanquaae Seventy-two percent of the students indicated that at home they only speak Vietnamese with family and friends. Nineteen percent stated that they speak some English at home. One student speaks Vietnamese and Chinese at home, another speaks only Chinese, and a third student, who is in an American foster home, speaks only English at home. One student shares the following: 167 New I live with my mother. I speak Vietnamese in my home because my mother doesn’t knOW'hOW’tO speak English. But I speak English when I am in school, and Vietnamese too, when I am in the bilingual class with .my friends. I seldom read any books and newspaper. But if I feel bored I read in English because I don’t knOW'hOW'tO read Vietnamese words (15 year old male). Changes in the Linguistic Environment Because of my lack of ability to speak English, I don’t know what I am going to be in the future (17 year old male). While language is a part of the socio-cultural environment, it is such an important aspect of these students' current situations that it is necessary to examine it separately as an environment within its own right. Preoccupation over the loss of linguistic competencies pervades the students writings and answers on the surveys. Their most frequent response to the question, "What is the worst thing about living in the U.S.?" was not being able to understand when people talk and not being able to communicate in English (Table 13). At first living in America was very hard fer me because I just knew just a little English to talk with other people (16 year old female). The first year was hard fOr me and my family -- the language and schooling (15 year old male). Loss of one's native language in the mainstream society is one side of the changed linguistic environment. 168 TABLE 13: Worst thing about living in the U.S. (N=36) Responses Percent English/I can't understand when people talk Leaving family behind Winter/Cold Weather/Snow makes me cold Fighting/A lot of fighting in my life Drug temptation/Friends taking drugs/Drugs & drinking The people Accidents kill Being refused work Loneliness Raking leaves in the fall time 30 22 19 NNNNU'IQQ The other side is learning the language of the majority society. Native English speakers tend not to realize how difficult a language English is to learn, as the following poem so poignantly illustrates. A moth is not a moth in mother Nor both in bother, broth in brother And here is not a match for there Nor dear and fear for bear and pear, And then there's dose and rose and lose -- Just look them up -- and goose and choose, And cork and work and card and ward, And font and front and word and sword, And do and go and thwart and cart ~- A dreadful language? Man alive, I'd mastered it when I was five! (Chomskey, 1970, p. 309). 169 Learning English is a discouraging task for many non- native speakers. There seems to be more exceptions to the rules than there are rules. It is especially hard for language groups that differ greatly from English. Vietnamese is one of those languages. Pronunciation I wish my teacher teach me to speak English in the right way (15 year old.male). The most immediate need of these students is both to understand spoken English and to be readily understood when speaking English. Learning English pronunciation is not an easy task for the Vietnamese student. The differences between Vietnamese and English are considerable. They are, as languages go, about as different phonologically as they can get, and teaching pronunciation of one to a speaker of the other is no mean feat (Center for Applied Linguistics, n.d., p.7). The researcher worked with the students at school #3 on reading and vocabulary. Much of the task involved pronouncing and distinguishing the pronunciation of words. For example, one session involved trying to help a female student hear the difference between numbers such as "thirty" and "thirteen." To her they sounded the same. She had difficulty hearing the "n" at the end of the word. It wasn't until she was encouraged to watch the researcher form the words that she began to "hear" the difference. The pronunciation of sounds in the final position 170 of a word, such as "s" and final "es", "t," "d," and "b" are unfamiliar to the Vietnamese tongue and ear and as such are often ignored by the Vietnamese in speaking English (Vietnamese Paraprofessional). Intonation Vietnamese is a tonal language. Therefore every word is associated with a particular tone of voice. If a speaker does not pronounce the correct tone for a word, he either mispronounces the word or pronounces another word entirely (Center for Applied Linguistics, n.d.). English is not a tonal language, but it does utilize intonation patterns. For example intonation is used to differentiate between the meaning of the sentence "He's a teacher." and the question "He's a teacher?" The problem for the Vietnamese student is learning that intonation does not change the meaning of words but it does change the meaning of sentences. In this study the students have been observed to have the tendency to listen closely to how words are said, often becoming confused by looking for tones that aren't there. Patterns of Language The Vietnamese language is invariable in form. Vietnamese does not use inflectional suffixes such as "play“ in contrast to fplayed," or "book" in contrast to "books" in English. Instead it uses particles to express the same notion (Vietnamese Paraprofessional). Final consonant clusters involve grammatical problems in addition to phonological ones. The Vietnamese language does not have clusters. In addition, Vietnamese does not 171 have grammatical endings. Therefore, the students often have difficulty remembering to put the plural, past tense, third person singular, or possessive endings onto the words. Some of these errors can be seen in the student's writings throughout the findings sections of this study. The use of pronouns creates another problem for the Vietnamese students. When talking with some of the students in English, the researcher noted that frequently the students would use names in place of pronouns such as "my," "I," "your." Pronouns are not used in Vietnamese. The use of pronouns is considered disrespectful. In Vietnamese we use titles, such as teacher, or names instead (Vietnamese paraprofessional). Educational Environment One of the major stressors for children and young people is moving to a different community and entering a new school. This is especially stressful in the teen years because the development of strong peer groups is a major developmental task during these years. For the refugee youth the stressors of moving and entering a new school are enormously magnified because the means for connecting with peers in the new environment are suddenly gone -- that of a common language and culture. Many of the Vietnamese students in this study touched on these issues in their writings. In response to the question, "Tell me about your first day at school in the 172 U.S.," common themes revolved around language problems and peer group relationships. The first day I’m so afraid. I don’t understand what they talking about. And the first day I went to school I don’t learn anything. I don’t know anyone in school and they don’t understand the language that I spoke. I don’t knOW'hOW can I make the teacher understand me. .My first day of school I don’t make any friends at all. I so shy, but about one week ago I’m OK (14 year old female). When the first day that I came to the school, I afraid that I cannot make it because all is new. I didn’t speak any English, and I couldn’t understand what the teachers tried to say; But I’m trying to learn. The first time I see Vietnamese teacher in school I’m so happy. .And from there my English [ESL] teacher try to help me in my English (15 year old male) It was confusing in my first day because there was all Americans and they speak the language I have never heard befOre. The most thing discouraged me about school is when I wanted to ask some questions to teacher in English and when it was time to change classes because I was not used to changing classes (16 year old male). The first day I went to school I felt I’m from the other planet because my life changed too quickly. .My first day at school I felt stupid. I didn’t know anything about school such as I didn’t know the way to class, how to get lunch and the main problem that I didn’t know any English until a few days later. I got a few Vietnamese friends and they helped me, and I was getting better after the first ten days (17 year old male). Environment of Mainstream Classes As mentioned in Chapter 4, most of the Vietnamese students in this study are in mainstream classes for at least half of the school day. These classes tend to be quite stressful for these students. Trying to function in classes which are taught in English and trying to function in social situations in which English is the language of 173 communication are sources of frustration and anxiety for these students. They expend a lot of energy simply trying to get the gist of what teachers and other English speakers are talking about. The English language continues to be a stumbling block for Vietnamese young people throughout their first few years in the U.S. When the students in this study were asked to describe their mainstream classes, the common theme was frustration over the handicap of having to communicate and learn in a language they do not know. Some of their comments are as follows. In Vietnam school much easier than here. In Vietnam we learn in our own language, not like here [See Figure 23] (15 year old male). . School in America is more difficult than in Vietnam. It might be the language problem. The first week at school I did not learn anything. Everything was absolutely different and confusing and I felt afraid. Today I’m getting better, but still have a problem (16 year old female). Regular classes I feel very confused when the teacher talk too fast and when they speak strange words (16 year old male) I wish my teacher don’t embarrass me and would teach me to speaking and writing with the right ways. I wish my teachers understood that my English is limited so they would try to understand the thing I would like to express (17 year old male). .Along with the language barrier, most Vietnamese students are not prepared to function in American schools where students are expected to take active participation in the educational process (Dillard, 1987). As mentioned in Chapter 5, traditional Vietnamese schools emphasize Hoocom :« mwocmumuuwo momsmcmq "mm .mem x... 7% \Vntuvuu..\ AA xxx. that 6.632%. a. {Huxtkufq uxv‘ L I" 175 memorization and recitation. Students are not encouraged to ask questions nor to demonstrate creative ability. The school in my country is different from the school in the U.S. is. In my country the students go to school to just listen to teacher and the teacher is show them. They cannot talk in class. There are 4 hours of class in a day. From.MOnday to Saturday. And the work is easier than here (15 year old male). Most of the young people in this study grew up in a homogeneous society in Vietnams Suddenly, in the U.S., they feel conspicuous in a crowd. Most experience being a minority for the first time in their lives. In regular class there are a lot of'Americans except me, because I am Vietnamese (16 year old male). Many express desire to blend in and are very sensitive of their small statures, in some cases, and their black hair and Asian features. This, along with their insecurity about speaking English, creates a stressful environment for them in mainstream classes. On top of this they must deal with some of the students who tease them and fight with them because they are Vietnamese. There are many attitudes toward the Vietnamese students in this study, and the range of attitudes can also be seen among the mainstream teachers. A few display elements of prejudice. A majority lack understanding and make no allowances for the cultural-linguistic barrier, expecting the same work from these students as the others in the class. A few display genuine caring, concern and 176 make the extra effort to help these students succeed. One such teacher arranged for the ESL teacher to come in to her class and introduce the new Vietnamese students and share a little about them, such as where they come from and why they are here and how other students can help make their adjustment easier. This mainstream teacher helped to make the way a little easier for these students by sensitizing the mainstream students. Unfortunately such situations are very rare. For the Vietnamese, the minority experience seems to be a two-sided experience. Several expressed that they were not used to going to school with different races. One student, who stated that in Vietnam he only had Vietnamese classmates, expressed his experience in the U.S. in a picture of his mainstream math class (see Figure 24). Mainstream classes that are dependent on language are the most difficult for the Vietnamese students. The language barrier is the biggest handicap. There have been several incidents where students who appear to be doing very well in reading English are failing classes. It has been discovered that while they can read the words they do not understand what they are reading. Mainstream classes tend to be taught with cultural assumptions and with little understanding regarding the degree of difficulty for the Vietnamese students. One student (15 year old male) had to give a speech on a fish in the Great Lakes. He was to speak about the habitat and he was to bring in a recipe for 177 Edmnumcwoz 5.. hqucomounoumm «em .35 .~\N§k“ \MWxQV\Onv .N“ \Utfio a mask §s\u\ mm. 4. Smut nukes“ as. £193“ Quin: user the seasons wwsquwéfim HI. fish“ ewes tax as. 178 cooking the fish. The student was totally lost. He didn't know hOW'tO go to the library to get information, and he didn’t knOW'hOW’tO go about finding a recipe since recipe books were unfamiliar to him. His ESL teacher worked with him on these areas (Field notes, March 13, 1990). Perhaps the difficulty of the Vietnamese students in mainstream is best portrayed by the student drawing in Figure 25. Math is the one area in which the students, in general, do very well. Some have suggested this may be due to the use of the abacus in learning math in Vietnam. The abacus makes mathematics concrete, tangible, and visualiz- able instead of being an abstract subject (Carlin, 1979). Several of the drawings the students drew of them- selves in school revolved around math class. Their struggle with content in other classes is not a problem in math class since math is not dependent on language or a cultural frame of reference. Doing well in math may help to boost spirits and, in some cases a faltering self- esteem, when other classes are not going so well. One student drew himself laughing with his math book in hand (Figure 26) Another student shared the following writing. Yesterday when I was in cafeteria on the line to get lunch, I saw my name on the paper on the wall. I was interested and I asked myself, "What happened to me? Why did they put my name on the paper?" I was afraid because I didn’t read the sentence at the top. Then I asked my friend. He said, "Read the sentence." I felt better after I read it because it list about good math student. I very proud when I got a good score math. I hope I will get a good score in all subjects in future. I think it will be if I have good effort and keep working hard (16 year old male). 179 ax cosmeummxm anmuumcasz 0:9 «mm .mem Viet § [{1} 180 Math Fig. 26: Doing Well in 181 Environment of the ESL Classes The young people in this study have one to three hours of ESL/bilingual classes a day. These classes are based on individualized need and may involve bilingual tutoring in content area materials, learning English, and learning world geography through ESL methodology. In ESL class I very much enjoy it. In there I have a good chance to learn more about English and get much help from either American or Vietnamese teacher (17 year old male). ESL class is very helprl for me in my second language (16 year old male). In my ESL classes room I learning my English. .My teacher and my friend try to help me learning English. They are very good persons. They are try to let me learn to speak. I feel great! (15 year old male). I am a tenth grader at a different high school, but every day I take the bus to [school #2] where I study the English language. Ifm not talking and writing very well. Teacher teaches very well, because when I don’t understand I can ask her everything I don’t know (16 year old male). When one enters the ESL class one enters another subculture that greatly differs from the mainstream high school culture. There are a lot of different people from different countries in ESL class. They learn English and geography; I never have been in ESL befOre. I really enjoy doing some of the work in this class. I have very nice teachers. They willing to help me in any homework I have trouble with. I have.made a lot of nice friends who are from different countries. I really enjoy hanging with them (18 year old female). Some of the students are surprised by the parallel experiences of other ethnic groups as the student author of 182 the following dialogue so beautifully illustrates: V: I come from Vietnam. : I come from Cuba. V: My family escaped because we wanted freedom. C: My family escaped because we wanted freedom too. Cuba has a communist leader named Fidel Castro. V: Vietnam had a communist leader too. .His name was Ho Chi Minh. C: we were afraid of the police in Cuba. V: we were afraid of the soldiers in Vietnam. C: I hate Fidel, but I love Cuba. V: I hate communist, but I like Vietnam. I miss my family and friends. C: I miss my family and friends too. : Our lives are almost the same. : we even write our numbers the same way. : The only difference is that I speak Vietnamese. . . : And I speak Spanish. : Chau! : Chao! THE END (14 year old male) The multicultural atmosphere and being with same language peers and other peers who are also struggling with English produces a different set of experiences and a different set of behaviors from the Vietnamese students. The researcher observed a group of students in their mainstream classes and in their ESL class on several different occasions. The behavior of the Vietnamese students differed in these two environments as the following observation portrays. Three of the Vietnamese students, a female and two males, have Science class together. Today the science teacher gave an assignment and the class was expected to discover the answers on their own. Throughout the whole hour, the American students moved around the room getting infermation from books in the back of the class, going to the library across the hall, working on a computer, and talking together in small groups. .Mbst of the desks were empty as the students milled about the room. In contrast, the Vietnamese students, 183 sat in their seats working quietly and alone. There was no interaction among them, and only one of the males had a brief conversation with an American female over the assignment. This observation contrasts with what has been observed of these three in their ESL classrooms. In ESL they socialize freely with classmates and complain openly and frequently to the teacher along with their other classmates. One of the.males who is quiet and introverted in mainstream manifests disruptive and acting out behavior in ESL, such as swearing, disobedience and refusing to work (Field notes, January 17, 1990). Many of the students seem come to come to the ESL class to socialize. They talk to one another in Vietnamese ‘while the other students converse with their language peers, and the teachers have difficulty getting some of the students to work. I have one ESL class. This is the one class I most like, because the kids in this class always go crazy and they also talk too much [Figure 27]. But its fun (18 year old female). Perhaps the ESL class is a place which feels safe. In ESL they are not competing in an atmosphere where their language and culture are handicapping them. They are with their true peers. In their writings many talked about the ESL class as the place where they have friends in contrast to the mainstream classes. Besides ESL, I have 5 regular classes. Each are OK but kind of boring because I don’t have.many friends to talk with! (16 year old male). I like ESL better than regular class because in ESL I have friends and they help me when I have hard time with studies (15 year old male). mmmso Hmmsaaaam\amm was new .mam . «intestate... L. ML. mg): Tum mcmmudv w. [III 185 The students were asked what they believed would make them successful in the U.S. The three most frequent answers were education (27%), hard work (25%), and speaking English (17%). I hope in my future I will be able to speak English very well. I will put ferth effort to study English because now its a language I must use daily, and I want to be an engineer (16 year old male). Stress, Coping and.Adaptation One aspect of understanding the current situation of these young people is being aware of the impact of and responses to the multiplicity of stressors and losses they experience. Stress and loss were explored by asking the students what they worry about most and what makes them sad. Coping styles were explored by asking them what they do when they are sad and angry. Table 14 contains their responses to what they worry about most. The most frequent worries had to do with school and getting good grades. Other common worries revolved around communicating in English and worrying about family still in Vietnam. A common theme in the students' writings was feelings of sadness and loneliness. When asked what makes them sad, 31% responded with "missing family/parents" and 22% stated that getting bad grades/failing a test makes them sad (Table 10). Preoccupation with grades and family also came out in 186 TABLE 14: What Student's WOrry About Most (N=36) Responses Percent* Grades School/Studies/Pressure at school English/Speaking English in the right way My family in Vietnam My future/Dark future My health Money Getting Married Nothing Job Trying to understand people in America Driving the car Being stupid Drugs and Beer Not having enough money to go to college 25 19 17 17 NMMNNMUIU'IUIUIUI * Total is more than 100 percent since a few students gave more than one answer. their responses to the question, "What makes you happy?" The two top responses were "getting good grades/getting an A," (38%) and "thinking about when my family comes to live with me" (19%). Fourteen percent stated that they are not 187 happy. Some of the students in this study seem to be coping with tremendous stress and overcoming obstacles in their education by putting forth extra effort and hard work. For those who are succeeding in school, and in some cases excelling, one of the common traits they seem to share is a belief in hard work. Everyday I go to school and go home with only one purpose -- to gain more knowledge. (15 year old male). I go to school from 8:30 in the morning until 2:30. .After school each day, I have to study for at least two hours. Then I can watch T.V. That is what I do daily (13 year old male). I take my notes with me wherever I go. I study on the bus, at lunch, use all the free time I have fOr studying at home. I made it on the National HOnor Society this year (16 year old male). The regular classes are more harder than ESL. But I try my best to get good grades. I really want my (parents to be happy and proud of me (17 year old female). In the face of English limitations, cultural ambi- guities, and stigma/prejudice, clustering with own lan- guage-cultural group seems to be a common coping response. Trying to function as "normal" in the majority society takes a tremendous amount of energy. Staying with others who are similar is a source of support and identity and saves much energy that would have to be expended in frus— trating interactions with those of the majority society. we came to Michigan on September 6, 1987. I.made a lot of friends. Most of my friends are Asian. They 188 helped me with my school work in school (16 year old male). When I talk.American students don’t understand me, and the teachers don’t understand me too. I wish my teacher understood hOW'I feel to work with the American student (16 year old female). Clustering in hallways and lunchrooms may be bene- ficial in some respects, but it has also created social problems. .At school #1 the principal mentioned that the American students have been complaining to the teachers and principle that no matter how hard they try they can’t seem to befriend the Vietnamese students. The American students perceive the Vietnamese students as isolating themselves, speaking only in Vietnamese and excluding.American kids from their little groups (Field notes, March 5, 1990). Clustering was also observed in the ESL classes, particularly during study hours and during class and school parties. In general, the male Vietnamese grouped together, the male Europeans grouped, and the male Hispanics grouped. The females seemed to be relatively integrated ethnically, though they formed a cluster group of their own based on gender. Besides hard work and clustering, other coping styles were revealed by asking the students what they do when they are sad and what they do when they are angry. Table 15 shows their coping responses to feelings of sadness. Twenty-eight percent listen to music, and 22% percent go to bed/sleep. Other frequent responses are withdrawing by being quiet/being alone (19%) and numbing the feelings 189 Table 15: Responses to Sadness (N=36) Responses Percent Listen to Music/Listen to radio 28 Sleep/go to bed 22 Get quiet/Be alone 19 Drink beer/Drink and smoke/Smoke reefers 14 Watch TV 8 Play video games 8 Cry 5 Talk to someone or write a letter 2 Swear 2 I try my best to make myself happy 2 * The total is more than 100 percent since a few students gave more than one answer. through the use of alcohol and marijuana (14%). Anger is a common emotional reaction to stress and loss. When asked what they do when they are angry, the three most common responses were swearing, becoming quiet/ silent, and yelling. Other frequent responses involved ‘withdrawing and smoking marijuana (Table 16). For the first few months to a year most of the stu- dents seemed to manifest patterns associated with the "honeymoon" stage of cultural adaptation. The teachers 190 Table 16: Coping Responses to Feelings of Anger (N=36) Responses Percent Swear l9 Silence/get quiet 17 Yell/"I am hit the ceiling" 17 Go home/Stay home/Be alone 11 Smoke/Go to mall for reefers 8 I don't know 8 Cry 5 Sleep 5 Go to temple 2 Break things 2 Hit 2 Throw anything I see away 2 Walk around 2 described students in this stage as "bright-eyed, intrigued by everything that was new and eager to work and please." They seem to look at their new country through "rose- colored glasses" with high and unrealistic expectations. By six months to a year, most seem to begin to realize that life in the U.S. is not as rosy as they had expected. It is not fun nor easy nor comfortable, but a 191 lot of hard work and discomfort, especially for minorities ‘with limited English proficiency. .As the honeymoon stage ends and disappointment sets in, these students seem to respond with depression, frequent complaining, a drop in academic motivation and performance, use of profanity, and, in some cases, acting out. Eventually, most appear to adapt by giving up their unrealistic expectations, setting goals and buckling down for a long haul of hard work. Some, however, begin a journey down a road of increasing academic and behavioral problems. Maladaptation and Special Problems .A number of academic and behavioral problems were noted among some of the students in this study, particular- ly by the undereducated, the unaccompanied minors, and the Amerasians. Some of these problems will be explored below. Amerasians will be covered in Chapter 9. Academic and behavioral problems have been noted among those students who have large gaps in their education, and especially those who have had little to no education. One student (12 year old male) had no previous education. He seemed to have difficulty with the restrictions of a classroom. .A 12 year old male student left school at 10:00 a.m. .According to his ESL teacher, he frequently gets up and leaves when he’s tired of being there and frequently leaves the school after ESL and wanders around the area when he is supposed to be in mainstream. .He has also displayed academic problems, particularly with retaining information. Fer example, 192 he does not remember colors even in his own language. The teachers are unsure if his problems are due to severe social deprivation, mental impairment, or substance abuse (Field notes, January 17, 1990). Another problem manifested in the ESL classroom seemed to be racial/ethnic tension that sometimes erupted into fighting. This has occurred mostly in school #2 which has the most diverse group of students. Racial tension seems most troublesome between Vietnamese and Hispanics, Vietnamese and Arabs, and Vietnamese and Amerasians. Some academic problems seem to be related to loss and and stress. For example, one student (17 year old unaccompanied male) is doing so poorly in ESL and mainstream that he is nearly failing the year. He has a sad demeanor, is quiet, does not participate with peers, seems to lack motivation to complete assignments, has a high absentee record, and recently dropped out of school for a period of time. He has had problems in his foster home and recently moved in with a friend who is living on his own. He does not have a job. Recently he revealed that he was raised by his grandmother in Vietnam. .After ‘the war his parents took him to the grandmother because ‘they were planning to escape Vietnam. Before they could eescape they were shot down and killed in the street. This estudent has no brothers or sisters and says he is all alone in this world . Another student (16 year old unaccompanied male) has been in the U.S. for almost two years. He did well in 193 school last year but has recently begun acting out in ESL class. One of the male students was asked to do something and he got angry and swore at the teacher. He was sent to the principal’s office. Partway through class the (principal (an.AfroeAmerican) returned to the ESL class with the student and had him apologize. .As the principal turned to leave, the student muttered something. P: (whirls around) What did you say? S: I don’t know; : (talks to him about respecting the teachers) Don’t ever talk to them that way again. Do you understand me? S: No. P: (looks exasperated and repeats what he said) New do you understand me? S: No. P: (grabs him by the shoulders and puts his face an inch from the student’s and yells at him. The other students are dead silent) S: (Tears well up in his eyes, but his jaw is set) P: (Leaves the room. He later expresses to the teacher that he left in exasperation after being unable to break this student’s defiance) (Field notes, February 12, 1990). When asked to draw a picture of himself in school, this student drew a picture of a muscular male who looks tough and has a grim expression on his face (Figure 28). Whatever is triggering this student's behavior, he faces an added stressor -- a Vietnamese tutor who has, on {occasion, berated him in front of the class, saying he should not be in ESL because he does not deserve it. In a staff meeting it was revealed that, in Vietnam, students twho misbehave are harshly disciplined, such as beatings. If they continue to misbehave they are kicked out of 194 Fig. 28: Self-Portrait in School 195 school. As one of the paraprofessionals stated, "Teachers do not waste time on students who do not want to learn." Because of this orientation, there is little patience on the part of some Vietnamese staff to work with students who are manifesting emotional and adaptational struggles by acting out in the ESL class. Another student (17 year old unaccompanied minor) who is manifesting behavioral problems had been tricked into coming to the U.S. with his brother. He was told he was going to Saigon and ended up in an escape boat out of Vietnam. This student also spent three years in a refugee camp during which time he did not go to school or work. His experiences seem to have made him ripe for adjustment problems. Around six months after arriving in the U.S. he began manifesting behavioral problems in the ESL class, such as swearing, acting out, talking back, disrupting the class. Along with behavioral changes came changes in appearance. He grew his hair long and donned an earring and a black leather jacket. He also began drinking and smoking marijuana, coming to class drunk on one occasion, and frequently missing Mendays after a long weekend of drinking and partying. Drinking is a problem displayed by several males in this study. In one family all the members drink on a frequent basis, including the 12 year old mentioned above. Reasons for drinking are varied among the students and, while some began abusing substances in the U.S., others 196 began in Vietnam. One student shares how and why he began to drink. I am the third son of my mother. Our family had to live separately for three years. When I was twelve .years old, my parents came to the U.S.A. without their children. Imagine three boys with no parents in the house. I thought I had found my freedom. But after a while my second oldest brother was boss over me. .He would say, "Do that" or "Take this." He was killing me. When I didn’t listen to him, he would beat me until I did it. .After a while, I thought about killing myself. How would I do it? .My.brother caught me setting fire to the oil in my bedroom. First he beat me. He was beating me so hard I thought it was my last day to live. But after beating me, he held me tight on his knees. He started crying fer me. we held each other and cried for hours. Then he took me to the bar where he taught me to drink and smoke. Drinking and smoking helped me until I was able to come to the U.S. to be with my parents (17 year old male). Plans and Outlook on the Future The students were asked what their plans were for the future. Forty-two percent stated that their future plan was to get a job. Some of the students prefaced the answer with "to study and then get a good job" or "to learn English and then get a good job". Nineteen percent stated that their plan for the future was to sponsor their family. Thirteen percent stated that they plan to go to college. When asked what occupation they hope to have in the future, twenty-two percent stated that they didn't know (Table 17). The majority of the occupations listed ‘were blue collar, such as factory workers and mechanics. The students who are doing well in school tend to be the 197 TABLE 17: Occupational Plans Responses Percent I don't know/Haven't decided 22 Factory Worker 17 Mechanic 17 Tool & Die Maker 13 Sewing 5 Engineer 5 Doctor 5 Office Worker 2 Computer Design 2 Machine Metals 2 Construction 2 Travel Agent 2 Carpenter 2 Nurse 2 Secretary 2 ones aspiring to white collar and professional careers, such as engineer and doctor. Some of the young people, in reflecting on the future, made the following comments. .NoW I am living and studying in the U.S. I’m very happy because now I really have freedom. I hope I will be a good student and a good citizen to serve the 198 U.S., the country that helped me and saved my life (15 year old male). I have been going to school every day. I will strive to achieve my best in education and be a good citizen (14 year old male). I am in High School and trying to learn English. I will go on to college to continue my education. I want to be an electronic engineer. I hope I will get a good job in my fUture and get married to a beautiful girl (16 year old male). When I graduate I would like to become a RPN’(Register Practical.NUrse) or maybe I would like to complete my vocational diploma at the Skills Center. Then I hope to get a good job. Especially, I hope to see my family in the Uhited States and get married with a nice girl. Finally, I’m so glad to be here and thankful to everyone who helped me since I have come to America because I have a good education and real freedom. Consequently, I will never fOrget all the people who are still living under communism because they don’t want their country to become a free country. So I hope someday I can go back to Vietnam and help those people (17 year old male). Summary These young people face incredible challenges and obstacles to successful adaptation at school, at home, and in the community. They must simultaneously work through grief and anger over their multiple losses, adapt to multiple changes, and deal with the stress of high expectations from family, from school, and even from within themselves. They depend on the ESL/Bilingual classes as a bridge to mainstream classes and society as well as a source for friendship and peer group belongingness. While they vary in their coping styles to loss and stress, common patterns include working hard, clustering with own language group, listening to music, withdrawal behaviors, and 199 swearing. Some manifest problems in the classroom, such as lack of previous education, racial/ethnic tension, disobedience and disrespect, depression and anger, and substance abuse. Common aspirations for the future involve getting a good job, mostly blue collar jobs, and bringing their family to the U.S. Chapter 9 FINDINGS VI: THE AMERASIAN EXPERIENCE I am my lai . . . I have two kinds of blood, two languages, two countries (United States Catholic Conference, 1985, p. 31). The Amerasians are, in some ways, distinctly different from the rest of the Vietnamese students in this study. Therefore, a separate chapter devoted to their unique issues seemed appropriate and necessary. What follows is an attempt to piece together some of the Amerasian experience. Growing up in‘Vietnam While everyone suffered under the economic conditions of post war Vietnam, one small minority had a harder time than the others -- the Amerasians and their mothers (Gilzow, 1989; United States Catholic Conference, 1985). For example, the government made periodic efforts to send all Amerasian families to New Economic Zones, wild tracts of land that had never been settled, much less farmed (United States Catholic Conference, 1985). * I was born and brought up in a small village where there were no cars or electricity. .MOSt people were poor, not because we were lazy but because the soil is not very rich, and we didn’t have enough tools to work with. .My family were working real hard in order to get enough food to eat (18 year old female). For mothers of Amerasians, the time after the war was Particularly stressful. They faced discrimination such as 200 201 ridicule, denial of jobs, and general social ostracism (United States Catholic Conference, 1985). Their children betrayed the associations of their past, and some mothers did all they could to mask that past. Mest Amerasians were given up by their mothers at birth (Gilzow, 1989). Some had been unplanned births and were not welcome. Most mothers left their Amerasian offspring in the care of grandparents in the countryside, or abandoned them to orphanages, or gave them away to other families willing to raise them. Some, however, clung to their children and defiantly faced the discrimination and uncertain future. I: What was your.mother’s occupation in Vietnam? S: She was a seller fOr a couple years then she just stayed at home with my grandparents. I: Did she have problems in Vietnam because of her connections with Americans? S: Yes, they took her to jail just after the Americans left in 1975 and they expected her to do a lot of hard work for them. It was the same for other women who married Americans (Field notes, March 9, 1990). All the Amerasians in this study grew up without their fathers, and most grew up without their mother as well. I don’t know who my father is, but my mother said he fought in the war (16 year old female). * .My mother died when I was three. I don’t have a father (17 year old male). Most of the Amerasian students in this study were raised by foster families and were sometimes shuffled around. One student's family experience can be seen.most dramatically in her time line. 202 1972 -- my birth in Saigon 1975 -- I move to grandmother 1976 -- I move to another grandmother [foster] 1977 -- I start school; brother died; I quit school; I go to work 1978 -- I move to my uncle 1979 -- I came back to my grandmother [fester] 1980 -- Grandmother died; I went to another mother [foster] 1983 -- My mother [biological] came and I go to live with her 1986 -- I leave my country with my mother (17 year old female) Discrimination and Abuse The majority of Amerasians were forced early in life to fend for themselves in an inhospitable -- if not downright hostile -- environment (United States Catholic Conference, 1985, p. 16). Within Vietnamese culture, identity is strongly tied to one's father’s identity. Without a father and with the anti-American political rhetoric present in post-war ‘Vietnam, a situation emerges in which some degree of discrimination is inevitable (United States Catholic Conference, 1985). A female Amerasian (age 17) shared the following: I: Did you have any problems in Vietnam as an Amerasian? S: Yes, the kids always were picking on me. They called me a name that means halféAmerican and half-Vietnamese. I’ll never forget that word. I: How did you feel when they called you that? S: It made me feel like I was different from other people. Kind of embarrassed. And they picked on me because I didn’t have a father and they did (Field notes, February 13, 1990). As persons of mixed race whose mothers consorted with the enemy, Amerasians have been ready targets for 203 discrimination and ridicule in school and community. When I went school, some of the students treat me not good. They make fun of me and my brother because we were Amerasian. Some teachers didn’t treat us like the others. The neighbors treat my mother bad. They made story about my mom. I felt sad and sometimes I cry for it. And the children told the story too. When we heard that my brother get into a fight and their dad and mom come to our house and tell my mom, my mom get .mad and yell at us not to get in fight again. Because my mother wanted our family to have a better life and because my brother and I were Amerasian, I come to America with my family. I don’t know how long will I stay here. I think I don’t have a chance to go back to my country. But if I lived there again, they’ would treat me the same way again (16 year old male). The degree of discrimination varies from province to province, with little to no discrimination in some and extreme discrimination in others (Gilzow, 1989). The degree of prejudice and harassment also varies according to ethnic mix. One student whose father was Anglo-American was treated worse than her sister whose father was Filipino. But she was not treated as badly as those who were black Amerasians. She shares the following: I: were there other Amerasians in your village? S: Yes, a few. I: Did they receive the same kind of treatment? S: Yes, and we were all good friends. I: In your village were any of the.Amerasians black? S: Yes, there were some. I: HOw were they treated? (fl S: They were treated worse. They didn’t call them My Lai [halfebreed]. They called them a dirty word. A really bad word. Being a black Amerasian means having to endure greater abuse and discrimination than other Amerasians. They seem to have three strikes against them: they have no father, 204 they are Amerasian, and they are black. My wife and I decided to adopt an orphan. We wanted to adopt a child with a handicap, knowing that it was unlikely that anyone would adopt such a child. When we talked to the people at the orphanage, they said, "fine," and brought us a black Amerasian who seemed normal in every way. We asked them what the handicap was. They told us, "She's black" (United States Catholic Conference, 1985, p. 29). * It was very difficult for me and my family while living in Vietnam. Being an.Amerasian child, especially a black Amerasian, I face many problems with the people outdoor. Therefore, I will never forget the place where I was born and the moments that I had been through (18 year old female). Name calling is a common occurrence in the Amerasian's life. Besides the word my lai (half—breed) many are also called bui doi (dust of life). This refers to the underside of the social strata in Vietnam’s cities (Lutheran Social Services, 1985). In many cases they experienced such an existence. Some 12,000 Amerasians grew up on the streets (Wright, 1989). They were abandoned, orphaned, or ran away from home because of abuse. The foster mother of a black.Amerasian student shared that, in Vietnam, he had been the object of abuse in his home. .His uncle beat him frequently. When the boy was ten he was kicked out of his home and had to fend for himself on the streets (Field notes, April, 1990). Most of the Amerasians in this study have endured not onlydiscrimination and abuse from those outside the family, bu1:.also from within the family. For example, one student (113 year old female) who was raised by a foster family was exPected to carry out the duties of a maid, to contribute 205 financially to the home by selling food on the streets, and to endure frequent beatings by the family. Another student (18 year old male) ran away from home at age six to escape abuse. Another student (17 year old female) shared that even though she has been the object of physical and emotional abuse ever since she can remember, it is the emotional abuse that hurts the most. School and Work The Amerasians in this study had the least amount of education compared to the other Vietnamese students. One of the reasons seems to have been that some of the families simply did not have the money to send them or were unwilling to spend money for the Amerasian, especially if the child was not their own. One of the students in this study was the only one in her foster family and in the whole village who could not go to school. She was also the only Amerasian in the village. I: was the reason you couldn’t go to school because you were.Amerasian? S: No. It’s because we couldn’t afford it. I: But they could affOrd to send all the other children? S: Yes. But they didn’t have enough money fOr.me (Field notes, January 23, 1990). Mbst of the Amerasians in this study seemed to have been brought up to value work over education. When the StIldents were asked if they worked in Vietnam to help 8“Pport the family, 100% of the Amerasians said they did (“NmPared to 51% of the other students. In addition, the 206 Amerasians began working at young ages, typically around age six or seven. This can be compared to their ethnic Vietnamese counterparts who typically began working around age 15. When I was six I have to go to work. I carry stuff for people and I help to sell stuff. When I a little older I go to work and after work I come home and I have to get water. I have to carry two big pails. Then I have to cook for my grandmother, aunt, uncle, and my little sister. After that I have to clean everything after eating. After that I go take bath. Morning I have to get up early to cook before I go to work (17 year old female). When my sisters were fifteen, they dropped out of school to help my mother. When I was about six years I went out to work to help my family. (16 year old male). * Being a little child, I had to quit school to help my sister carry stuff to the market to sell everyday from morning to evening (18 year old female). Those who did go to school usually dropped out because of the discrimination and ridicule to which they were subjected (Lutheran Social Services, 1985). With America reputed to be the source of all evil in Vietnam, Amerasians are easy targets in the school. Some of these young people grew up surrounded by the daily taunting of peers and others: "Go back to America!" "My Lai (half-breed)!" "Bui Doi (dust of the earth!)" Some did not understand or believe it. One student shared that she did not know she was Amerasian until she was fifteen years old. She only knew that she was "different." When people taunted her, she thought they were wrong. She would look in the mirror and say, "I’m Vietnamese just like them! 207 Aren't I?" She began to develop doubts when she was around 15. In search of the truth, she traveled to see her biological grandmother. She asked her if what the people were saying about her was true. "Yes," her grandmother said, "you are a mixed blood." Leaving Heme * I didn’t want to leave Vietnam. The reason I left was because the government kicked us out because we are Amerasian (17 year old male). In 1982 the U.S. government made an agreement with the Vietnamese government to give Amerasian families top priority for Orderly Departure Program (ODP) processing. This was news many Amerasian families found almost too good to be true (United States Catholic Conference, 1985). They learned of it through notices posted in local police stations, through whispers in the marketplace, or via relatives. Initially, only the boldest or most desperate registered, since most of the people believed it was a trap. I: Who made the decision to leave Vietnam? S: My mom and my grandparents. .As soon as my mom heard that American kids could leave Vietnam she registered us for leaving. Only she and my grandparents believed it was true. My other relatives didn’t believe it. I: Did they think it was a trap? S: Yes (Field notes, February 13, 1990). In 1987 Congress passed the Amerasian Homecoming Act Which allowed entire families of Amerasian children born 208 between 1962 and 1976 to come to the U.S. by the end of 1990 (Gilzow, 1989). March of 1990 was the deadline for these families to get out of Vietnam and arrive in the Refugee transit centers. Amerasians applying to leave Vietnam face an unrivaled bureaucratic chain (United States Catholic Conference, 1985). Applications must move through several levels. For potential applicants, these difficulties are compounded by Vietnam’s poor communications systems and by the cost of making the journey from distant provinces to Ho Chi Minh City to be interviewed. After the Amerasians and their families are registered to leave Vietnam, it may take two to five years or more before they are allowed to leave. In the meantime the Vietnamese government disenfranchises them. Once the family's name is on a list they can no longer legally work or go to school (Gilzow, 1989). I: After you registered, how long did you have to wait before you left Vietnam? S: Two years. I wasn’t allowed to go to school anymore (Field notes, February 9, 1990). * we registered fOr the interview when I was age 11. Five years later we got an interview. we left Vietnam and stayed in the Philippines fer eight months. Then we came to America (18 year old female). * When I was 10 I was registered for coming to America. When I was 15 I left Vietnam (17 year old male). .All but two Amerasians in this study left with their biological mothers or with someone who pretended to be. 209 One of the male students stated that he had come to the U.S. with a woman who pretended to be his mother so that she could come to the U.S. Another student who had been kicked out of his home in Vietnam and lived on the streets fOund out that his mother left Vietnam and came to the U.S. with another Amerasian who was not her own (Field notes, December 19, 1990). Leaving legally by plane is another contrast to the ethnic Vietnamese who escaped by boat. * I was sitting in the airport waiting fOr people to call my name. .uy heart was pounding real hard. This was my first time to ever fly. Five.minutes before the airplane took off all my friends stood behind the glass wall. They were crying and waving goodbye [Figure 29]. This was such an emotional moment I could not hold back my tears. I cried aloud. "Goodbye friends! I don't knOW'if I ever have a chance to see you all again," I said. The airplane took off so fast. I sat by the window. I turned my head to look down fOr the last time. "Goodbye Vietnam, my love" (17 year old male). * Today I’m going to tell you a short story about hOW'I left Vietnam. Two hours befbre the planes take off, my family and I say good by to my relatives and friends. My mom cried aloud and I almost cry. I realized that this is a last chance for me to see.my friends and I might never see them again. Sitting in the plane looking through the window I saw many people waving good bye. My heart was almost broke in pieces (18 year old male). Because my mother wanted our family to have a better life and because me and my brother were.Amerasian, I came America with my mother and my brother, but my sister, brother-in-law, nieces and nephew stayed in Vietnam. When I heard that I was going to the united States, I felt that I going to miss my friends. When I arrived at the airport, I hugged my nieces and they didn’t want to let go of me. I had never ever cried like that in my life. When the plane landed in Thailand, the guy’s name was Jene. .He frightened me when I arrived at the camp and I will remember him forever. That I’ll never going to forget (16 year old male). 210 mamas an Emcpmw> mcw>mmq "mm O . 3 . I. I .uv.sl'Iu".§lI'.-I' J J .. .. .. ahlgnm-u a n: 'flfluuUfllflflnnfimfl‘ H u! (Il\ heal r 1" 1. la... a 4.1.3143 a mess sea .1 ,thN/, Wury