Vietnamese Migration to Australia

A major event that occurred in the wake of the Cold War was the mass migrations of many Vietnamese people to Australia. According to Ashley Carruthers (2008), the only Vietnamese to previously arrive in Australia were generally tertiary students, wives of Australian soldiers or orphans from the war. Following the 1975 surrender of South Vietnam however, the Vietnamese were forced to flee their homes in a desperate attempt to escape the newly-communist rule of the North. Due to the economic prosperity of Australia and the close ties it had with South Vietnam, many refugees migrated to the country, according to Jack & Templeton (1994). This led to what is now a thriving Vietnamese culture throughout Australia, although previously many Vietnamese had struggled to integrate into the Australian culture.

It will be argued that after fleeing the privation of their newly-communist homeland as a result of the war, the Vietnamese masses were welcomed onto Australian shores only to later endure the Australian Public’s racism. It will also be reasoned that this racism however, has dwindled over time due to the ever-growing multicultural attitude adopted by the nation.

The spread of communism was a constant threat during the Cold War and a major catalyst for the military conflict between the communist North Vietnam and the republic South. Nicolas Brasch (2008, p.28) indicates that the USA Government sent military forces to South Vietnam to protect it from falling to the increasingly-aggressive communists. Because Australia had an agreement with America known as ANZUS, it too sent forces to aid the South. In 1975, the South Vietnamese government surrendered to the North, forming one communist country. During the time of the war, it reaped disastrous effects on the country and its people. Many families and civilians suffered great hardship as a result and this only worsened once the communists took control, according to Chris Trueman (2012). Panic arose as a result and