The Amerasian Children

An unpopular product of the Vietnam War were the Amerasian Children – products of an American father and a Vietnamese mother, these children remain reminders of the harsh face of poverty and the ethnically conservative society of Vietnam.

The Amerasian children are neglected, their needs ignored by their home countries, the USA and Vietnam, and the children abandoned at young ages by their parents. Towards the fall of Saigon (the capital of Vietnam at the time), few of the Amerasian children were evacuated by the United States of America(USA) and placed in orphanages and adoptive homes in the USA. However, of a reported 879,715 orphans, out of which 20,000 were in registered orphanages supported by the United States government there were only 2,700 children were flown out of South Vietnam to the United States. The rest of these orphans were neglected for 30 to 40 years with neither the USA nor Vietnam providing assistance to the orphans. These orphans remained in Vietnam, however, they struggled greatly due to the emphasis placed on ethnic homogeneity and stigma regarding prostitution. Amerasians who lived in Vietnam for many years report that they don’t feel comfortable walking on the street and are often shouted at and called names such as “Black American” on the streets, they say they have gotten used to this name-calling by now. These Amerasians without assistance from the government ended up on the street as beggars and thieves.

30 to 40 years later the United States government took action with the passing of the Amerasian Homecoming Act by which Amerasians were allowed to enter USA with their families as immigrants. However, this act came with its negative consequences as many Amerasians committed suicide and dealt with deep-rooted depression due to being unable to fit into their foster homes, being unable to find their fathers or being rejected by their blood parents. In a 1991-92 survey of 170 Amerasians, it was reported that 14 percent of the immigrants has committed suicide.

Although unpopular, the Amerasian children born during the Vietnam War remain an aide-memoire of the other side of the Vietnam War facing undeserving neglection and poverty