Shauntel McAllister
9/2/2011
Vietnam War Babies: Grown Up and Low on Luck
During the Vietnam War it was very common for the men deployed from the US to begin having relations with the women that lived in Vietnam and worked on or near the base. Some of the affairs these men began having were just a fling or one night stand but for some of the men, they actually became attached to these women—needless to say many of these American GIs fathered Vietnamese children. Once the man returned home however, it was a completely different story. Many of the men refused to acknowledge the women and their children while some simply forgot about them. In 1987 the AmerAsian visa was created in order to bring those Vietnamese children and their immediate relatives to the US. Tens of thousands of Vietnamese children came into the US using that visa, but unfortunately many more are still left in Vietnam being discriminated upon because they are half black or half American and unable to get into the US because they are unable to prove that they are of American decent.
Though many people forgot about these children, many of them are still living nightmares. They aren’t accepted by their own people (the Vietnamese) because of their skin color and distinct American features, and they can’t get into the US because they can’t prove they are of American decent—so they are forced to live in the slums since no one will hire them because they have “dirty skin”. Though this issue may be in another country, it is still an issue that should be taken care of. If we have time to go to war in other countries, and our soldiers have time to father children in our countries, it is our duty to make sure that these children (now adults) are able to live a productive life.
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/vietnam/110901/vietnam-war-babies-US-visa-GIs-troops?page=0,0
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