Culture, Arts and Refugees

Project Focus:

Refugee Action worked with the Vietnamese community on an oral history project to document their experiences as refugees over more than 20 years.The project resulted in a book and archives and cultural activities between older and younger Vietnamese people.

Background:

The plight of the Vietnamese refugees was one of the most memorable of the later 20th century.The community was labeled ‘boat people’ as a result of the perilous journeys they endured in fleeing across the South China Sea. Many settled in Britain between 1979 and the early 1990s. Refugee Action came into being as a result of its involvement and support for Vietnamese refugees - initially as an offshoot of Save the Children UK.
Following a national conference of the Vietnamese community it was agreed that efforts should be made to look back at their 20-year history of settlement in Britain, and capture and preserve their remarkable stories and experiences. A partnership was developed between Refugee Action,The British Library, Museum of London and the Panos Institute to develop an oral history project.The process was piloted in London, initially between 1998 and 2000, and then rolled out as a national project between 2000 and 2003 with the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Participants:

110 Vietnamese refugees and their children were interviewed for the project.

Activities:

A steering group was set up between Refugee Action,The British Library and Panos Institute with representatives from the Vietnamese community.The oral history process was unique in being devised and managed by the community themselves, rather than oral history professionals.This was agreed upon in an effort to build trust and confidence among participants, many of whom had experienced repression under the communist regime in Vietnam. Freelance interviewers from the Vietnamese community were recruited to interview people in Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds,Derby, Oxford, South Wales and London.Training was provided in interview techniques by the Museum of London and Manchester Metropolitan University. Interviews were in English,Vietnamese and Chinese with translation and transcription provided by others in the community. Care was taken to achieve ethical consent of participants to use their name, photographs and stories. Some were nervous about being identified for fear of repercussions against family and friends still living overseas. An arts project was set up in the later stages of the project working with the younger generation of Vietnamese.Arts activities including drawing, essays, painting and creative writing were used to draw out young people’s views on their culture and identity.The artworks, which resulted from the workshops with young people,were used to illustrate the project book and materials. The importance of intergenerational exchange and learning became clear when it emerged that younger people had different concepts of their identity to the older generation e.g. some older members of the Vietnamese community were upset when younger people drew the Vietnamese flag,which arose out of the political situation they themselves had fled.

Outcomes:

• Vietnamese community gained skills in developing oral history project and running community interviews,which are now being passed on to other similar projects.
• Community gained experience of using information technology to stay in touch with project progress.
• Vietnamese gained knowledge about the history and experiences of their own community.
• Young people gained a clearer understanding of the experience and suffering of the older generation of Vietnamese.
• Older generation gained an understanding of young people’s own sense of their identity.
• Vietnamese community became more aware of other needs e.g. their next national conference will explore how to bridge the gap between young and old, and will reflect on the role of women within traditional values.
• Book and CD-Rom published and archives held in the British Library.
• Copies of the resources have been distributed to refugee community organisations and libraries to given the general public further information about the refugee community.
  

Sources:

Research interview and questionnaire. Resource book and CD-Rom.

Contact details:

Refugee Action

3rd Floor,The Old Fire Station,
150 Waterloo Road,
London SE1 8SB
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7654 7700
E: media@refugee-action.org
www.refugee-action.org