HUMAN 1C Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Ron Kovic, Orderly Departure Program, Refugees International
2 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Jessica Mangold
HumCore
Professor Vo
Week 5 Lecture 2
5/2/18
Constructing Refugee Narratives
Introduction
- many refugees lost many of their photographs
- Dinh Q. Le went to antique shops + saw photographs
- bought the photographs + handstitched the images together
- was hoping to find some of his own photos
- displayed in gallery at Rice University
- meant to resemble a mosquito net
- people sleep in mosquito nets
- dreaming about their memories
- photography was first introduced by the West in photo studios
- wealthy able to buy cameras + pay to develop photos
- photos were not just used for special occasions -> captured everyday life
“Vietnamization”
- America realizes that will not be able to win war easily -> never-ending
- withdraw US troops from Vietnam
- Paris Peace Accords 1973
- US would provide supplies to Vietnamese but wanted to withdraw own troops
- thought that South Vietnamese would not be able continue fighting + war would
end
- wanted to leave Vietnamese to fight each other
- Vietnam War “ends” on April 30, 1975
- South Vietnamese had to surrender
- Saigon (capital of South Vietnam) surrenders to Viet Cong
- most of US troops had pulled out of Vietnam
- does not say that US “lost” -> did not want to admit that had lost
- “loss” -> word was avoided by the media
- Socialist Republic of Vietnam
- proxy wars -> area where war was fought has to deal with the aftermath
- larger countries able to pull out of the area
- total chaos as war comes closer to urban areas of South Vietnam
- people flee the city since were afraid of being bombed
- many wanted to take boat, plane, or helicopter + get out so that would not be
killed
- South Vietnamese military stripped themselves of everything that identified
them as part of the Southern forces
Exodus, Displacement, and Diaspora
- not many Vietnamese outside of Vietnam before they were displaced
- refugee = official political status
- seeking asylum v. being granted asylum
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Bought the photographs + handstitched the images together. Was hoping to find some of his own photos. Many refugees lost many of their photographs. Le went to antique shops + saw photographs. Photography was first introduced by the west in photo studios. Wealthy able to buy cameras + pay to develop photos. Photos were not just used for special occasions -> captured everyday life. Us would provide supplies to vietnamese but wanted to withdraw own troops. Thought that south vietnamese would not be able continue fighting + war would end. Wanted to leave vietnamese to fight each other. Saigon (capital of south vietnam) surrenders to viet cong. Most of us troops had pulled out of vietnam. America realizes that will not be able to win war easily -> never-ending. Vietnam war ends on april 30, 1975. Proxy wars -> area where war was fought has to deal with the aftermath.
