Legacies of War: Unhealed Wounds and the Deportation of Southeast Asian Refugees

Jonathan Lam's essay published in the Southeast Asia Digital Library (SEADL) examines the lasting legacy of the Vietnam War and the US Secret War in Southeast Asia, particularly the extensive bombing campaigns in Laos and Cambodia. The essay explores the devastation caused by US military intervention, the refugee and deportation crisis since the fall of Saigon, and how connections to these historical patterns of US imperialism continue to shape the lives of Southeast Asian diaspora communities today.

Abstract:

This essay examines the lasting legacy of the Vietnam War and the U.S. Secret War in Southeast Asia, particularly focusing on the extensive bombing campaigns in Laos and Cambodia. It explores how U.S. military intervention not only devastated the region but also led to mass displacement, forcing hundreds of thousands of Southeast Asians to seek refuge in the United States. While many refugees were resettled under humanitarian pretenses, this essay highlights how the U.S. government has since failed to uphold its moral obligation to these communities, most notably through the rising deportations of Southeast Asian refugees since the fall of Saigon in 1975. By connecting historical patterns of U.S. imperialism with present-day immigration policy, this essay underscores the racialized nature of state violence and calls for a reckoning with how war, displacement, and deportation continue to shape the lives of Southeast Asian diasporic communities still grappling with the enduring consequences of American empire.