With the withdrawal of American forces from Vietnam in 1975 and the collapse of the governments of Laos and Cambodia, over two million refugees fled from the former Indochina, fearing Communist reprisals. Twenty-one percent are from Laos, with the Hmong and other ethnic peoples from the Laotian highlands comprising slightly less than half of this group. Thirteen percent of the refugees are from Cambodia. Southeast Asian refugees and immigrants have settled in every state of the Union, but more than forty percent of them, or almost 500,000 people, have made California their new home. Likewise, the largest number of Cambodian refugees have settled in Long Beach.
Many Laotian refugees reside in California's Central Valley.
Diverse in ethnicity, culture and language, these new Americans are united, however, in their desire to seek freedom and a productive new life in the United States. In 1987 the UCI Libraries established the Southeast Asian Archive to document the resettlement experiences of refugees and immigrants from the former Indochina, with a special focus on materials pertaining to the large communities established in Orange County and California. From the beginning, numerous donors and other members of the Southeast Asian communities have been involved in building the Archive. An Advisory Board assists with acquiring materials and funds, as well as supporting and enhancing the Archive's use. All materials in this exhibit are from the Southeast Asian Archive, and individual donors of materials have been recognized throughout.