Amerasian
An Amerasian originally meant a person born in Asia to an Asian mother and a U.S. military father also known as War babies or G.I. babies. Most Amerasians from Asia are either half or quarter American origin. They are either born as result of having military American fathers and in certain cases military American mothers, or having grandparent origins from the U.S military. A large part of the Amerasian population from Asia were also born as a result of Amerasians mixing with other Amerasians and local Asian population. Several countries have significant populations of Amerasians in South Korea, Japan , Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and, most notably, the Philippines, the last having had the largest US air and naval bases outside the US mainland. Definitions. The term was coined by writer Pearl S. Buck and was formalized by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Many people were born to Asian women and U.S. servicemen during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The official definition of Amerasian came about as a result of Public Law 97-359, enacted by the 97th Congress of the United States on October 22, 1982. According to the United States Department of Justice  and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), an Amerasian is: "[A]n alien who was born in Korea, Kampuchea, Laos, Thailand or Vietnam after December 31, 1950 and before October 22, 1982 and was fathered by a U.S. citizen." The Amerasian Foundation (AF) and Amerasian Family Finder (AFF) define an Amerasian as "Any person who was fathered by a citizen of the United States (an American serviceman, American expatriate or U.S. Government Employee (Regular or Contract)) and whose mother is or was, an Asian National." The term is commonly applied to half Japanese children fathered by a U.S. serviceman in Japan , as well as half Korean children fathered by veterans of the Korean War or stationary soldiers in South Korea. The term is also applied to children of Filipinos and American rulers during the U.S. colonial period of the Philippines (still used until today) and children of Thais and U.S. soldiers during World War II and the Vietnam War. The U.S. had bases in Thailand during the Vietnam War. Amerasian should not be interpreted as a fixed racial term relating to a specific mixture of races (such as Mestizo, Mulatto, Eurasian or Afro-Asian). The racial strain of the American parent  of one Amerasian may be different from that of another Amerasian; it may be White, Black, Hispanic or even Asian. In the latter case, it is conceivable that the Amerasian could be fathered by a person who shares the same racial background but not the same nationality. In certain cases, it could apply to the offspring of American females, who engaged in professions such as military nurse, and Asian males. Mixed-race children, whatever the occupations of their parents, have suffered social stigma. With genetic relation to U.S. soldiers, Amerasians have faced additional exclusion by perceived association to military enemies  of Asian countries. This stigma extended to the mothers of Amerasians, majority of whom were Asian, causing many of the Asian mothers to abandon their Amerasian children. The abandonment of both parents led to a large proportion of orphaned Amerasians. Cambodia. The Amerasian Immigration Act included Amerasians whose fathers were U.S. citizens and whose mothers were nationals of Kampuchea (Cambodia). As many as 10,000 Cambodian Amerasians may have been fathered by US servicemen. Japan. According to one estimate, around 5,000 to 10,000 Japanese Amerasian babies had been born from 1945 to 1952. Data from the Japanese Welfare Ministry from July  1952, on the other hand, revealed that only 5,013 Japanese Amerasian children were born in all of Japan. Masami Takada from the Welfare Ministry put an exaggerated estimate of 150,000 - 200,000. Another investigation by the Welfare Ministry was conducted again in August 1953, this time them revising the number to reveal that only 3,490 half-castes of American fathers and Japanese mothers had been born during the 7 years of American occupation of Japan, which lasted from 1945 - 1952. Some of the children were abandoned and raised in orphanages such as the Elizabeth Saunders Home in Oiso, Japan. The actual  number of Japanese Amerasians is unknown. Officially, the number of 10,000 Japanese Amerasian would be an upper limit. Some contemporary writers had however reported rumors of 200,000 while actual numbers had been found to be 5,000, possibly 10,000, no more than 20,000 allowing for underestimates. Of those fathered by American soldiers. Their presumed “colors” were 86.1% “white,” 11.5% “black,” and 2.5% “unknown.” Hāfu. Today, many Japanese Amerasians are going by the term Hāfu which means half. Amerasian School of Okinawa. In Okinawa, The Amerasian School of Okinawa was formed to educate children of two different cultures. The school population includes  Japanese Amerasians. Laos. The Amerasian Immigration Act included Amerasians whose fathers were U.S. citizens and whose mothers were nationals of Laos. The number of Laotian Amerasians is currently unknown. Philippines. The Forgotten Amerasians. Since 1898, when the United States annexed the Philippines from Spain, there were as many as 21 U.S. bases and 100,000 U.S. military personnel stationed there. The bases closed in 1992 leaving behind thousands of Amerasian children. There are an estimated 52,000 Amerasians in the Philippines, but an academic research paper presented in the U.S. (in 2012) by an Angeles, Pampanga, Philippines Amerasian college research study unit  suggests that the number could be a lot more, possibly reaching 250,000. This is also partially due to the fact that almost all Amerasians intermarried with other Amerasians and Filipino natives. The newer Amerasians from the United States would add to the already older settlement of peoples from other countries in the Americas that happened when the Philippines was under Spanish rule. Unlike their counterparts in other countries, American-Asians, or Amerasians, in the Philippines remain impoverished and neglected. A study was done by the University of the Philippines' Center for Women Studies further found that many Amerasians have experienced  some form of abuse and even domestic violence. The findings cited cases of racial, gender, and class discrimination that Amerasian children and youth suffer from strangers, peers, classmates, and teachers. The study also said black Amerasians seem to suffer more from racial and class discrimination than their white counterparts. Two-thirds are raised by single mothers, others by relatives and non-relatives; six percent live on their own or in institutions, and 90 percent were born out of wedlock. It was reported in 1993 that prostitutes are increasingly Amerasian, children of prostitutes caught in a cycle that transcends generations. Legal  action. In 1982, the U.S. passed the Amerasian Immigration Act, giving preferential immigration status to Amerasian children born during the Vietnam Conflict. The act did not apply to Amerasians born in the Philippines, who can only become United States citizens if their father claims them; most do not. A class-action suit was filed in 1993 on their behalf in the International Court of Complaints in Washington, DC, to establish Filipino American children's rights to assistance. The court denied the claim, ruling that the children were the products of unmarried women who provided sexual services to U.S. service personnel  in the Philippines and were therefore engaged in illicit acts of prostitution. Such illegal activity could not be the basis for any legal claim. South Korea. Since the Korean War, there has been a significant population of Amerasians in South Korea. Many Amerasians were born into "Camptowns" which were established by the South Korean government. The women in these Camptowns were affected by the post-war poverty and turned to prostitution with American soldiers. This perpetuated the stereotype that children born in Camptown's were mothered by prostitutes. The South Korean government never viewed Korean Amerasians as Korean citizens. Hence , the government encouraged the foreign adoption of mixed South Korean babies. United States Congress passed the 1953 Refugee Relief Act which allowed 4000 Amerasians to emigrate to the US for adoption. This group became commonly known as Korean Adoptees. They were part of the International adoption of South Korean children that made up roughly 160,000 adoptees. Amerasian Christian Academy. The Amerasian Christian Academy still educates Amerasian children today in Gyeonggi-Do, South Korea. Taiwan. US soldiers fathered children in Taiwan at the end of World War II. Today there are an estimated 1,000 Taiwanese Amerasians. Over 200,000 American soldiers in  Korea and Vietnam visited Taiwan for rest and relaxation between 1950 and 1975. Thailand. In Thailand, Amerasian children are dubbed as Luk khrueng or half children in the Thai language. These Amerasians were fathered by US soldiers who took part in the Vietnam War. At the height of the Vietnam War, 50,000 GIs were based in Thailand. The Pearl S. Buck Foundation estimated around 5,000-8,000 Thai Amerasians. Some migrated to the United States under the 1982 Amerasian Immigration Act. An unknown number were left behind. Searches. US veteran, Gene Ponce, helps American fathers find their Thai Amerasian children. He  has recently used popular DNA services, such as Ancestry.com to help match Amerasians with their relatives in the US. Vietnam. The exact number of Amerasians in Vietnam is not known. The U.S soldiers stationed in Vietnam had relationships with local females, many of the women had origins in clubs, brothels and pubs. The American Embassy once reported there were less than 1,000 Amerasians. A report by the South Vietnamese Senate Subcommittee suggested there are 15,000 to 20,000 children of mixed American and Vietnamese blood, but this figure was considered low. Congress estimated 20,000 to 30,000 Amerasians by 1975 lived in  Vietnam. According to "Amerasians Without Borders", they estimated about 25,000 to 30,000 Vietnamese Amerasians were born from American first participation in Vietnam in 1962 and lasted until 1975. Although during the Operation Babylift it was estimated at 23,000. In April 1975, Operation Babylift was initiated in South Vietnam to relocate Vietnamese children, many orphans and those of mixed American-Vietnamese parentage (mostly Vietnamese mothers and American serviceman fathers), to the United States and find American families who would take them in. The crash of the first flight of Operation Babylift led to the death of 138 people, 78 of which  were children. During the operation, they estimated over 3,000 Amerasians were evacuated from South Vietnam; however, more than 20,000 Amerasians remained. In 1982, the U.S. Congress passed the Amerasian Immigration Act in an attempt to grant Amerasian immigration to the U.S. However, the Amerasian Immigration Act was not applied to Vietnamese Amerasians, due to a lack of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and the Vietnamese government. This was due to a clause in the Amerasian Immigration Act that required documentation of the fathers in the U.S. in order for the Vietnamese Amerasians to acquire a visa. In 1988, U.S. Congress  passed the American Homecoming Act, aiming to grant citizenship to Vietnamese Amerasians born between 1962 and 1975, which led to 23,000 Amerasians and 67,000 of their relatives immigrating to the U.S. For the Vietnamese Amerasians, this meant that their migration to the U.S. occurred as teenagers, leading to struggles in the resettlement process. Vietnamese Amerasian Search Organizations. Up to the 2000s, many Vietnamese Amerasians were still not reunited with their fathers. Some Amerasians still resided in Vietnam unable to obtain the necessary documents to emigrate to the US. Organizations such as the Amerasian Child Find Network, run by Clint Haines , and AAHope Foundation, run by Jonathan Tinquist, helped American fathers reunite with their Amerasian children. Both are Vietnam Vets. Other organizations that helped with Amerasian, Adoptee and family searches included the Adopted Vietnamese International (AVI) (Indigo Willing) and Operation Reunite (Trista Goldberg). The only current active US organization seeking to reunite Amerasians is Amerasian Without Borders (AWB) run by Jimmy Miller, a Vietnamese Amerasian based in the US. Notable Vietnamese Amerasians. =International Amerasian Day= March 4 has been designated as Amerasian Day in the Philippines. The Amerasian Foundation has designated it as International Amerasian Day. =In popular culture=  Further reading. "Listed in chronological order:" External links. "List includes archived websites as well:"