The Racial Experience of a VietnameseAmerican

By Hanna Dinh

Introduction One of my main goals entering into London for the Dark Empire Exploration Seminar was to observe the cultural and health differences in London and think critically about how and why these differences arise as well as how they affect the health of ethnic and minority populations in particular. To achieve this goal, it was necessary to apply the academic concepts learned in the classroom, especially incorporating Britains long, dark history. For the one month that I lived in London, the overlapping academic discourses that appealed to me the most was acculturation/assimilation, other racial minority groups, and multiculturalism in London in relation to public health. I connected the most to these concepts because I am a part of an ethnic, minority group as an Asian, specifically as a Vietnamese and thus, I truly care in racial, minority groups having a voice in societies that overshadow them. Bringing awareness of other minority groups present in societies stretches multiculturalism to another level, and by doing so, their individual and population health concerns can be revealed and be addressed accordingly. The noted concepts also connected with my interest in multiculturalism and cultural immersion in a variety of cultures because of the knowledge and appreciation of the cultural differences that I gain. As a result, this paper will focus on ethnic and racial minority groups, particularly the Asian population, in conjunction with my personal experiences in London as a Vietnamese-American. I will compare the racial portrayals of being a VietnameseAmerican in London versus in the United States and how this leads to my own individual health and the Asian population as a whole. To assist in my analysis, I will incorporate a passage of White Teeth by Zadie Smith, the interview with one of the British Ambassadors, Jubeda Ahmed, and a debatable news article of interest in relation to this papers focus.
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Significance of the Problem The aspect of Asian minority groups experiencing acculturation and assimilation is a health issue in Britain because of the exclusion from the dominant white population as well as the difficulty in establishing an identity in an unfamiliar country. Exclusion can inflict on ones health by promoting vulnerability and thus, becoming a visible, minority target to be at risk for physical and mental health problems such as high stress levels and depression. There is also the lack of respect of contrasting, cultural values and for being individually different from everyone else. This inexcusable ignorance can lead to Asian minority groups having unequal rights and being denied access to specific programs offered in Britain. Thus, there is the strong desire to prevent the racial and discriminatory portrayals of their own ethnicity by acculturating and assimilating to the dominant culture. Connecting to the Force Field Paradigm of Public Health, I am specifically addressing the environmental element that contributes to shaping ones health status in society. Within this environmental determinant of health, the racist and social interactions between Asian minority groups and the dominant white community pose individual and population health risks. In other words, the way Asian minority populations are perceived and treated differently by society directly affects their health status in both negative and positive ways. The target population of the Asian minorities, specifically the Chinese, has brought huge immigration to the British society. Looking back on British history, the white British fully colonized Hong Kong, which is one of the currently known crown colonies for bringing in a huge influx of Chinese into England and for practicing very profitable trading. In addition, there was a large crowd of Chinese seamen into Britain because they had learned that the country
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had many valuable port cities, including London. Therefore, the Chinese seamen knew that they could increase their trade more effectively as well as produce more profit by moving to these British port cities. However, because England was an unfamiliar country to the Chinese, they had to acculturate and assimilate to the British ways in order to fit in and establish a communal identity. With the huge Chinese immigration into Britain due to colonization, appealing port cities, and seeking employment in the public sector, this is why today, the Chinese makes up one of Britains largest and fastest growing ethnic populations along with the Muslim and white groups. In general, ethnic minorities today currently comprise about 8% of Britains approximately 62 million people and this percentage continues to grow as the countrys multiculturalism steadily molds. The chosen issue of the unrepresented Asian minority populations having to acculturate and assimilate into the British culture is important because it shows how and to what level Britain appreciates multiculturalism and is willing to support equal rights as well as address health issues of those different minorities. This issue also incorporates an environmental sphere of factors that influence how not only society perceives and treats ethnic minorities, but the minorities themselves as well. Therefore, there is a two-way perspective on racial and ethnic identities that correlates with understanding individual and population health. Hypothesis My proposed hypothesis is that the Asian minority groups dont have a sense of belonging to the growing diversity in London due to the racial interactions and portrayals by the British society. Based on my qualitative data collection and my own personal experiences in London, the reason for these racial perspectives is because of Britains narrow cultural
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perspective and inconsiderate manners for Asian ethnic cultures. The United Kingdom just recently grasped the concept of multiculturalism in its British society and therefore, this aspect is still new to the British. Therefore, in the process of transitioning to a more diverse community, there are still traces of racial and discriminatory actions being placed upon the Asian minorities. Some examples of specific behavioral indicators of the British are that they would say hello in Chinese, ni hao, to all individuals of Asian descent without question as well as interpret those other Asian minorities as looking all the same or like a Chinese. However, the British seem unaware of their racist actions since they would display them in a nice and courteous manner, in their perspective. However, these unintentional behaviors negatively influence the well-being of the Asian minority populations by suppressing and excluding their culture of origin. Thus, these actions can lead to high levels of discriminatory stress and a loss or confusion of cultural identity within the British society. This degree of racism seems to generally occur in the urban and suburban areas of England such as London, Eltham, and Stratford where there is a high presence of diversity in the community based on my own field observations. In a way, multiculturalism produces unintentional, racist portrayals towards Asian ethnic minorities when the concept is still developing. But, once multiculturalism has been shaped after a very long period of time, diversity will balance out all of the cultures included and be one nationality. Data Collection My overall data collection consists of field observations in the form of journal notes that were kept up-to-date every day during my one-month stay in London and when I was traveling to other British areas. Most of the field observations are in regards to the racial portrayals I
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experienced as a Vietnamese-American in London that I rarely encounter or see firsthand in the United States. The first racial occurrence was with a Nigerian woman at the bus stop in front of the University of Greenwich, Avery Hill Campus entrance in the morning on August 17th. Neela, Kyla, Aria, and I were waiting at the bus stop for our travel plans to the Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, Harrods mall, and Westminister Abbey. While we were waiting for our specific bus, a Nigerian woman approached us asking questions about where we were from and what convinced us to visit London. My first impression was that the woman was about in her 40s who was proud of her Nigerian ethnicity because of her traditional and cultural dress she wore that day. I also assumed by her nice gesture in approaching us that she was thoughtfully trying to get to know us. However, when we told her that we were from Seattle, the woman questioned if the city was in China. Her racial assumptions continued when she thought that Kyla, Aria, and I looked physically the same while Neela appeared the most different from the three of us. Then, we realized that the Nigerian woman used her tactic of getting to know us to advertise her religious belief in Jesus and to convince us in joining her. She continued her religious promotion when we got on the bus in which she passed out a brochure on believing in Jesus. This first racial portrayal of my ethnicity in London did not make me feel offended or suppressed yet. However, I was unaware of how often I would come across this racial experience as I continued my travels in London. In the evening of August 21st, Kyla, Aria, and I went to Stratford to go shopping at one of the largest shopping centers in Europe, the Westfield Stratford City shopping center. The shopping center was very busy, especially when it was in the vicinity of the Olympic Stadium and Park as well as when the 2012 Olympics were occurring. While we were walking
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throughout the mall, we passed by one of the white women who was advertising about a perfume product to the public. As we passed by, the white woman said hello in Chinese to us and we noticed that all the other product advertisers also said ni hao to the Asians that walked pass them. Experiencing this racial portrayal of my Vietnamese ethnicity another time made me feel annoyed and frustrated by the ignorance of the British. My impression was that this woman and the other advertisers were trying to accommodate to other cultures by learning how to say hi in other languages for the sole reason of selling and marketing their product. Despite the racial portrayals Ive experienced in London, there were times when I finally felt appreciated by my Asian culture and that I felt a sense of cultural inclusion similar to this feeling back in the United States. The first time was on August 23rd during the long walk up the hill in Greenwich to the area where the Royal Observatory and the Prime Meridian Line was. Along the way, I saw my first Vietnamese restaurant during my stay in London and the employees there were the first Vietnamese residents that Ive seen in England. During that time, I felt really proud of my culture due to the fact that there was a Vietnamese restaurant in Greenwich out of all the other food areas that were mostly Chinese, Indian, and other ethnic foods. Also, this was one of the times where I felt satisfied that there was finally evidence of my Vietnamese culture as a part of Englands growing diversity. Another instance that I felt my Asian culture was appreciated and respected was visiting the many diverse museums. On August 24th, I visited the Victoria and Albert Museum with Kyla, Aria, Jennifer, and Aida where I was in awe at the different types of Asian art that were displayed such as pottery, clothing styles, statues, and other artistic presentations. The more I explored the Asian section of the museum, the more at-home feeling I felt with my Asian race
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and culture. Not only did this museum incorporate art and design from Asian cultures, but also European, African, and North and South American collections. This museum was a full cultural ensemble of the most impressive decorative arts and designs that Ive ever experienced. I also had the opportunity to view other cultures collections, which intriguingly stretched my cultural perspective to another level. Another museum that I went to was The British Imperial War Museum on August 23rd with the whole class. This particular museum exemplified and celebrated the many wars that occurred around the world. In the International Wars section, I grasped the displays of the Vietnam War and its huge historical significance like any other international war. This museum was multicultural in a way that was historic and included all of the national and international wars that continuously shaped Britains huge diversity today. I was really content to see that the Vietnam War was a part of Britains growing, multicultural society as equally as any other war displayed in the museum. Analysis In order to provide a full analysis of my field observation notes, I will incorporate the interview of one of the British ambassadors, Jubeda Ahmed who is a Bangladeshi student in London. The interview was conducted on September 6, 2012 at one of the classrooms in the University of Greenwich, Avery Hill Campus. With the two racial experiences that I had as a Vietnamese-American, I was seen as a Chinese by both ethnic and white women, which illustrates that this narrow view on Asian minorities is common for most British individuals regardless of their ethnicity. However, the British were not offensive in their racial comments and actions in my personal experiences, which suggest that they are currently unaware of how they are negatively influencing the other minority groups. Jubeda is a Bangladeshi, but she
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has been mistaken many times for being Indian similar to my racial experience of being called a Chinese rather than a Vietnamese individual. Therefore, she understands the feeling of being racially portrayed by the British. Having lived in London her whole life and being of Asian descent, Jubeda explained that the British dont understand the differences among different Asian minority groups because there arent huge emerging populations of each of the other Asian cultures like the Chinese to be seen as independent ethnic groups. Therefore, Jubeda said that the British arent ignorant, but open-minded and curious to getting to know other individuals cultures and ethnicities that they are unaware of. Earlier, I mentioned that the degree of racism discerned from my own field observations seemed to be prevalent in urban and suburban cities that are often busy with lots of cultural people around like London, Stratford, and Eltham. This gives the opportunity for the British to express their cultural curiosity on other ethnicity groups, especially the minorities. However, this curiosity can easily be misinterpreted into accommodating other Asian minorities by saying hello or other words in their native language in order to attempt to break the language barrier between Asians and other cultures, especially the White community. But, this leads to a more negative action than the intentional, positive one by the British, which can eventually result in acculturation and assimilation due to ones native culture being suppressed and excluded by society. To support this realistic notion, the novel, White Teeth by Zadie Smith characterizes two twin Indian brothers, Millat and Magid, as visual examples of the influence of acculturation and assimilation. Both Millat and Magid are treated negatively by the British community due to their Indian descent such as misinterpreting them as Arabs or of Middle Eastern ethnicities since the people from both cultures look the same as portrayed by Smith. However, they have
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both assimilated into the British culture, which their father contests strongly against because he wants his sons to retain their Indian ethnicity and cultural traditions instead of being corrupt by London. Overall, if the degree of racism present in London today continues, then there will be a further disconnection between the Asian minorities and other ethnic groups, especially the Whites, and a more incentive to be fully integrated into the British culture. Not only did I have racial experiences as a Vietnamese-American, but I also had times where I felt appreciated and respected of my culture by the British society. However, I was only able to have these positive feelings exemplified in museums, and not personally and directly by a British. This shows that although there is physical evidence of the UK celebrating its recent handle on multiculturalism, there arent many personal and positive racial interactions by the people themselves. Therefore, they can easily generalize and stereotype cultures and ethnic groups based on the societal ways of racial interpretations. While interviewing Jubeda, she said that she feels racially comfortable living in the UK because there are many ethnic and cultural restaurants, especially of Muslim foods, that she can relate to. Once you find local restaurants with foods that you are familiar with in your own culture, the more the at-home feeling presents itself. I found this to be true during my one-month visit to London when I ate at Asian cultural restaurants, especially Chinese ones such as Tai Won Mein in Eltham and Cha Cha Moon near Carnaby Street since Vietnamese and Chinese foods are similar in style and taste. Discussion Overall, this paper centralized on ethnic and racial minority groups, particularly the Asian population, with the integration of my personal experiences in London as a VietnameseAmerican. The concepts that were exemplified were acculturation/assimilation , other racial
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minority groups, and multiculturalism weaving into the sphere of public health. The racial portrayals of Asian ethnic minorities that I observed and experienced are important because they represent how realities of racial perceptions can pose a threat to individual and population health. This is in regards to the environmental aspect of social exclusion and loss or confusion of racial identity, which thus, leads to risks for physical and mental health problems. One cant assume that discrimination and racism are the concepts of the past because they havent and will never become nonexistent as long as multiculturalism is still maturing. Regarding the two racial encounters that I experienced as a Vietnamese-American in London, they occurred due to Britains new grips on multiculturalism and thus, the lack of other Asian minorities becoming dominant like the Chinese. The United States has experienced and thoroughly shaped multiculturalism much longer than the United Kingdom has, and thus, the English nations multiculturalism is still a freshly, adopted concept. Before the United Kingdom transitioned into multiculturalism about 50 years ago, it was a major imperialist country and therefore, I believe that the British still retain some of their imperialistic views on ethnic minorities today. In support of this notion, Jubeda Ahmed stated that there is a lack of huge populations of other Asian minorities that many British are not aware of, which leads to their narrow cultural perspective on them. Therefore, this supports my proposed hypothesis that other Asian minorities dont have a sense or have little sense of belonging and community cohesion in the British societies. However, I do think that the Asian majority groups in Britain such as the Chinese and Muslim populations feel comfortable within Britains current multiculturalism status with support from Jubedas personal experience of being a Bangladeshi . In comparison with the United States, I feel that my Vietnamese culture fits and balances very well with the
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nations mature multiculturalism since there is the sense of community that revolves around my culture as well as interconnecting with other cultures. In addition, I feel that my ethnicity is near the same level as the White community instead of experiencing social exclusion by other cultures in London. I rarely see narrow racial perspectives in the United States like I did in the United Kingdom, which brings up the controversial question if multiculturalism has worked in Britain. According to an article from BBC News last year, British Prime Minister, David Cameron criticized Britain for failing on maintaining its growing multiculturalism due to the cultural inequalities that arose. He stated that there is the lack of social cohesion produced by the failed sense of national and local identities among all cultures. He also said that the government has the ability to lead and encourage community building in the British society, including all minorities, but it hasnt taken this as a national priority yet. In my personal experiences described in the Data Collection section, I do see evidences of not a failed multiculturalism, but a growing one that needs to be thoroughly refined. It is necessary for Britain to learn lessons from the United States on how it successfully shaped its diversity where there is a sense of community and belonging. Although everyone is all different and represents different ethnicities, we are all one nationality in the United States and I feel that the United Kingdom has yet to achieve that based on my field observations. If Britain can spend many more years gripping multiculturalism more strongly like the United States, social relationships among all ethnic minority and majority groups will be achieved and thus, people can have healthier and happier lives with rarely any racism.

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