Tensions of Transnationalism
“Return migrants’ floating lives”
By: Ngoc Tuong Anh Duong (Ha) Contemporary Asian Studies
Graduate School of Social Sciences (GSSS) UVA ID: 10220356
Supervisor: Dr. C.H Harris Submission: 27 June 2016 Word count body of text: 23827
purpose of this thesis is to determine return migration should no longer be viewed as the end of the migration cycle; rather it portrays one stage in the migration process. Unlike most transnational studies that centre on identity issues of migrants, this thesis examines transnationalism in relationship with return migration, flexible citizenship, Guanxi and the power relationship between the new transnational elite group and the Vietnamese authoritarian government.I argue return migration creates different forms of transnationalism and can lead to a form of flexible citizenship. Moreover, the return of the elite group creates tensions between the state and the elite group. These tensions enforce returnees to find new migration strategies. As a result, returnees will choose a flexible migration strategy where they can maintain links in both Vietnam and their home in the West. As transnational migrants, returnees will go back and forth regularly between Vietnam and their home in the West. This way they can benefit from the best of both worlds: economic, political and legal security in the West and maintaining business and social networks in Vietnam.
Anybody who has ever visited Ho Chi Minh City, must have recognised the traffic without rules. With over 4 million motorbikes, Ho Chi Minh City is known to have very busy, and often times chaotic, traffic. Since Vietnam joined the WTO, there are more imported cars than ever. Imagine yourself riding in your new car in downtown Ho Chi Minh City, where motorbikes come from right, left and make it almost impossible for you to move forward. Although, you are safe in your big car, you can not trust traffic around you.
After 10 minutes standing at one place, a traffic police comes to you and tells you to leave and gives you a fine. You don’t understand why you get this fine so you ask him whether he could explain what rule you have violated. The traffic police could not tell you what rule you have violated. He tells you if you don’t pay the fine right now, you have to come to the police station. You don’t want to get in trouble so you pay the fine, in order to get away clean and to leave the crowded place. The only place where you can drive quietly and safely is in the expatriate neighbourhood in the suburbs of Ho Chi Minh City. You decide to avoid driving your car in downtown Ho Chi Minh City in the future. Next time when you go to downtown you will go on your motorbike instead of your car.
The traffic story of Ho Chi Minh City pretty much reflects the contemporary society of Vietnam: no clear laws and rules, corruption, powerful authority and a minority of people who are driving in cars. This thesis will illustrate the stories of the people in these cars: Overseas Vietnamese and International Vietnamese citizens who return migrated to Vietnam. Let the ride begin.
1. Introduction 1-10 1.1. Return migration and Research questions 3-5
1.2. Methodology and Informants 5-8
1.3. Being an Overseas Vietnamese researcher in Vietnam 8-10
2. Historical background 11-24
2.1. Resistance to foreign powers 11-12 2.2. The Vietnam War and Life in Saigon 12-16 2.3. From a centralised planned economy to Doi Moi era 17-23
2.4. Conclusion 23-24
3. Motivations to return migrate to Vietnam 25-33 3.1. Motivations of Overseas Vietnamese to return to Vietnam 25-30 3.2. Motivations of International Vietnamese citizens to return 30-33 to Vietnam
3.3. Conclusion 33 4. How do returnees experience their return to Vietnam? 34-52 4.1. Vietnam in transition and the Dai Gia lifestyle 34-39 4.2. Experiences in professional life 39-44 4.3. Returnees’ position in the Vietnamese society 44-52
4.4. Conclusion 52
5. Future decisions 53-58
5.1. Flexible citizenship 53-58
5.2. Conclusion 58
6. Conclusion and Discussion 59-63
Bibliography 64-73
Chapter One: Introduction
In November 2015, several Vietnamese news outlets highlighted that Vietnam is currently facing a brain drain. The news about the brain drain was a response to an article about a game show called Duong len dinh Olympia, a Vietnamese television show where the most talented high school students compete weekly with each other. The winners of this show get a full scholarship to Australia. According to the article about this game show, history has shown that 12 of the 13 winners of this show stay abroad after their studies in Australia (Kha 2015). Several news outlets and the Vietnamese National Assembly highlighted that this phenomenon of staying abroad is also visible under the rest of the highly educated Vietnamese overseas students (BBC 2015). A heated debate erupted among Vietnamese people over the choice of the highly educated overseas students to stay abroad instead of returning to Vietnam to contribute to nation building (Tuoi Tre News 2015). Nation building is viewed in this study as the long-term process of building the social, economic, political foundations of a state (Kim 2007:114). Therefore, the Vietnamese government add to the definition of nation building, that the state should be build following the ideology of the Vietnamese Communist Party (CPV) (Chinh Phu 2011). The Vietnamese National Assembly used the article about the game show as an example of Vietnam failing to use talents (Tuoi Tre News 2015). According to the Vietnamese National Assembly, Vietnam does not attract enough highly skilled overseas students to return to Vietnam. While most of the highly skilled overseas students indeed decide to stay abroad after their studies, a small percentage do decide to come back to Vietnam.
According to an article written by Hoai Nam, the numbers of Vietnamese overseas students who come back increase as Vietnam’s economy is transforming and the country is integrating in the world economy (Hoai Nam 2014). During the early 2000s, only 20 % of the students who have studied abroad returned to Vietnam after their studies. Since the recession in the United States and the economic developments in Vietnam in 2008, the percentage of students who came home increased to 40% (Hong 2009). Even though many overseas students decide to stay abroad, the number of overseas students who return is increasing. Hence, the numbers of 1.5 and second-generation overseas Vietnamese returning to Vietnam to work and live is also increasing. These are children of first-generation Vietnamese immigrants who fled the
country after the communist victory in 1975 (Koh 2015, p 173). Since Vietnam is implementing several laws and policies to draw back overseas Vietnamese, the number of return migrants among the 1.5 and second-generation Overseas Vietnamese has been increasing (Nguyen-Akbar 2014:181). In this research, I analyse the return migration of two different groups return migrants. The first group consists of highly educated Vietnamese citizens who have studied and worked abroad; this group is called the International Vietnamese citizens in this thesis. The second group consists of the 1.5 and second-generation Overseas Vietnamese, who are grouped together as Overseas Vietnamese in this thesis. I will discuss both groups further in the section of Methodology and Informants.
In January 2016, I conducted 3 months of fieldwork in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam in order to analyse the lives of 29 International Vietnamese citizens and Overseas Vietnamese after their return to Vietnam. This thesis highlights how motivations to return migrate and experience of return migration influence International Vietnamese citizens and Overseas Vietnamese’ future decisions in the migration cycle. I will mainly focus on the very wealthy returnees who live in the expatriate hub of Ho Chi Minh City. I argue this is an emerging higher social class in Vietnam. This social class, also called the Dai Gia (Wealthy family) is unlike the previous elite, not connected to the current CPV. The term Dai Gia refers to wealthy people in the Vietnamese society. I believe that the re-entrance of Vietnam in the world economy and neoliberalism has created this new social class. By portraying these returnees’ lifestyle and the experiences in their daily life, this thesis will show how these experiences have led to their future decisions to live a transnational life, floating as astronauts between Vietnam and the Western world, but not belonging exclusively to one place. These analyses will contribute to the knowledge of return migration and transnational studies. Unlike most transnational studies that centre on identity issues of migrants, this thesis examines transnationalism in relationship with return migration, flexible citizenship, Guanxi and the power relationship between the new transnational elite group and the Vietnamese authoritarian government. According to the concept of transnationalism, migrants never quite arrive at their destination because they never leave home (Ley and Kobayashi 2005). Ong (1999) introduced the theory of flexible citizenship. This theory shows how highly mobile could live a transnational life shuttling between two countries in order to obtain best of both
worlds. Finally, Guanxi refers to social networks. The phrase “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” describe the importance of social networks in the Chinese society.
While the Vietnamese media outlets focus on the departure of the highly educated overseas students, very little attention has been paid to the return of highly educated returnees. Therefore, most of the current literature focuses on the return migration of Overseas Vietnamese in general and not the highly educated young 1.5 and second-generation nor the highly educated International Vietnamese citizens. With this research, I would like to show the different experiences of the two privileged and highly educated groups. Moreover, most studies focus on the motives of people that return migrate, whereas this thesis focuses on the question how motivation of return migration and experiences of return migration influence the future decisions of return migrants.
This introductory chapter will start with the section of theoretical background on return migration and research questions, followed by the section on methodology and informants. Finally, the section of my position as an Overseas Vietnamese researcher in this research will be discussed.
1.1 Return Migration and Research questions
Scholars within the field of migration studies usually focus on classic migration theories that focus on low-skilled migrants who move from developing to developed regions and stay there permanently (Sreberny-Mohammadi 2013:116). However, contemporary studies on return migration suggests that migrants move between different national territories, namely between the host country and the home country (Nguyen-Akbar 2014:177). Thus, migration is not always a unidirectional phenomenon that leads to a permanent stay in a developed country like the classic theories suggest, but might rather be an unpredictable on-going process among first generation migrants as well as for later generations (Jain 2012:897). In this case, return migration may assume the form of circular migration, as return migrants do not return permanently but move back and forth as astronauts between home and host country (Ong 1999). Ong (1999) discuss this transnational life in the theory of flexible citizenship. One of the oldest and best-known theories to explain international
migration is the neoclassical economics theory. This theory assumes that the difference in wages between countries has led to international migration (Massey et al. 1993). For example, the neoclassical economics theory assumes that people return migrate because they have not economically succeeded in the host country (de Haas, Fokkema, and Fihri 2015). However, this assumption could not explain the return of high skilled migrants who have integrated in the host country successfully. In contrast to the neoclassical economics theory that associates return migration to the failure to integrate economically in the host country, the new economics of labour migration theory believes that return migration is a logical stage after migrants have earned sufficient assets and knowledge to invest in their origin countries (de Haas, Fokkema, and Fihri 2015:415). Both these classic migration theories have some shortcomings, as the process of return migration is often more complex and could not be explained by theories that only focus on economic factors (Cassarino 2004:257). With insights into theories of transnationalism, return migration is no longer viewed as the end of the migration cycle but rather it shows one stage in the migration cycle and could lead to an on-going migration process in the form of flexible citizenship (Cassarino 2004:268).
In this research, I show that the return of International Vietnamese citizens and Overseas Vietnamese is merely a stage in the migration cycle. We need to approach return migration by looking at the diversity of returnees while taking into account new variables that explain why returnees return and under what circumstances. Therefore, it is fruitful to look at the conditions under which the return takes place (Cassarino 2004:275). In this thesis, I will firstly illustrate the differences between the two groups of returnees and show how the history of Vietnam has influenced these returnees’ identity and lives. Second, I will show why both groups decided to return migrate and under what circumstances they returned. Third, I will show how both groups experience their return to Vietnam. Finally, I will illustrate what factors influence returnees’ decision to stay or leave Vietnam. By analysing the motivations of return and the experience of return migration, I will define how these motivations and experiences influence the future decisions of returnees in the migration cycle in relation with theories in transnationalism, flexible citizenship and return migration. Therefore, I will highlight how Guanxi networks and the government influence the return migration process. The main research question of this thesis is as following:
How do motivations to return and experiences of return migration to Vietnam influence returnees’ future decisions in the migration cycle?
I will answer the main research question through the following sub questions:
1. What are the motivational factors that affect overseas Vietnamese and international Vietnamese citizens’ decision to return to Vietnam?
2. How do overseas Vietnamese and international Vietnamese citizens experience return migration?
3. What factors influence whether Overseas Vietnamese and International Vietnamese citizens want to stay or leave Vietnam?
1.2 Methodology and Informants
This thesis is based on 23 one-on-one semi-structured interviews with 11 Overseas Vietnamese and 12 International Vietnamese citizens living in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi during my three months’ fieldwork in January-March 2016. I chose to conduct my research mainly in Ho Chi Minh City because this city is the international hub and the place where most of the expats and returnees return (Nguyen-Akbar 2014:177). The city is known as the economic capital and is attractive for entrepreneurs, expats and business people to locate (Koh 2015). Although I conducted my research mainly in Ho Chi Minh City, during my fieldwork I was also able to interview 3 International Vietnamese citizens from Hanoi.
I developed an interview guide that provided the opportunity to bring structure to the in-depth informal interviews. The interview started with questions about returnees’ migration and family’s history, followed by the question why they returned to Vietnam and how they experience living in Vietnam. Finally, I asked returnees what their plans are for the coming years. Through the semi-structured interview, I aimed to get a deeper understanding of the process of return migration. Most of the interviews were conducted partly in English and Vietnamese. 3 Interviews were conducted in Dutch. The semi-structured interviews were held at different locations, from restaurants, shopping malls and coffee shops to returnees’ houses and offices. I tried to plan most of the interviews in a coffee shop or restaurant as I realized
informants are more open when they are in an informal setting. Therefore, it was easier to connect with my informants in an informal setting because I was able to have a small talk before the actual interview. The informal setting and personal approach is to elicit the genuine feelings and views of informants (Wimpenny and Gass 2000:1488). The length of my interviews varied between 40 minutes to 1 hour.
Besides the one-on-one interviews, I held a focus group with 4 International Vietnamese citizens and a group interview with 2 International Vietnamese citizens in a restaurant. These group interviews were more interactive as my informants could react to each other. Therefore, they were useful to obtain detailed information, perceptions and opinions of the group. However, as it is a group interview, it was difficult to get in depth and to measure whether the answers of informants were not influenced by the answers of other informants in the group. The group interviews took a little bit longer than the one-on-one interviews and vary between 1 hour to 1,5 hour. Additionally, during my 3-months stay in Vietnam, I observed the life of Overseas Vietnamese and International Vietnamese citizens by actively engaging in social activities, which took place in the community of Overseas Vietnamese and International Vietnamese citizens. Being a participant observer involves not only watching participants from a distance but also participating and taking notes of the events and conversations that occur (Brown 2008:236). Examples of observation sites included: gatherings of Overseas Vietnamese or International Vietnamese citizens in restaurants, rooftop bars, karaoke bars and a fundraising event organised by one of the Overseas Vietnamese.
After I have collected all my data, I started to transcribe the recorded interviews in the ExpressScribe transcribing software. These transcriptions were analysed and coded. By categorising the date through codes I was able to find the similarities and discrepancies between the returnees in general and between the two groups of return migrants.
Research population
As mentioned above, this thesis focuses on two groups of return migrants. The first group consists of Overseas Vietnamese, in particular the 1.5 and second-generation
Overseas Vietnamese. From the 11 Overseas Vietnamese informants, 9 are considered as second-generation Overseas Vietnamese because they were born abroad, while 2 of the 11 informants are considered as 1.5 generation Overseas Vietnamese because they were born in Vietnam. However, both 1.5 generation Overseas Vietnamese in this thesis left the country when they were younger than 2 years old. In this case, none of the Overseas Vietnamese have memories of living in Vietnam. This first group is named Overseas Vietnamese in this thesis. They are children of South Vietnamese refugees who fled the country between 1975 and 1980. Most of the families fled the country by boat between 1978 and 1980. In this group, 9 out of 11 informants’ parents are from Ho Chi Minh City, former Saigon, while 2 of the informants have family from the rural area in South Vietnam. Therefore, 6 out of the 11 informants have grandparents who migrated earlier from North Vietnam to South Vietnam in 1954, during the Operation Passage to Freedom. I will discuss this further in chapter 2, historical background. The age of the group vary between 22 and 40 years old. Moreover, 8 out of the 11 Overseas Vietnamese are men while only 3 Overseas Vietnamese are women. During my fieldwork, I found it hard to find Overseas Vietnamese women. According to the literature on expatriate communities, women may not be as attracted and motivated for international careers as men (Selmer and Leung 2003:133). Therefore, women in general face more discrimination on the labour market in the corporate world, which could be the reason why there are fewer women expatatriates (Selmer and Leung 2003:132). All the Overseas Vietnamese in this group obtained a Bachelor degree or both Bachelor and Master degree in Western Europe, Australia or The United States. While some of the Overseas Vietnamese are currently in a relationship, all of the Overseas Vietnamese were not in a relationship when they arrived in Vietnam.
The second group consists of International Vietnamese citizens. This group of return migrants have lived abroad but in contrast to the Overseas Vietnamese, the International Vietnamese citizens were all born in Vietnam. In order to compare both groups, I selected the group by their age and education. The age in this group also varied between 22 and 40 years old. Therefore, all of the International Vietnamese citizens obtained a Bachelor or both Bachelor and Master degree. However, not everyone obtained a diploma abroad like the Overseas Vietnamese. From the 18 International Vietnamese citizens, 16 studied abroad while 2 studied in Vietnam at a
prestigious local university. So 16 International Vietnamese citizens went abroad to study and 2 International Vietnamese citizens only went abroad for work. Moreover, 6 out of the 16 International Vietnamese who studied abroad also stayed after their graduation to work. Everyone in this group could be considered as part of the higher social class in Vietnam. However, the group could still be divided by returnees’ family background and location. I focused my research in Ho Chi Minh City and interviewed 15 International Vietnamese citizens in this city. Therefore, I also interviewed 3 International Vietnamese citizens in Hanoi to see whether the experiences of International Vietnamese citizens in the South are comparable to the experiences of International Vietnamese citizens in the North. While all of the International Vietnamese citizens in Ho Chi Minh City have family and relatives who fled the country between 1975 and 1980, the International Vietnamese citizens from Hanoi do not have family members who fled the country after the war. On the other hand, International Vietnamese citizens from Hanoi mentioned that their grandparents and parents are still or used to serve the current Communist government and army while grandparents and parents of International Vietnamese citizens used to serve the South Vietnamese government. Most of the International Vietnamese citizens mentioned that they were single when they returned to Vietnam. From the 18 International Vietnamese citizens, 9 are married and 8 are married and have children. Therefore, I interviewed 15 female International Vietnamese citizens and 3 male International Vietnamese citizens. The fact that I mostly interviewed female International citizens is because the female International Vietnamese citizens that I met introduced me to their female friends who are in their social circle.
Besides selecting the group by their education and age, the informants were also consciously selected by social class. The Overseas Vietnamese and International Vietnamese citizens are considered as part of the higher social class, also known as Dai Gia. I will discuss this social status further in chapter 3.
1.3 Being an Overseas Vietnamese researcher in Vietnam
My identity as a female Overseas Vietnamese helped me connect with the Overseas Vietnamese and International Vietnamese citizens through word-of-mouth referrals. My relatives in Vietnam introduced me to a few informants and they in return introduced me to other informants through the snowball sampling. To reduce the bias
of snowball sampling, I ensured that my informants did not introduce me to their family members (De Bree, Davids, and De Haas 2010:494).
As I grew up in an Overseas Vietnamese community abroad, the Overseas Vietnamese community influences most of my ideas about Vietnam. Most of the Vietnamese people in my environment are South Vietnamese who fled the country after the victory of the Communist party of Vietnam (CPV). The overseas Vietnamese communities share a strong collective anti-communist identity that has served as a unifying factor for the overseas Vietnamese community abroad since 1975 (Thomas 1997). Although, my family is originally from North Vietnam, my grandparents migrated to South Vietnam in 1954 before the split of North Vietnam and South Vietnam. Both of my grandfathers and most of my uncles were lieutenants and captains for the South Vietnamese army. When I was growing up I only heard their stories about Vietnam. In order to stand more neutral in this research, I decided to hear more stories from the other side: the North Vietnamese side. I visited my family in North Vietnam in the first week of my fieldwork to get a fuller picture of the history of Vietnam. After my visit in North Vietnam, I was able to distance myself from the ideas of just one side of the story. As a researcher, it is important to be objective and unbiased because the interpretations of a researcher could influence the results of research (Dickson-Swift et al. 2007:338). Since this thesis involves political elements, I wanted to become more neutral. However, in qualitative research subjectivity and researcher bias is inevitable (Mehra 2001:4) In order to get a fuller picture of the history of Vietnam, I decided to listen to diverse stories.
In order to gain trust among my informants, I held a small talk before every recorded interview. I tried to connect with my informants by sharing my own complicated transnational family history. By being completely open about my own history and experience of staying in Vietnam, I tried to gain trust among my informants and hoped they could be as open as well. It was easy for me to connect with other Overseas Vietnamese because we have a similar background. As for the International Vietnamese citizens, most of the International Vietnamese citizens liked to be interviewed by me because of my identity as an Overseas Vietnamese. In Vietnam Overseas Vietnamese are grouped as the elite (Phong, Husson, and Charbit 2000).
Since I am part of this Overseas Vietnamese community, most of the International Vietnamese citizens were willing to do an interview with me. Vietnam is a country that is based on social hierarchy so if you want to interview the elite you also have to act as someone from the elite. It was important for me to have relatives or friends from the higher social class to introduce me to the International Vietnamese citizens who are part of the upper class. I will discuss the topic ‘social class’ further in chapter 4. In general, I was lucky that my background helped me to enter the community where my informants are living. Therefore, since I could speak Vietnamese fluently it was also easier for me to have intimate and private conversations with my informants. In the next chapter I would like to illustrate a historical background of Vietnam and show how Vietnam’s history has shaped the identity and life of my informants.
Chapter Two: Historical background
In this chapter I provide a historical background for the reader to understand how the history of Vietnam has shaped the returnees’ background and identity. Therefore, I argue that returnees’ background and identity in return influence how they position themselves in contemporary Vietnam. Returnees vary with respect to background, period of departure and political stance. I argue that the differences influence their engagement with Vietnam and the willingness to contribute to nation building.
2.1 Resistance to foreign powers
Vietnam has a long history of being ruled by foreign powers. China conquered the northern part of Vietnam from 111 BC to 938 AD (Nguyễn 2015). In the late 19th century Vietnam became a French colony. During colonization, the French sent the first Vietnamese students and workers to France (Phong, Husson, and Charbit 2000:184). These Vietnamese migrants became the first Overseas Vietnamese also known as Viet Kieu. After the World War II in 1945, the French failed in controlling Vietnam due to the rise of the Viet Minh nationalist revolutionaries in North Vietnam. During the same period, anti-communist Vietnamese politicians and the Vietnamese elite formed a rival government in South Vietnam led by the former emperor, Bao Dai, under the supervision of the French government. In North Vietnam, the French were in a battle with the Viet Minh from 1945 till 1954, also known as the French Indochina War (Hopkins 2000). In 1954, the Viet Minh successfully defeated the French at Dien Bien Phu. The negotiation of the Geneva accords followed and ended the war between France and the Viet Minh in 1954. Therefore, the Geneva accords granted Vietnam independence and divided Vietnam into North and South Vietnam (Huong and Fry 2004:206).
On the one hand, the North Vietnamese communists believed in a communist equal society, on the other hand, the South Vietnamese wanted to follow the Western capitalist system in South Vietnam. In order to have an equal society, the North Vietnamese implemented the land reforms and confiscated many lands; as a result many landlords and their families ended up in re-education camps hoc toc cai tao or were executed. The middle class and upper class were seen as class enemies of the communist North Vietnam like the bourgeoisie in the Soviet Union (Tismaneanu
2001:126). Therefore, Catholic people who were still practicing their religion were also sent to the re-education camps. The Geneva accords allowed a 300-day period of grace in which people could move freely from North Vietnam to South Vietnam or from South Vietnam to North Vietnam, before the borders between North and South Vietnam closed (Huong and Fry 2004). As a result, almost one million North Vietnamese migrated to South Vietnam while only 100,000 South Vietnamese who believed in the communist system left South Vietnam. Most of the North Vietnamese who migrated were Catholic people and the elite of North Vietnam. Many of the International Vietnamese citizens and Overseas Vietnamese returnees in this research have parents and grandparents who are originally from North Vietnam. Most of these returnees also mentioned that they have a Catholic background. North Vietnamese who migrated in 1954 to South Vietnam are called Bac ’54, which means North Vietnamese from ’54.
2.2 The Vietnam War and life in Saigon
According to the Geneva accords, Vietnam would have held elections in 1956 to unify the country. As the tensions between North Vietnam and South Vietnam got higher, the United States (US) stepped in to support South Vietnam. The Americans were afraid North Vietnam would unify the country and that this unification will have a domino effect in the region, where communism will be spread throughout Southeast Asia (Rivett and Montero 1980:3). Between 1955 and 1975 North and South Vietnam fought against each other. While the South claimed that they fought for the cause of freedom and democracy for the Vietnamese people, North Vietnam claimed that they fought against American imperialists to liberate the state (Le 2015). North Vietnam was supported by Soviet Union and China while South Vietnam was supported by the United States (Huynh 1987). While Ho Chi Minh led the Communist party in North Vietnam, in South Vietnam the South Vietnamese government was led by president Ngo Dinh Diem (Rivett and Montero 1980:3). Ngo Dinh Diem was a devoted Catholic and had a preference for having Catholic advisors, officials and politicians in his government during his presidency. As a result, Diem’s government relied on the Vietnamese Catholics and Catholic refugees who migrated in 1954 during the 300-day period of Grace from North Vietnam to South Vietnam (Rivett and Montero 1980:3). The Overseas Vietnamese and International Vietnamese citizens who have grandparents who are Bac ’54 mentioned that their grandfathers and great uncles had
a high rank in the ARVN. Besides the fact that many North Vietnamese migrants from 1954 were highly educated and wealthy, most of them were also Catholic. This is the reason why many North Vietnamese people from 1954 gained good positions in South Vietnam.
While North Vietnam and South Vietnam both received international support during the Vietnam War, in South Vietnam the involvement of the Americans were much higher than the involvement of the Soviet Union and China in North Vietnam (Huynh 1987). The people of South Vietnam became more acquainted with Americans and the American culture than the people from North Vietnam during the Vietnam War (Rivett and Montero 1980:3). Tran, a 36 years old International Vietnamese citizen and entrepreneur, mentioned that her parents enjoyed their life in South Vietnam before the reunification. First of all, South Vietnamese people in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly named Saigon, enjoyed the urban modern lifestyle, which was introduced by the French and the Americans. For example, Tran told me that her parents enjoyed going to pop concerts, watching American movies and buy American products. Tran said that people, especially people in a higher social urban class, enjoyed the urban westernized lifestyle in Saigon. Besides the lifestyle, urban South Vietnamese people also enjoyed the free market, freedom of speech, freedom of art and culture in South Vietnam. Just like Tran, other International Vietnamese citizens and Overseas Vietnamese from Ho Chi Minh City also mentioned that their parents had a good social position in the South Vietnamese society. Some International Vietnamese mentioned that while people in North Vietnam were starving, South Vietnamese people in Saigon had a vibrant social life. Tran told me that before the reunification, life in Saigon was easy as there were many opportunities to do business and become rich. She mentioned that because Saigon was considered as a metropolitan of Southeast Asia at that time, many foreigners were in Vietnam. Tran and a some other International Vietnamese citizens and Overseas Vietnamese told me that Saigon was known as the pearl of the far East, Hon Ngoc Vien Dong. Besides Tran, some other International Vietnamese citizens and Overseas Vietnamese told me that their parents could feel nostalgic when they think of the time in Saigon before 1975.
On April 30, 1975 North Vietnam ended the war and on 2 July 1976, South Vietnam and North Vietnam were officially reunited under one communist state. South Vietnamese people’s lives changed rapidly after the reunification. The suddenness of South Vietnam’s defeat and the rumours about the Hanoi’s government intent to execute everyone who served the Americans led to the first wave of migration (Rivett and Montero 1980:4). As a result, approximately 130,000 thousand South Vietnamese people left the country in the week of the Fall of Saigon. The 3 Overseas Vietnamese from the United States in this research mentioned that their family left Vietnam in the week of the Fall of Saigon.
This first wave of migrants consisted of people from the South Vietnamese government, high rank officers from the ARVN, and those who were better educated (Killian and Hegtvedt 2003:215). In this research, I interviewed 3 Overseas Vietnamese whose parents and grandparents migrated to the United States during this first wave of migration. These Overseas Vietnamese mentioned that their grandfathers held high positions in the government or the army. Therefore, their family are all originally from North Vietnam and have a Catholic background. Besides these three Overseas Vietnamese from the United States, many other Overseas Vietnamese and International Vietnamese mentioned that they have relatives who held high positions in the ARVN and migrated during this first wave as well. Tran told me that not everyone was able to migrate during this first wave of migration because there were not enough airplanes. As the Communists closed the borders soon after the Fall of Saigon on 30th April in 1975, many South Vietnamese people who wanted to migrate
were left behind. As a result, families were torn apart after the first wave of migration, according to Tran.
After the Fall of Saigon, one million former officials and soldiers of the ARVN, civil servants, and teachers from South Vietnam who were not able to leave the country before the reunification day were sent to re-education camps (Killian and Hegtvedt 2003:2016). All of the Overseas Vietnamese and International Vietnamese citizens who are currently living in Ho Chi Minh City mentioned that they all have relatives who stayed in education camps. Besides, sending South Vietnamese to the re-education camps, around one more million South Vietnamese people in Saigon were relocated to the New Economic zones, Khu Kinh Te Moi. The New Economic zones
were isolated rural areas. Some International Vietnamese citizens mentioned that the communist government was afraid of the well educated South Vietnamese people so they jailed these people, sent them to camps or to the New Economic zones: “They were scared we would protest and bring them down so they jailed us. We had a good life but then they came and steal everything from us. My grandparents are Bac’54 so they have experienced it twice. They are really afraid of us” (Maria, 29 years old International Vietnamese citizen, social entrepreneur).
Maria mentioned that her family were sent to a New Economic zone because her family are Bac’54 and Catholic. Just like Maria, many International Vietnamese citizens and Overseas Vietnamese, whose family left after 1978, mentioned that their relatives in South Vietnam were excluded from the society by the Vietnamese government. Family members of former ARVN personnel and administrative staff of the South Vietnamese government or ethnic Chinese business people faced discrimination in education and employment after 1975 (Koh 2015:177). The communist regime collectivized agriculture, implemented new school systems, nationalized businesses and industries and confiscated lands of citizens like they did in North Vietnam (Killian and Hegtvedt 2003). According to Maria, life after 1975 was very hard for South Vietnamese people.
As a result of the brutal regime towards South Vietnamese people, the biggest migration wave started in 1978 (Killian and Hegtvedt 2003:216). The second wave consisted of boat people in the late 1970s till early 1980s. Approximately 800,000 people fled the country by boat. This group consisted mainly of people from fishing villages and New Economic zones (Killian and Hegtvedt 2003). Therefore, a small group of business people from the city who were not able to escape after the fall of Saigon were able to leave the country this time. Most of the Overseas Vietnamese in this research belong to this group of boat people.
We just left after the war. After the Vietnam American War, my parents tried to leave several times. So they got caught every time. I think they tried three times. And then on the third trial in 1978 they managed to get out by boat. After we left we were picked up just near Singapore. And then an old tanker picked us up. After that we were taken to Singapore and then Singapore asked
which country we liked to go to so we had a choice. My dad chose England. The old tanker that picked us up, it was a British tanker. Most Southern Vietnamese left after the war because it was not a good place for Southern Vietnamese to be after the war.
-Kyle (38 years old Overseas Vietnamese, English teacher)
Many of the Overseas Vietnamese told me their family left Vietnam between 1978 and 1980 by boat. Unlike the first migration wave, the boat people were in general less educated and had fewer job and language skills than the first wave (Killian and Hegtvedt 2003:215). However, there were also business people and well-educated people from Saigon who paid a big amount of money to leave by boat. Some informants in this research mentioned that one boat ticket should be the same value as one house in Saigon before 1975. On the one hand, you have people who escaped the country in 1975; these people are considered the elite of South Vietnam. On the other hand, you have a division of refugees from poor and small fishing villages and highly educated refugees from Saigon. In this research, I focus on the Overseas Vietnamese whose parents are highly educated refugees from Saigon.
From the mid-1990s, 165,000 re-education camp survivors and some former political prisoners migrated with their families under the Humanitarian Operation Programme to The United States (A. Carruthers 2008:70). This is the third big migration wave. Some International Vietnamese citizens mentioned that they were not able to migrate under the Humanitarian Operation Programme to the United States because their grandfathers did not survive the re-education camps. This is the reason why most of the International Vietnamese citizens stayed behind in Vietnam, although they have relatives who had high positions in the South Vietnamese government or ARVN. In this research, I focus on the International Vietnamese citizens whose family were well off before the reunification in Saigon. Therefore, all these International Vietnamese citizens have close family members who migrated during the first, second and third wave of migration.
After the reunification, the centralized planned economy in Vietnam pushed the country into a serious socioeconomic crisis. Vietnam stepped in a period of political and economic isolation from the West (Gainsborough 2010:478). All the Overseas Vietnamese and International Vietnamese citizens from Ho Chi Minh City mentioned that many South Vietnamese faced a difficult time after the reunification. As mentioned earlier, thousands of South Vietnamese were sent to the re-education camps and New Economic zones. As a result, many South Vietnamese fled the country by boat.
After 1975, the population of South Vietnam was divided into two categories: people leaving and people staying behind (Phong, Husson, and Charbit 2000:188). While the parents of Overseas Vietnamese fled the country, the parents of International Vietnamese citizens stayed behind. Those who stayed behind had to adjust to the new government and society. Adjusting to the new society was hard for many urban South Vietnamese people, as they had a privileged life before 1975. Many International Vietnamese citizens mentioned that their parents and relatives had to give up their privileged life. After the reunification, this group of urban South Vietnamese people were not able to live a luxurious life anymore. While some relatives were sent to re-education camps, the government also confiscated personal properties. Therefore, after 1975 Vietnam was short of rice, meat, cloth, soap and anything that was easy to consume before 1975 in Saigon (Phong, Husson, and Charbit 2000:189).
The International Vietnamese citizens from Ho Chi Minh City in this research mentioned that despite the hardships after 1975, their family luckily received gifts and money from their Overseas Vietnamese family members. Thus, local Vietnamese who received aid from abroad were less affected by the shortages. Tran told me that in Vietnam there was this saying: “If a lamp could walk, it would walk away from Vietnam.” Tran said that life after 1975 was hard for everyone in South Vietnam. Although, most people wanted to leave, not everyone was lucky to leave because the government kept a close eye on the South Vietnamese people For example, Kyle mentioned that his parents tried to leave the country several times but they got caught by people from the government every time. After a few times, they were able to leave the country by boat. Those who stayed behind could not fully participate in the society and were marginalized by the government. Until today, Vietnamese people
who have grandparents or parents, who used to work for the South Vietnamese government, could not fully participate in the Vietnamese society. For example, in order to become a member of the CPV or to work for the government, people should have a clean record of three generations:
If you want to get promoted, you should have a clean background. And therefore, you have to di vao dang (become a member of the Communist party). And in order to di vao dang, they will check your background. I can't because my grandpa worked for the US army in the past. So obviously I can't. In Vietnam we have different levels. When you are in high school, you can vao doan (become a lower member of the Communist party); Doan vien first, and then dang vien (higher member of the Communist party). The criteria to vao doan is that you have to belong to the top three students, you have good recommendations from your teacher, and you are social and get recommendations from the people. I was one of the top three and got the recommendations, I also participated a lot in social activities but I couldn't get in the doan because of my grandfather.
-Nara, 31-year-old International Vietnamese citizen, working for an international pharmacy)
All the International Vietnamese citizens from Ho Chi Minh City mentioned that they have a lot of family members in the United States, Europe and Australia. Since many of these International Vietnamese citizens are aware of their ‘not clean’ background, they have never thought about working for the current Vietnamese government. Therefore, Nara told me that if your background is not good, it does not matter how hard you work, you would never be recognized by a state-owned company or the government. According to Nara and many International Vietnamese citizens, highly educated and ambitious International Vietnamese citizens should never work for a state-owned company or the government because they could never get promoted because they do not have a clean record of three generations.
Despite the hardships after 1975, many International Vietnamese citizens mentioned that their family who stayed behind were able to run a small business. According to
the article written by Phong, Husson, and Charbit (2000), the Vietnamese government was unable to control the urban South Vietnamese people. While trading and commerce was strictly prohibited in North Vietnam after 1954, in South Vietnam the government could not stop the urban South Vietnamese doing business. This group of people were the stronghold of the market economy during the socioeconomic crisis so the government was afraid to destroy this group (Phong, Husson, and Charbit 2000:189). As a result, many local South Vietnamese kept running their business in South Vietnam. Nara told me that doing business was the only way how her parents were able to survive in South Vietnam. Since they could no longer study because of their background, they could only work for a state-owned company. However, it was hard for a South Vietnamese to find a job at a state-owned company because the government sent their own people to work at these companies. Even if her parents could work at a state-owned company, they would never be able get promotion because of their background. For this reason, many South Vietnamese who were part of the urban upper class of Saigon before 1975 decided to work in the small business world.
As a result of the socioeconomic crisis, Vietnam implemented new policies to transform the failed centralized planned economy to a market economy with open policies for foreign investments (Hoang 2012:38). The economic liberalisation in 1986 is also known as Doi Moi (renovation) changed the economic landscape of Vietnam. The Doi moi policies increased, trade, travel, and cultural exchange (Sutherland 2011:6). Therefore, in 1994, Vietnam dropped the US embargo, flows of people, information and cash accelerated (Carruthers 2008:71). Almost 20 years after the reunification, Overseas Vietnamese from the United States were able to visit their country of origin again.
Doi Moi and the changing face of the government
Until the late 1990s, the Vietnamese government saw these Overseas Vietnamese as traitors of the nation-state (Dinh 2000:370). First of all, a large number of Overseas Vietnamese organised themselves into an anti-communist force, publishing a few hundred anti-communist newspapers abroad (Phong, Husson, and Charbit 2000:187). The demonstrations abroad and infiltrations at home, made de Vietnamese government strengthen the security and propaganda back home (Phong, Husson, and
Charbit 2000:187). Some early overseas Vietnamese returnees reported that the police in Vietnam had followed them. The overseas Vietnamese were seen as a social and political threat by the government (Chan and Tran 2011:1104). However, when the Vietnamese government had become fully aware of the economic role the overseas Vietnamese have in Vietnam in the late 1990s, they started to change their attitude towards overseas Vietnamese (Chan and Tran 2011:1105). It is estimated that Overseas Vietnamese send up to 3 billion USD dollar yearly to Vietnam (Carruthers 2008:71). The Vietnamese government realized the Overseas Vietnamese possess the financial capital and intellectual knowledge that could facilitate Vietnam’s socio-economic development (Koh 2015:181). Many International Vietnamese citizens and Overseas Vietnamese mentioned that on the one hand, the government appreciates the money and knowledge of people abroad while on the other hand, they are still afraid of the new ideas people from abroad bring back to Vietnam that could harm the CPV. Until today, the government has a complicated relationship with the Overseas Vietnamese who come back. However, the government does not only have this complicated relationship with Overseas Vietnamese but also with the International Vietnamese citizens who return to Vietnam. For example, Tran said the following during the interview: “We bring money back and we create jobs. But because we are very open-minded they are also afraid of us.” Tran told me that the government only appreciates the return of International Vietnamese citizens who are closely related to the CPV. Tran thinks the government is afraid of the return of the South Vietnamese International Vietnamese citizens because they might bring back ideas that could harm the power of the CPV. For example, promoting Western ideas like human rights and democracy. Since many South Vietnamese people have Overseas Vietnamese relatives, they are afraid the Overseas Vietnamese relatives abroad influence these South Vietnamese’s thinking.
Although, the government is afraid of the Overseas Vietnamese, they do appreciate the financial capital that Overseas Vietnamese possess. The government has since continuously filed positive messages through the media to encourage overseas Vietnamese professionals, scientists, and business people to return and help modernising the motherland (Chan and Tran 2011:1105). In 2004, the government came up with the first policy to accept overseas Vietnamese as part of the nation (Que
Huong Online 2005). The policy allows overseas Vietnamese to register a business on local terms, get visa exemptions and buy property and invest in the Vietnamese economy (Chan and Tran 2011:1105). While on the website of the government and academic literature it is mentioned that Overseas Vietnamese could invest and buy houses, in reality it is more difficult.
Many returnees mentioned that the frustrating thing about the Vietnamese government is that their actions are not the same as what they promise. A few International Vietnamese citizens mentioned the following quote by the former South Vietnamese president Nguyen Van Thieu : “Don’t listen to what the communists say, but look at what they do.” Many International Vietnamese citizens said that this quote describes how you should look at the Vietnamese government and the CPV today. Some International Vietnamese citizens said that although the Vietnamese media say they hope more International Vietnamese citizens could come back, in reality the government does not create an environment that suits the International Vietnamese citizens’ needs. For example, Tran told me there is no welcoming committee or regulations that makes it more attractive for International Vietnamese citizens to return.
As Vietnam started to integrate in the world economy during the Doi Moi period, the Vietnamese government began to send more Vietnamese students and temporary labour migrants abroad at the end of the 1990s and in the early 2000s (A. Carruthers 2008:71). When Vietnam issued its first plan for overseas study in 1999, the Government of Vietnam allocated a budget to promote studying abroad (Bo Giao Duc va Dao Tao 1999). The Government of Vietnam hoped to acquire knowledge from its own people abroad. Since 1999, self-financed study abroad was possible and became popular among the middle and upper class families. Many International Vietnamese citizens mentioned that once they knew it was possible to study abroad, they all dreamt of going abroad:
When I went abroad, studying abroad was really in its early stages. It took me a year to complete all the paper work. I really wanted to go. For me going to the United States was like going to a paradise. As I grew up, I always looked
at the pictures my Overseas Vietnamese family send back yearly. It looked so beautiful and peaceful. I really wanted to go.
-Thu (a 34 year old entrepreneur, International Vietnamese citizen) Thu told me that most of the Vietnamese overseas students were from the upper class of Vietnam. Besides the group of overseas students who have parents working in the government, most of the overseas students from Ho Chi Minh City have parents who are business people. Tran told me that her family was part of the higher social class before 1975 and after 1975 they had to keep a low profile by running a small business. However, as Vietnam started to liberate the economy, her family took their chances to invest and make big money. Just like Tran, other International Vietnamese citizens told me that the liberation of the economy brought their family closer to the social status that they had before 1975. The urban South Vietnamese business people benefited from the reforms. Since the Doi Moi reforms in 1986, Vietnam started to encourage privatisation in the sectors of economy, like in real estate (Gillen 2011:274). The pre-reform era is often referred to an emerged new social class of elite, who has access to the resources and material that economic liberation provide (Gainsborough 2010,480). The Doi Moi reforms implemented a selective application of neoliberal programmes (Harms 2012:410). While neoliberalism proposes that human well-being can be advanced by liberating individual entrepreneurial freedoms and skills within a society, characterized by free markets, free trade and strong property rights, in Vietnam the government choose to only use a selective neoliberal programmes as the party-state does not want to lose its power (Harms 2012:409). The selective neoliberal programmes has led to economic opportunities in the country, which in turn led to a new formation of a non-political business elite in Vietnam. The non-political business elite in Vietnam became very rich as they were able to buy private properties and sell these properties at the peak (Harms 2012:422). Property investments became a source of income for a selective group in Vietnam. However, this created a bigger gap between the rich and the poor in Vietnam. Nevertheless, thanks to the Doi Moi reforms and the selective neoliberal programmes, the poverty rate in Vietnam reduced from 60 % during the beginning of the Doi Moi in 1986 to 20 % in 2006 (Thiem 2015:90). As Vietnam is growing economically, the country has also become a popular destination for foreign companies to invest (Thiem 2015:90).
Since the Doi Moi the Vietnamese government opened up for foreign trade, privatisation in the economic sector and encouraged foreign trade and foreign direct investments. However, the government is also afraid that the free market might damage its party-led culture (Gillen 2011:279). In the past few years, the Vietnamese government is looking for a new form of governance that could on the one hand help Vietnam integrate in the world economy and on the other could still protect the power of the CPV (Thiem 2015,95). If the government choose to integrate more in the world economy and enjoy the economic benefits of globalisation, the government has to become more dependent on the liberal order for survival. However, this requires new political reforms for the government and in turn can affect the power of the party-state (Thiem 2015:87). Many International Vietnamese citizens and Overseas Vietnamese mentioned that they do want to invest more in the country, however, the government sometimes make it almost impossible because they are struggling between protecting their power and becoming more flexible.
2.4 Conclusion
Besides the Overseas Vietnamese whose family had a negative experience with the CPV, the International Vietnamese citizens in Ho Chi Minh City also mentioned that their families were marginalized in the Vietnamese society after the reunification in 1975. Both groups used to be part of the urban South Vietnam society. However, one group left the country while the other group stayed behind. Due to this historical background, Overseas Vietnamese and International Vietnamese citizens in Ho Chi Minh City both share a critical attitude towards the Vietnamese government and the CPV. Most of the International Vietnamese citizens and Overseas Vietnamese mentioned their family were part of the upper class before 1975. However, after 1975 both groups became class and political enemies of the CPV. As the government realized the important role of the Overseas Vietnamese and urban South Vietnamese business people in the economy of Vietnam, the government started to change their attitude towards these groups during the Doi Moi era. Nevertheless, both groups could not participate in the politics of Vietnam. As most of the International Vietnamese citizens do not have a ‘clean record’ of three generations, they already focused on a career in the private or international field when they were young. Because of their critical attitude towards the government, I argue that these groups are not willing to
help the Vietnamese government to build the nation based on party ideas. In the next chapter I will show why Overseas Vietnamese and International Vietnamese citizens decided to return migrate to Vietnam.
Chapter 3: Motivations to return migrate to Vietnam
In this chapter I illustrate the motivations of Overseas Vietnamese and International Vietnamese citizens to return migrate. The motivations to return vary between the two groups. Throughout several news outlets, the Vietnamese government highlight that it is important for International Vietnamese citizens to return to Vietnam to contribute to nation building. However, I believe that International Vietnamese citizens in Ho Chi Minh City are not interested in nation building. I argue that the International Vietnamese citizens decided to return migrate because they want to be near their family. In addition, I believe that most of the Overseas Vietnamese return to Vietnam because they are in search of their Vietnamese identity or looking for new work and life experiences. As Vietnam’s economy is opening up, there are more economic opportunities, which make it easier for Overseas Vietnamese and International Vietnamese citizens to come back and work. I argue that the economic opportunities brought to Vietnam by globalization and neoliberalism together with the personal factors influenced the decision for International Vietnamese citizens and Overseas Vietnamese to return migrate.
3.1 Motivations of Overseas Vietnamese to return migrate to Vietnam
“It was hard to find a job back in 2007, 2008 because of the economic crisis. I was really hopeless. After speaking to a few friends who have worked abroad, I decided to gain experience abroad” (Mitchel, 31 years old, Overseas Vietnamese, entrepreneur). Many economists consider the financial crisis in 2008 as one of the worst financial crises since the great depression in the 1930s. Financial institutions went bankrupt and many people on Wall Street got laid off. According to Mitchel, during this period it was very hard to find a job in The United States. The job market was competitive and it was almost impossible to get a proper job. Mitchel said he was upset and did not know what to do. After he spoke to a few friends who have worked abroad, Mitchel decided to find out how it would be to work abroad. Since he speaks Vietnamese and knows the culture, he thought it was a good opportunity to gain work experience in his parents’ country. Just like Mitchel, some other Overseas Vietnamese mentioned that they felt lost after the financial crisis. However, the economic crisis brought them closer to their motherland. As Vietnam’s economy was growing at that time, some Overseas Vietnamese from the United States mentioned that they wanted to gain
experience in Vietnam. Mitchel said his salary in Vietnam was much lower compared to the average salary in the same field in The States. However, since living in Vietnam is cheap, he was able to save more money than back home. Moreover, access to other economic opportunities jobs was huge in Vietnam: “There were more opportunities for me here and the first company I joined was a multinational. In the States I wouldn't even have a chance to get in there. Here the CEO interviewed me at Friday night and on Monday I started to work there. So opportunities and access is huge!” (Mitchel) Just like Mitchel, other Overseas Vietnamese mentioned that they found it easy to find a job in Vietnam. Mitchel used to work for a multinational, after a few years he had enough connections in the corporate world and saved enough money to open his own company in Vietnam. Just like Mitchel, a few other Overseas Vietnamese told me that they came to Vietnam to work, after a few years they had enough money to open their own company. Mitchel said that it is easy to open a company if you know enough people who could help you. The first motivation for Overseas Vietnamese to come to Vietnam is the work opportunities in Vietnam. This driver is triggered by the economic crisis in the Western countries, and mainly by the growing economic opportunities in Vietnam.
The globalisation of work opportunities in Vietnam has attracted Overseas Vietnamese to return migrate and experience living in Vietnam. Since the Doi Moi reforms in 1986, Vietnam started to re-integrate in the world economy after a long period of isolation from the West (Leaf 2002:27). In the early years of Doi Moi, the Vietnamese government focused on liberalisation of the domestic market, encouragement of foreign direct investments and the private sector (Hoang 2012:38). Vietnam’s international position and its cordial relationships with major powers today can be credited to its membership in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) since 1995 (Hoang 2012:39). Vietnam’s economy became increasingly more dependent on trade with foreign countries, overseas development assistance and foreign direct investments since its membership in ASEAN. In contrast to most of the gradually globalized cities in Asia, the globalisation of Vietnamese cities has been sudden (Leaf 2002:24). As Vietnam is becoming increasingly connected with the rest of the world, flows of money, goods, people, ideas and information come and leave Vietnam (Leaf 2002:23). As a result of the reforms and the re-integration in the global economy, the poverty rate in Vietnamese declines and more international companies
decide to move to Vietnam. Thus, more work international work opportunities are available in Vietnam.
Besides the huge work opportunities, some Overseas Vietnamese returned to Vietnam because they saw the chance of becoming a pioneer. In the literature, this kind of return migration is also called “return of innovation”. Return of innovation assumes that returnees return to their country of origin to bring social change (Cerase 1974:258). As the private sector in Vietnam is growing, returnees could introduce new creative innovations in the private sector that the public sector cannot provide (Ammassari 2004:141). The Overseas Vietnamese entrepreneurs in this thesis mentioned that they find it meaningful and satisfying to make a difference in the industries of Vietnam. Therefore, they are able to act as pioneers in Vietnam, which makes them feel fulfilled in their career. This data corresponds to the results of the study by Koh (2015). Koh (2015), illustrated that the Overseas Vietnamese returnees in her research, find their work in Vietnam more meaningful because they were able to make a difference in the industries of Vietnam. Overseas Vietnamese consider their career in Vietnam as very exciting (Jain 2012:901). For example, Louis, who is an entrepreneur in the music field in Vietnam, mentioned that he finds it meaningful to develop a new music industry:
When I got older, I realized the music scene in Vietnam is lacking. When I was in Singapore at this music festival, I saw a group of Vietnamese with the Vietnamese flag and I spoke to them, they just went to Singapore for that music festival, there was no such thing in Vietnam yet. And that's why I started my business three years ago. They had no money but had three jobs so they can go to Singapore for just a weekend. So, they want to see the world and experience what they see on TV and the Internet.
-Louis (a 29 year old, entrepreneur, Overseas Vietnamese)
Louis mentioned that he is one of the first people in Vietnam organizing music events and festivals with International artists. Since he is one of the first people to do this in Vietnam, he is often recognized as an expert and pioneer in the new Vietnamese music scene. While back in Australia he could not be recognized as a leader in his
field, in Vietnam he is actually making a change in the music scene. According to Louis, the Vietnamese youth are now ready to experience what they always see on the television and YouTube. As Louis saw what the Vietnamese youth need in the music scene, he decided to bring these new ideas and concepts from Western countries to the Vietnamese music industry.
Overseas Vietnamese entrepreneurs find gaps in the Vietnamese market, and come up with new ideas to take advantage of the benefits of the market-oriented economy: “They bring cool ideas to Vietnam and to make it happen. They work with many locals. There are many start-ups by Viet Kieu” (Tien, 22 years old Overseas Vietnamese, working in the film industry). Just like Tien, many Overseas Vietnamese mentioned that many of their friends see opportunities to start new and cool things in Vietnam.
The third motivation for Overseas Vietnamese to return migrate is because they find their life abroad not challenging and too monotonous. All of the Overseas Vietnamese mentioned that they found their life abroad a little bit boring. They said that every day was like every day and they were looking for a new exciting experience. Coming to Vietnam is for many Overseas Vietnamese like looking for adventure. In this case, Overseas Vietnamese return migrate to Vietnam as adventure-seekers (Croucher 2012:2). Tien mentioned the following: “In France, I am used to everything and I know how to do stuff. Here in Vietnam I don't know most of the time. I guess France is more a cozy home and here it's like a challenging home. Every Viet Kieu should try it. What you learnt in your childhood, now you can experience it.”
All of the Overseas Vietnamese mentioned that they came to Vietnam after their graduation or a few years of experience. After their studies, they wanted to experience something new. All of the Overseas Vietnamese came to Vietnam as singles. Since they were not in a relationship or have responsibilities towards their family, it was easy for them to go: “I broke up with my boyfriend then so there was nothing holding me back. I didn't tell anyone, until I got an interview. I told my mom. Like in two weeks I got the job and found my flat” (Paula, 29 years old Overseas Vietnamese, working as a teacher). Paula mentioned that she had enough of the boring life she had in Australia. She wanted to come to Vietnam because the country is in a transition to a
