Hearts of freedom : stories of Southeast Asian refugees / Peter Duschinsky, Colleen Lundy, Michael Molloy, Allan Moscovitch, and Stephanie Phetsamay Stobbe.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Duschinsky, Peter, 1943- author.

Lundy, Colleen, 1946- author.

Molloy, Michael J., author.

Moscovitch, Allan, 1946- author.

Stobbe, Stephanie Phetsamay, author.

Series:

McGill-Queen's refugee and forced migration studies ; 20.

McGill-Queen's refugee and forced migration studies ; 20

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Refugees--Canada--Interviews.

Refugees.

Refugees--Southeast Asia--Interviews.

Oral history--Southeast Asia.

Oral history.

Refugees--Social conditions.

Southeast Asians.

Canada--Emigration and immigration.

Canada.

Southeast Asia.

Physical Description:

xxix, 333 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Montreal ; Kingston ; London ; Chicago : McGill Queen's University Press, [2025]

Summary:

"Between 1975 and 1997 some three million Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Laotians fled atrocities in their home countries, with over 210,000 resettling in Canada. While this history is partly known to some Canadians, little has been written about it, especially from the perspectives of the refugees themselves. Hearts of Freedom is a rich oral history based on interviews with 145 former refugees, sharing deeply moving accounts of oppression, concentration camps, genocide, and perilous escapes over land and sea. Survivors reflect on their first impressions of Canada - the unfamiliar snow and cold, the unexpected kindness of neighbours, and occasional encounters with racism. Through their experiences, we come to understand the strengths and weaknesses of Canada's refugee programs. These stories reveal how refugees' attachment to Canada grew over the years and how multiculturalism policies facilitated that. Ordinary Canadians played a decisive role in the first mass refugee movement through newly created private sponsorship programs - a role for which the United Nations awarded the Nansen Medal to the Canadian people in 1986. Coming at a time when we are assessing the benefits of immigration and refugee policies and programs, Hearts of Freedom documents the lives and contributions of people who have suffered the worst excesses of war to rebuild their lives in Canada."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Preface and Methodology

The Hearts of Freedom Project

Introduction

Timeline

Part One Southeast Asia: Wars, Oppression, and Refugees

The Southeast Asian Refugee Movement: Its Root Causes and History

Part Two Vietnamese War Refugees

Escaping Vietnam: The War Refugees of 1975

The Vietnamese War Refugees' Lives in Canada

The War Refugees: Three Stories

Part Three Vietnamese Boat People

The Boat People: Escape from Vietnam

Boat People Escapes: Four Stories

Resettling the Boat People in Canada

Boat People's Lives in Canada: Seven Stories

Part Four Cambodian Refugees

Surviving War and Genocide, Escaping from Cambodia

Cambodian Resettlement in Canada: Perseverance, Courage, and Hope

Against the Odds: Three Cambodian Refugee Stories of Survival

Part Five Laotian Refugees

Laos: The Secret War, Escape, and Refugee Camps

Resettlement of Laotian Refugees in Canada: Struggles and Successes

Constantly Adapting: Stories of Three Laotian Refugees

Conclusions and Reflections

Appendices

Statistical Analysis of the Refugee Movement from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos to Canada, 1975-97

Statistical Analysis of the Hearts of Freedom Project Interviews

Canadian Government and Civil Society Interviews

Hearts of Freedom Project Management and Teams.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Duschinsky, Peter, 1943- Hearts of freedom.

ISBN:

9780228025528

0228025524

OCLC:

1498390883

Publisher Number:

90102619779

CIPO000271640