In the aftermath of the Vietnam War, thousands of people from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos fled violence and persecution in their home countries and sought refuge in the United States and elsewhere. By 1982, there were 30,000 refugees from Southeast Asia living in Washington. Many spoke little or no English, had very little money, and were unemployed. When they left refugee camps to come to the US, the refugees were promised three years of financial assistance from the federal government. However, the government later cut this to 18 months. In addition, refugees received monthly bills to repay a loan which funded their transportation to the US.
This image shows Buntha Nhep (far left) advising the Taing family at the Asian Resettlement Center in Bellevue. Nhep worked at the Center as a counselor and had himself arrived in the US as a refugee from Cambodia. The Taings are identified left to right as: Kuy, Seam Leng (baby), Seng Choeun, Tourng, Eao, Tim, and Hea.
Caption information source: “Refugees are dunned for their flight to freedom,” by Gaye Vandermyn, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, June 20, 1982, page A3. Caption information also derived from captions written by Post-Intelligencer staff and attached to the back of the photograph.
