Henry Xie

AAS 33B
Choi, Yamato
May 1, 2014
Second Essay Assignment
1. Identify and explain why Ronald Takaki refers to Asian immigrants and Southeast Asian
refugees from the 1960s to the 1980s as strangers at the gate again. Compare and contrast the
impact of race, class, and gender upon the social, economic, and political equality of Asian
immigrants and Southeast Asian refugees during this period. In your analysis of Asian
immigrants and Southeast Asian refugees, give specific examples from Asian immigrant groups
such as Chinese, Filipinos, Koreans, or Asian Indians, and Southeast Asian refugee groups, such
as Vietnamese, Cambodia, or Hmong. Place your analysis in the context of the social, economic,
and political conditions of the 1960s through the 1980s.
Every single race that came or were brought over to the United States were discriminated
against in one way or another. Africans, Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese, Koreans, and the like all
faced some kind of discrimination against them upon arriving to America. It isnt until their
second wave of immigrants where they see themselves as strangers at the gate again. This
phrase Takaki uses is a metaphor for the people of Asian background who struggle to immigrate
to the United States only to find out that they are still treated as second class citizens. Through
this paper we will explore how each different ethnic group has the sense they are a stranger at the
gate again.

The first group is the Chinese, they are one of the first groups of Asian descent to
immigrate to the United States during the gold rush. In 1965 new immigration laws allowed
more people to immigrate to the United States, this brought in a new wave of Chinese
immigrants who call themselves Sun Yi Mun. These new immigrants from China are no longer
peasants retreating their country, but professionals and working class people. This new wave also
included women where the gold rush wave was predominantly men.

Though this new wave of immigrants were able to access the country more easily than
previous generations the life they sought after was not the life they were able to acquire. When
they first came to the United States they were usually only able to settle into Chinatowns located
in San Francisco and New York which they later found out were actually impoverished ghettos.
In the 1960s Chinese men were only able to make 68% of what white men mad in San
Francisco, and it was even worst in New York where it was 56%. Chinese women had it even
worst making only around 40%. Even with a professional education most Chinese men and
women were unable to utilize that education to get higher paying jobs because they were not of
the United States.
Wei-Chi Poon was a biology professor in the Peoples Republic of China, but once she
moved to the United States she was only able to do back breaking work and even with a graduate
study from San Jose State University she is only able to work as a librarian at UC Berkeley.
Other women would work in underpaying jobs such as textile factories as seamstresses; they
were also too afraid of losing their jobs they did not fight the unfair wages and work conditions.
Some Chinese had it slightly better where they eventually had their lived mad and settled
in Monterey Citys Chinatown, which is the first Chinese suburb in America. However even with
better living conditions they still faced racial discrimination by white society. American students
would pick on the Chinese students by making fun of the way they spoke, breaking their lockers,
and throwing food at them. They also had things such as go back to your country said to them
which gave them an unwelcome feeling, a feeling that perhaps made them feel like strangers.

Compared to the Chinese the Filipinos were welcomed to the United States when they
first immigrated to America. They were already accustomed with American values, and the idea

of consumerism; they were willing to spend the money they earned. The later immigrants, like
the second wave of Chinese immigrants, were also educated and professional men and women
which included engineering and medical professionals. In the Philippines only 60% of educated
college graduates were working more than menial jobs. In 1970, 24 percent of all foreign
physicians entering the United States came from the Philippines (Takakei, 434). The
Philippines had an oversupply of medical professionals because there was an overabundance of
poor people who could not afford medical treatment.
To attempt to start a new life they began moving to the United States where they thought
their education can be put to use to help them get the income they wanted. However when they
arrived they faced other hardships that prevented this from happening. To become a medical
professional in the U.S. they were required to pass tests and take classes to acquire a license, but
this was often impossible for them because when they arrived they often had to go out and find
work which left them no time for their academic pursuits. They were also unable to take these
tests because foreign universities were never included as accredited institutions. Because of this
they were often left with no choice but menial jobs leaving them in poverty.

Koreans were generally a smaller population in America. They were described as a

geographically hidden minority but by 1985 there were over half a million Koreans in
America. Like the Filipinos there was a large group of medical professionals. Though there was
a shortage of doctors in the east coast but soon that demand declined. Many of these skilled
Korean medical and engineering professionals were later given jobs that were of menial service
barely relating to what their professional career was. An engineer would be give the job of a

mechanic, and in one instance a surgeon found a job as a meat cutter in a grocery store because
he was good at separating the meat from the bone of animals.
Unlike the Filipino and Chinese the some of the immigrating Koreans had money when
they came. The South Korean government wanted to expand their economic reach so immigrants
were granted up to a maximum of $100,000 to start businesses in America. This allowed
Koreans to create a location with a sense of home. With these new businesses they were able to
hire their own Korean people and enabled the growth of these Korea Towns. Though this money
has given them a head start compared to other Asian ethnicities that immigrated to America the
shops they opened up were usually small grocery shops that white immigrants in their third
generations were moving away from. This drove them into shop keeping as the races
stereotypical job because of discrimination.

Unlike most of the other Asian ethnicities Southeast Asians, generally did not want to
immigrate to America. They were generally driven out of their country due to events that
happened at home. In 1975 South Vietnamese were driven away from their country because of
civil war, the North Vietnam was beginning to take over, in fear of being unfairly treated and
abused they fled the country to place like America and Europe. They often did not have time to
prepare for their departures and would only be able to bring the clothes on their backs. Parents
wanting a better life for their children would try to get their children on helicopters that they may
never see again; leaving the family split.
Because of the political turmoil that happens in their countries, many Vietnamese
refugees arrived to the United States in a state of trauma, and mental and emotional instability.
Depending on how long it takes them to coop with these difficulties they may often be left

unable to begin rebuilding their lives in this new country. A Vietnamese war veteran said They
have a right to come to this country as refugees. They just need a home. (Takakei 454) Like
other Asian groups the Vietnamese often faced racial discrimination against them when they
arrived. To American society this wave of Asians may have been seen as job competition, or as a
group who may accept lower wages.

People of Asian cultures immigrate over to the Unites States for many reasons. The
Chinese immigrated to escape poverty and political issues. The Filipinos immigrated to start a
new better life in a place with values much like their own. The Koreans immigrated to escape for
more job opportunities. And the Vietnamese immigrated to escape political turmoil and civil war
at home. Each group immigrated to the United States for different reasons, however they were all
treated the same way when they arrived. Many faced racial discriminations such as wage
discrimination, and often in public would be insulted with racial slurs. However none of this
really stopped them from pursuing their dreams and building a life for themselves from almost
nothing.