CENSUS 2010, REFUGEE PASSIVITY AND THE LONG WAIT FOR RECOGNITION
A video I created to bring more awareness to the Montagnard community about the importance of participating in the 2010 Census.
Until 2010, Montagnards continued to be counted as ethnic Vietnamese. Working with Montagnard Dega Association, supported by Montagnard pastors and funded by a grant from the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, I developed a single theme: On Question 9, check "Other Asian", write "Montagnard". By this act individuals will officially record the Montagnards as a separate ethnic group, which promises to have local political implications as their numbers and distribution in Greensboro neighborhoods emerge.
Why the Long Wait?
Why haven't we known how many Montagnards live in Greensboro or North Carolina? Since some entitlements are associated with population numbers, there could be legal reasons for state and local government to overlook the question. Citizenship is certainly taught by refugee service agencies and other organizations but apparently lessons don't include practical activism and agitation for one's rights. For the Montagnards to obtain such numbers would have required public health officials or refugee service agencies to open their files. Alternatively, it would have been possible, before the overwhelming use of cell phones, to use the white pages to estimate household numbers (since Montagnard names are easily distinguishable from Vietnamese names). A similar approach could have been taken to identify Montagnard children in public schools. Perhaps these avenues were tried and failed. I suspect that no one bothered because they just didn't think the Montagnards were worth it, whatever the inconveniences they might suffer. To reframe the issue: If the Montagnards were Hispanic, Native American or African American there would no question about how many lived here.
Taking Advantage of Refugee Passivity
A prominent Asian attorney seemed to sum it up well, saying the Montagnards in Greensboro were docile, largely thankful and unlikely to openly criticize the American refugee system. For example, an American church decided to drop its support of the families it sponsored without notifying the families or Montagnard Dega Association (MDA). They had determined they had done a lot and they probably did, but they did not think it a reflection of themselves when they admitted they were out of touch with all the families except one, that they hadn't connected the families to the congregation, and that they didn't even know their names. Frustrated with their Asian families, they hinted they had changed their focus and were interesting in assisting Africans. When this church ceases its support, I doubt the families will complain.
Really, Who's Accountable?
It can be tough, even for residents like myself who want to see a strong, multicultural Greensboro, to criticize the irresponsibility of this church because this is how much of the Refugee System operates — on volunteerism, long hours and good intentions. But decades of trial and error should have yielded better results and practices — and accountability. Although no one has sought to seriously question Lutheran Family Services’ astonishing decision last year to pull out of Greensboro, I suspect it acted because its board realized it couldn't survive in a broken system where there's plenty of blame to share.
The English-Montagnard videos translating the US Census can be found on the DegaNews channel.
