On April 30, 1975, the army of North Vietnam rolled into Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam. The day, celebrated in Vietnam today as Reunification Day, marked the end of a long, bloody, and divisive war—and of the IRC’s work in South Vietnam.The IRC first became involved in this ribbon of land along the South China Sea in 1954, following the defeat of the French colonial forces and partition of the country into North Vietnam and South Vietnam. For the next 21 years, the IRC worked, first, to aid refugees fleeing south from North Vietnam and later, after American entry into the war, to aid displaced South Vietnamese and to offer them health, vocational, and educational services.Now, the North Vietnamese victory forced a massive flight of tens of thousands of Indochinese refugees. Desperate South Vietnamese climbed the walls of the American embassy in Saigon pleading for help. Over a hundred thousand succeeded in reaching American ships off the coast.

From the beginning of the crisis, in the United States and in refugee camps in Thailand, Hong Kong, and Malaysia, the IRC would make one of its longest and deepest commitments to work on behalf of refugees from Indochina.

In the U. S., the IRC took a lead role in the largest refugee resettlement effort the country has ever seen. This led to a dramatic burst of growth in the IRC’s U.S. resettlement programs.

The IRC set up processing operations at four U.S. military bases that had become refugee camps in California, Arkansas, Florida and Pennsylvania. Thirty full-time IRC resettlement staff worked in these camps, joined by scores of volunteers. Top priority was given to finding Americans to “sponsor” the refugees, which meant providing short-term housing, and help finding a job and getting acclimated to the local culture.

One of those new IRC staff members was 45-year-old Robert P. DeVecchi, who was assigned to the processing center at Fort Chafee, Arkansas. The experience proved so powerful that DeVecchi never left the IRC, going on to lead us from 1985 to 1997, when he became president emeritus. A number of other current and retired IRC staff members first joined the organization after being moved to help Vietnamese refugees.

By the end of 1975, the U.S. government had closed its processing centers—but the IRC had by then opened 16 regional resettlement offices around the country. There, IRC caseworkers found housing and jobs for the refugees, provided education and skills training, and helped them integrate into the social, cultural, and economic life of a new environment. This effort became the core of the IRC’s current national refugee resettlement program.

During 1975 alone, the IRC helped more than 18,000 refugees, almost all of them Vietnamese, begin new lives in the U.S.

During the 20 years after the fall of Saigon, some two million people poured out of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. By 1992, more than a million had been admitted to the U.S. The IRC had helped some 120,000 refugees put down new roots in America. One of these refugees, Dang Nguyen, told the New York Times in 1976, “I have a steady job, regular raises, a nice place to live, the children work hard, my wife and I are well, we have grandchildren, and next month there will be a big event in our family: We will all get our citizenship papers!”

“I took this photo while visiting the village Sheikh Misri in Nangarhar Province in eastern Afghanistan.  This village has been newly created by the Government of Afghanistan’s Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation to assist Afghan refugees who are returning to Afghanistan from Pakistan or Iran after living abroad, some for more than 20 years, but no longer have a plot of land or home to which they can return. 

The area where the village now exists was carved up into hundreds of plots that are awarded to landless returnees who apply.  An incredible challenge for those who move there is that this village is being created from scratch in a place where no one has lived before and resources are scarce.  The IRC and other NGOs are working with the government to try to make the area more hospitable but there is still a long way to go.

The children in this photo were hanging around these IRC water pumps during my visit.  It was January and the temperatures and weather conditions were harsh.  Nonetheless, they seemed to be enjoying themselves, and our presence, as they filled jerrycans with water from the pumps to take home to their newly constructed shelters nearby.  Some of them were returning from a newly constructed school in the village.  Their joy and warmth, amidst such challenging surroundings, is a shining example of the resilience of the Afghan people and why, despite all the difficulties facing Afghanistan today, we must remain optimistic and do all we can to support this country’s recovery from a long and terrible conflict.”

Aaron adds that Afghamistan is ”such an incredibly photogenic place, as are the people.”

“Our war has displaced 4 million Iraqis since 2003, including 2 million now living beyond its borders in tough conditions. Yet we have allowed this vast, potentially destabilizing refugee burden to be borne mostly by Syria and Jordan. We have provided some aid to host countries but none to Syria, and we have allowed only a trickle of Iraqis (fewer than 10,000 so far) to resettle in the U.S. — far fewer than have been taken in by Sweden.”

Refugees need to be able to return and rebuild their lives and their country, Abramowitz said — but until that time comes, they need plenty of help. He urged the U.S. to provide the refugees greater financial assistance and take in more refugees, particularly those who cannot go home.

To learn more and find out how to get involved, visit our special report on the Iraqi refugee crisis.

Despite several rain showers, today we celebrated World Refugee Day at a big outdoor event in the grounds of Nairobi University. The highlights were definitely the dance performances by refugee groups from countries like Rwanda, Burundi, Somali and Ethiopia. And it was great to see one of our women’s groups there, selling their handicrafts and biscuits. (With all the long speeches at an event like this, it’s always good to have something to keep the hunger pangs at bay!)

Some of the IRC team in Kenya all logo’d up ready to promote our work. Photo: Joanne Offer/The IRC

This year’s theme was protection, so the International Rescue Committee talked about the need for more awareness-raising around the Refugees Act here in Kenya. Country director Kellie Leeson said the 2006 Act, which confers rights on refugees, was a major step forward in protecting refugee communities. But she called for the Kenya government to release clear regulations on how to implement the complex act, “so that refugees can have their rights protected effectively and consistently across Kenya.”

Kenya country director Kellie Leeson talks to a local radio journalist about our work in Kenya.
Photo: Joanne Offer/The IRC

The UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, also used the day to raise awareness about the plight of refugees, in particular those from Somali. He said more must be done for their hope for “an Africa at peace”. As an organization working with thousands of Somali refugees, IRC in Kenya joins the Commissioner in his plea.