Vietnamese Norwegian
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Vietnamese in Norway |
|---|
| Total population |
|
ca. 18 800 (2007)[1] |
| Regions with significant populations |
| Oslo, Bergen, Kristiansand, Trondheim |
| Languages |
| Vietnamese, Norwegian |
| Religions |
| Mainly Mahayana Buddhism with Ancestor Worship , Roman Catholicism |
| Related ethnic groups |
| Vietnamese people, Overseas Vietnamese |
Vietnamese Norwegians are Norwegians of Vietnamese descent who trace their ancestry to Vietnam and are residents and/or citizens of Norway. Norway has received Vietnamese refugees since 1975.
When this article describes Vietnamese living in Norway, it primarily means persons with two parents born in Vietnam. Thus, statistics used in this article does not include Vietnamese-descended persons with only one parent, or no parents born in Vietnam.
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[edit] History
The first Vietnamese immigrant waves to Norway came after the Fall of Saigon, in 1975. They escaped Vietnam by boat, and were also known as the boat people. Some were picked up by Norwegian cargo ships and came to Norway after spending some months in refugee camps in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Most of these boat people came in the period from 1978 to 1985. Later immigrants have come from family-reunification and for economic reasons.
[edit] Demographics
As of 1 January 2007, the Norwegian Statistisk Sentralbyrå reported that there were 18 783 Vietnamese Norwegians in Norway. Vietnamese Norwegians was at the time the fourth largest non-western immigrant group after Pakistani, Iraqi and Somali immigrants.
[edit] Settlement
Around 5000 Vietnamese-Norwegians live in Oslo, where they are the 8th largest immigrant group. There are also significant groups of Vietnamese living in Bergen, Kristiansand and Trondheim. They are the largest immigrant group in Kristiansand, and the next largest in Bergen and Trondheim.
 |
| Number of immigrants with Vietnamese background in some municipalities in 2007.[2] |
[edit] Cultural Profile
[edit] Education
Vietnamese culture places heavy emphasis on education, and this gives them an edge when compared to many other non-western immigrants. A survey from 2006 reported that 88 percent of Vietnamese finished college, the same percent as ethnic Norwegians[3]. A 2006 survey also showed that Vietnamese had the highest grades in college among the ten largest non-western immigrant groups in Norway, averaging similar grades as Norwegians[4][5].
A 2006 survey showed that Vietnamese was the ethnic group that had the fourth highest percentage whom finished a bachelor degree (after Indians, Chinese and Norwegians) and the ethnic group with the third highest percentage whom finished a masters degree (after Iranians and Chinese)[6]. The Vietnamese especially have many representatives in higher education, as there is a 10 percent bigger chance for a Vietnamese-Norwegian having finished higher education than a Norwegian[7].
[edit] Politics
Vietnamese in Norway are not active in the country's politics. As of December 2006, there was only one Vietnamese in a municipality council in Norway[8]. At the municipal- and countyelection (kommune- og fylkestingsvalg) in 2003, only 30 percent of the Vietnamese-Norwegians voted[9].
[edit] Attachments to home country
As a result of most Vietnamese coming to Norway as political or war refugees fleeing the Communist Vietnam, they are in general critical of the Vietnamese government. Fleeing the country was viewed as treasonable by the Vietnamese government during the 1970s and 1980s. However, the trend has turned and Vietnam now view the overseas Vietnamese as assets to the country's rapidly growing economy.
The Vietnamese are one the immigrant groups in Norway that most often send money to families in their home country. Over 60 percent of those who came to the country as adults reported as regularly sending money home to their families. The number regularly sending money to Vietnam among Vietnamese born in Norway or arrived in the country as children, were over 40 percent. The Vietnamese coming to Norway as adults send more and more money, the longer they have stayed in their new country[10].
[edit] Challenges
Though widely perceived as one of the best integrated non-western immigrant groups, there still remain some challenges for the Vietnamese community in Norway. A 2002 survey reported that 3.2% of Vietnamese Norwegians had been punished for breaking the law. The number for ethnic Norwegians were 1.35%[11]. A social anthropologist studying the Vietnamese community said there was an "either... or" phenomenon among the Vietnamese, with those not succeeding in school falling into delinquency[11]. The same trend has also been observed among the Vietnamese Americans. A stronger connection between the parents and the kids that fall out has been wanted. The relative low proficiency among Vietnamese in Norwegian, and a small vocabulary, has also been analysed as important challenges remaining.
[edit] Psychological problems
Many Vietnamese, especially among the older generation, have experienced traumas during and after the Vietnam War. A survey conducted on 148 randomly chosen Vietnamese refugees, up to three years after arriving in Norway, showed that many of them had experienced war up close[12]. 62 percent had witnessed bombing, fires and shooting, and 48 percent had witnessed someone been injured or killed. One out of four had been in life-threatening situations and/or injured during the war. One out of ten had been in reeducation camps. Former inmates describe them as close to concentration camps, where they did not know how long they had to stay, and were victims of extreme methods of punishing.
The traumas affected the refugees psychological health even 7 years after the war. After 3 years in Norway, there was still no sign of change in the psychological strain on the refugees. One out of four had a psychological suffering. Depression was the most common diagnosis, with 18 percent being clinical depressed. Psychological illness in Norway was linked with traumas experienced during the time in Vietnam, in addition to lack of an entrusted partner during the escape from the country, and severance from close family. One out of three reported post-traumatic worries, and one out of ten were diagnosed with post-traumatic disorder.
[edit] References
- ^ Innvandrerbefolkningen og personer med annen innvandringsbakgrunn, etter landbakgrunn og kjønn. 1. januar 2007. Statistisk Sentralbyrå (May 11, 2006). Retrieved on 2007-05-24.
- ^ Innvandrerbefolkningen, etter landbakgrunn (de 20 største gruppene). Utvalgte kommuner. 1. januar 2007. Statistisk Sentralbyrå (2007-05-24). Retrieved on 2007-05-24.
- ^ Anbjørg Bakken. "Flittigere enn gutta", Aftenposten, June 20, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-03-23.
- ^ Liv Anne Støren. Nasjonalitetsforskjeller i karakterer i videregående opplæring. Retrieved on 2007-03-24.
- ^ Ann Christiansen. "Gjør det best blant innvandrere", Aftenposten, November 02, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-04-03.
- ^ Dag Yngve Dahle. "Best utdannet i øst", Aftenposten, March 2, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-03-23.
- ^ Silje Noack Fekjær (2006). Utdanning hos annengenerasjon etniske minoriteter i Norge.. Tidsskrift for samfunnsforskning. Retrieved on 2007-05-24.
- ^ Wasim K. Riaz. "17 000 vietnamesere, én politiker", Aftenposten, November 14, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-03-23.
- ^ Lav valgdeltakelse blant innvandrerne. Statistisk sentralbyrå (March, 2004). Retrieved on 2007-05-24.
- ^ Jørgen Carling (December 9, 2004). Innvandrere prioriterer å sende penger til familien. Statistisk sentralbyrå. Retrieved on 2007-03-22.
- ^ a b Astrid Meland. "Mer kriminelle enn nordmenn", Dagbladet, April 28, 2005. Retrieved on 2007-03-23.
- ^ Evard Hauff (1999). Vietnamesiske flyktninger i Norge - noen refleksjoner i etterkant av et forskningsprosjekt.. Nasjonalt kunnskapssenter om vold og traumatisk stress. Retrieved on 2007-05-24.
[edit] See also
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