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Vietnamese Students and the Emerging Model Minority Myth in Germany

Nicholas D. Hartlep and Pipo Bui

ASIANS AS THE MODEL MINORITY Asian model minority there. Acknowledged for their diligence, educational success, and Scholarly literature suggests that Asians or inconspicuousness, they have been held up particular subgroups of Asians in the United as a model of successful integration, and States are often stereotyped as the model even called ‘Das Vietnamesische Wunder’ minority (Model Minority Stereotype Project, [The Vietnamese Miracle] (Spiewak, 2009).1 2019). Scholars have also written about the We put the stereotype of quiet, hard-working existence of the Asian model minority stereo- Vietnamese immigrants into a historical con- type outside of the United States, such as in text and explore their strategic contributions to Canada (Ho, 2015; Pon, 2000), New Zealand their collective images and impact on youth. (Hannis, 2015), and Asian countries such as South Korea (Hartlep, 2015) and China (Fang, 2009a, 2009b). Other scholars have examined Model Minority the stereotype’s existence in European coun- A look at public portrayals of Vietnamese tries, including Bradbury (2015), whose work immigrants and youth in Germany over the examined the Asian model minority in the UK. past decade indicates that something akin to a This chapter explores the model minority ste- model minority stereotype may be developing reotype vis-à-vis Asian immigrants in a differ- in Germany.2 The stereotype of a ‘model ent European country: Germany. minority’ can be harmful in at least three ways: Our chapter offers new information and an international perspective when examin- 1 It reifies the essentialist concept of ethnicity by ing Asians as the model minority. We exam- claiming that some aspect of the minority group’s ine the Vietnamese in Germany and posit culture allows them to succeed where other that the Vietnamese have been treated as an groups fail.

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2 It vilifies minorities who do not fit the stereotype, of the society. When terrorist attacks occur, placing blame on their culture and them as indi- almost inevitably someone will comment that viduals for not fitting into the host society. This the failed integration of an ethnic immigrant can deprive immigrants of resources and justify community is to blame, or that the govern- racist speech and actions against them. ment should clamp down on immigration. 3 It glosses over issues within the so-called ‘model The model minority stereotype is an indica- minority’ group, potentially depriving people tor of a society’s tendency to suppress or even (including youth) of needed services. criminalize difference. It’s important and urgent to sound the alarm The first vivid outlines of model minority about a nascent model minority stereotype in stereotype of Vietnamese youth in Germany Germany because the country is in the midst appeared in a January 2009 article in Die Zeit, of integrating a million new immigrants3 a highly regarded, national weekly newspaper from Syria and Africa. Migration is one of known for its in-depth coverage and analysis the hottest topics in public debate in Germany of news, culture, and politics.5 The author, and Europe. The debate about how to respond Martin Spiewak, is a respected reporter in to the dramatic migration unleashed after the the field of education. His article garnered 76 Syrian Civil War has impacted national elec- comments from registered readers, an unusu- tions and contributed to the rise of far-right ally high number for articles about education at political parties (Galston, 2018). A model the time, which typically garnered less than 20 minority stereotype may harm new immi- comments. The headline ‘Das Vietnamesische grants and youth by creating unrealistic Wunder’ [The Vietnamese Miracle] and subti- expectations. It may hinder the chances of tle ‘Die Kinder von Einwanderern aus Vietnam Germany successfully integrating them. On fallen durch glänzende Schulnoten auf’ [The the other hand, a nuanced analysis of how the children of immigrants from Vietnam stand model minority stereotype was constructed out due to glittering grades] highlighted the may offer valuable lessons and pointers surprising accomplishments of Vietnamese about how to successfully integrate immi- high school students. The article elaborated grants into German society.4 on why these students’ educational success The stakes are high: the rest of Europe is was so striking that it merited coverage in the watching Germany’s integration program. premier newspaper of Germany’s progressive Chancellor Angela Merkel’s bold assertion intellectual elite. in August 2015 that Germany is a ‘strong country’ that can provide shelter to Syrian Keine andere Einwanderergruppe in Deutschland hat refugees will be tested over and over again in der Schule mehr Erfolg als die Vietnamesen: Über in the coming decade. The UK’s ‘Brexit’ 50 Prozent ihrer Schüler schaffen den Sprung aufs Gymnasium. Damit streben mehr vietnamesische decision to leave the EU in part because of Jugendliche zum Abitur als deutsche. Im Vergleich zu the mandate to integrate refugees is a cau- ihren Alterskollegen aus türkischen oder italienischen tionary tale of the price of a government not Familien liegt die Gymnasialquote fünfmal so hoch. being prepared for immigration. Meanwhile, »Die Leistungen vietnamesischer Schüler stehen in violent acts committed by asylum seekers einem eklatanten Gegensatz zum Bild, das wir sonst von Kindern mit Migrationshintergrund haben, and mass killings by suspected terrorists in « sagt die brandenburgische Ausländerbeauftragte public spaces in Germany, France, and the Karin Weiss. (Spiewak, 2009) UK stimulate a climate of fear and urgency for everyone in Europe, regardless of citi- [No other immigrant group in Germany has more zenship status. The extreme opposite of the success in school than the Vietnamese: over 50 percent manage the leap into [university-bound] model minority stereotype is the radicalized high school. That means more Vietnamese youth terrorist – someone so marginalized that he strive for a high school degree than German or she physically attacks random members [youth]. Compared to their peers from Turkish or

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Italian families, the number of high school stu- Relativ neu ist dagegen das Problem, die Namen der dents is five times as high. ‘The accomplishments ausgezeichneten Schüler korrekt auszusprechen. of Vietnamese students are significantly opposed Hieß die Gewinnerin in der Klassenstufe sieben nun to the image that we usually have of children with Tran Phuon Duyen oder Duyen Tran Phuon? Und a migration background,’ says Karin Weiss, the wie war es mit Duc Dao Mihn aus der Zehn? Commissioner for Foreigners’ Affairs of [the state of] Brandenburg.] Schmidt-Ihnen steht öfter vor dieser Herausforderung: 17 Prozent der Schüler an dem Gymnasium im Education and immigration experts were Stadtteil Lichtenberg stammen aus einer vietnamesis- chen Familie, in den unteren Klassen sind es mehr als very surprised to see 50% of Vietnamese 30 Prozent. »Gerade in den Naturwissenschaften youth ‘leap into’ Gymnasium, the most aca- und in Mathematik sind viele von ihnen stark«, ber- demically rigorous of the three types of high ichtet der Rektor. Auch der Schulbeste in Mathe ist school education offered in Germany. vietnamesischer Herkunft. (Spiewak, 2009) Comparable to a prep school in the United [A relatively new problem is how to pronounce the States, Gymnasia grew out of humanistic names of the outstanding students. Was the movements in the 16th century, emphasizing winner in Grade 7 Tran Phuon Duyen or Duyen Greek, Latin, and other classical subjects Tran Phuon? [sic] And what about Duc Dao Mihn (Hammerstein and Buck, 1996). They offer [sic] in Grade 10? advanced curricula aimed at college-bound Schmidt-Ihnen encounters this challenge often: 17 students. Students must apply to enter, and percent of the students in the Gymnasium in the they typically start at age 10. During the Lichtenberg neighborhood come from Vietnamese 2009–2010 school year, just 35% of high families, in the lower grades, it’s more than 30 school-aged students attended Gymnasia percent. ‘Especially in science and math, many of (German Federal Statistics Office, 2011: 13). them are strong,’ says the principal. Also, the school’s top student in math comes from a Half of the students attending Gymnasia Vietnamese background.] come from the most affluent levels of German society (Ehmke et al., 2004). Thus, Gymnasia For anyone familiar with the model minority are the proving ground of the society’s elite. stereotype of Asian Americans in the United The percentage of Vietnamese students enter- States, the mention of Vietnamese youth being ing Gymnasium was especially remarkable called ‘strong’ in science and math is eerily because testing results across the Organisation familiar. The theme of over-achieving students for Economic Co-operation and Development who have a special gift for math and science is (OECD) countries in the early 2000s had strikingly similar to TIME Magazine’s cover found that the children of immigrants fared strapline from August 31, 1987: ‘Those Asian- less well on tests than the children of German American Whiz Kids’ (Brand, 1987). The parents. This difference was especially pro- principal’s struggle to pronounce the students’ nounced in Germany, Belgium, and names highlights how different they are from Switzerland (Ramm et al., 2004: 257). the mainstream students. Both students’ names Furthermore, the study showed that children are misspelled in the article. When Spiewak of Turkish and Yugoslav immigrants living in refers to a parallel phenomenon in the United Germany did worse on the tests than the chil- States, he points to another foreign factor: dren of Turkish and Yugoslav immigrants in Confucian mentality. ‘Das zeigt sich seit Austria – where school is also taught in Jahren bereits in den USA, wo überpropor- German (ibid.: 268). tional viele Studenten aus asiatischen – Spiewak’s article mentions that the suc- genauer: von der konfuzianischen Mentalität cess of Vietnamese students creates new geprägten – Nationen die amerikanischen challenges for school administrators (and Spitzenuniversitäten besuchen’ (Spiewak, 2009). impacts youth), such as figuring out how to [It’s been demonstrated for years in the USA, pronounce students’ names. where disproportionately many students from

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Asian nations – or more precisely, nations ‘conquer’ German society. For example, imprinted with a Confucian mentality – are Philipp Rösler, a Vietnamese orphan who attending the top American universities]. With was adopted and raised in Germany, became this reference, Spiewak could easily be describ- the first person of Asian descent to serve as ing the cover photo of a special issue of a cabinet minister. He served as Germany’s Newsweek magazine published in April 1984 Minister of Health in 2009, then Federal (Givins, 1984). It was inscribed: ‘On Campus – Minister of Economy and Technology, and Asian-Americans, The Drive to Excel’. It Vice-Chancellor in 2011. Marcel Nguyen, a depicted four young people standing around a biracial Vietnamese-German man, competed sandstone column. Three were holding books. for Germany at the 2012 London Olympics, The fourth wore a Stanford sweatshirt. The winning two silver medals in gymnastics. At accompanying article argued that family expec- the same time, Germans with other kinds of tations and hard work fueled Asian American ethnic backgrounds were also making strides success in top colleges. This article typifies the and entering cherished German institu- model minority perspective in 1980s American tions, such as getting elected to regional and journalism (Hartlep 2013: 240). Twenty-five national government positions and competing years later, Spiewak virtually photocopies the on the beloved national soccer team, which image of an Asian model minority from US won the World Cup in 2014. The German colleges onto German high schools. national team included Ghanaian-German Spiewak’s article further explains that the Jerome Boateng, Tunisian-German Sami students are children of Vietnamese contract Khedira, and Turkish-German Mesut Özil. workers, many of whom experienced a dra- And yet, the idea that Vietnamese- matic plunge into unemployment and poverty Germans were special in terms of educa- as well as being the targets of racial hatred tional achievement lingered. For example, in the years following German reunification. researcher and pedagogy professor Olaf And yet, the academic success of the young Beuchling repeated the claim that the chil- generation was beginning to compensate dren of Vietnamese refugees were more for those experiences: ‘Ihre Kinder jedoch likely to complete the Gymnasium degree sind nun dabei, mit ungeheurem Fleiß und than German children, or children from Bildungsdrang die deutsche Gesellschaft zu other immigrant groups. He attributed this erobern’ (Spiewak, 2009). [Their children, difference to cultural factors including however, are in the process of conquering the Confucianism.6 In another example, a 2015 German society with their industriousness study focused on parenting styles in ethnic and educational drive]. As noted by American German, Turkish, and Vietnamese families commentator Smaran Dayal (2014), this as a determining factor in educational attain- kind of portrayal of hard-working immi- ment. This was part of a research project to grants climbing the ladder of social success investigate ‘why minorities of different ori- in the host society is reminiscent of William gin are differently successful in the educa- Petersen’s 1966 (January 9) New York Times tional system’ (Nauck and Lotter, 2015). The Magazine feature, ‘Success Story, Japanese- study of 1,523 mother-child dyads found American Style’, an article that was seminal in that 54% of Vietnamese mothers practiced shaping the American model minority myth. an ‘authoritarian’ parenting style, whereas Soon after Spiewak’s article was pub- the predominant parenting styles for German lished, some Germans with Vietnamese mothers was ‘indulgent’, and for Turkish ethnic backgrounds received attention for mothers was ‘neglectful’. This hierarchi- remarkable accomplishments. They seemed cal reasoning and judgmental nomenclature to be fulfilling Spiewak’s prediction that the aligns with the ‘Tiger-Mother’ trope popu- next generation of Vietnamese youth would larized by Amy Chua in her 2011 memoir

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Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, in which [I don’t need to recognize anyone who lives off of fierce Asian American mothers are credited the State, rejects the State, doesn’t take sensible with their children’s educational success. care of the education of their children, and con- stantly produces new little headscarf girls. That’s As experts in educational pathways for true of 70 percent of the Turkish and 90 percent of working class immigrant children, Aladin the Arabic population of Berlin.]7 El-Mafaalani and Thomas Kemper (2017) caution against using the label ‘miracle’ to While vilifying Arabic and Turkish immi- describe the large numbers of Vietnamese grants in Germany for failing to integrate, students attending Gymnasium despite obsta- Sarrazin praised Vietnamese and other immi- cles such as low household income, lack of grants for their willingness to integrate. social capital, and lack of household knowl- edge about the German educational system. Die Vietnamesen: Die Eltern können kaum Deutsch, They suggest that a determining factor may verkaufen Zigaretten oder haben einen Kiosk. Die Vietnamesen der zweiten Generation haben dann be how well the Vietnamese parents’ belief durchweg bessere Schulnoten und höhere that students must work hard to attain success Abiturientenquoten als die Deutschen (Schönfeld, matches the attitude of the German school 2009). system. Surprisingly, although they note that the percentage of Vietnamese students [The Vietnamese: the parents could barely speak German, sold cigarettes or owned a kiosk. The attending Gymnasium varies substantially Vietnamese of the second generation have consist- by location – with three eastern German ently better grades and higher rates of high school states consistently reporting rates around graduates than the Germans.] 70% – they do not call for research into what schools in those states are doing differently This comment demonstrates that Sarrazin was that might drive these results. aware of the relatively high rates of second- About 10 months after the publica- generation Vietnamese immigrants attending tion of Martin Spiewak’s seminal ‘Das Gymnasium. He was also aware of some of the Vietnamesische Wunder’ article (2009), struggles of first-generation Vietnamese immi- Germany plunged into what is now called grants. Following Sarrazin’s ouster from the the ‘Sarrazin Debate’ (Goebel, 2018). Thilo central bank, he toned down his comments Sarrazin was an economist whose career only slightly. By August 2010, he published his encompassed positions at the state and national theories as a book, ‘Deutschland Schafft Sich levels. In a long-form interview published in Ab’ [Germany Does Away with Itself]. It claims the culture magazine Lettre International, that Germany’s population is shrinking and Sarrazin made blatantly derogatory remarks dumbing down due to a declining birthrate in that earned him condemnation across the the upper classes, failed schools, and an political spectrum, and eventually forced increasing population of poor, mostly Muslim him to resign from his position at Germany’s immigrants whose culture drives them to refuse central bank. Demanding that Sarrazin apolo- to integrate, while living off the largesse of the gize for his comments, Zeit Online (2009) welfare state. Based on financial and demo- published an excerpt of the interview. Stern graphic data drawn from Berlin, he projected magazine (Schönfeld, 2009) also published that Germany would be majority Muslim an excerpt, arguing that Sarrazin was right. within 80 years. The book sold 1.5 million copies in 2010. As of 2018, it is in its 9th print- Ich muss niemanden anerkennen, der vom Staat ing. It has more than 900 reviews on Amazon’s lebt, diesen Staat ablehnt, für die Ausbildung German-language website. Some of the reviews seiner Kinder nicht vernünftig sorgt und ständig are essay-length, showing the deep resonance neue kleine Kopftuchmädchen produziert. Das gilt für 70 Prozent der türkischen und 90 Prozent der of the debate on Sarrazin’s assertions. Various arabischen Bevölkerung in Berlin. (Schönfeld, 2009) editions of the book occupy places #1, #2, and

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#4 in the multicultural section of Amazon.de. werden. Eine Zwei auf dem Zeugnis war eine Sarrazin has been accused of making radical Enttäuschung. Wenn ich sagte, dass das ‘gut’ racist ideas palatable, contributing more to the bedeutet, sagten sie zu mir: ‘Du sollst dich nicht mit den Deutschen vergleichen. Du bist anders als sie’. rise of far-right parties than even the Nazi Es klang so wie: ‘Du bist nicht so viel wert wie sie’. underground. In 2013, the United Nations’ (Pham, 2010) Committee on the Elimination of Racial [Thilo Sarrazin praised me, I’m a Vietnamese. One Discrimination reprimanded Germany for fail- of those people who are good in school and ing to carry out an effective investigation learned German early on, probably due to those against Sarrazin (Keilani, 2013). good genes. We Vietnamese are very beloved. As The Sarrazin debate raged on for months soon as someone like Sarrazin could be suspected in mainstream media and in political forums, of xenophobia, he cites our success: ‘Look at these diligent people! If they can work their way up, why with critics decrying his statistical methods, his can’t the lazy Muslims?’ racist, elitist, and eugenicist beliefs, his incen- diary and alienating remarks. Meanwhile, With this praise, Sarrazin wanted to prove that he Vietnamese-German intellectuals grappled doesn’t have anything against immigrants. He pulled us out like a joker in the game of Good Migrant–Bad with suddenly and unwittingly finding the Migrant. Obviously, he knows us as little as them; the contours of their collective experience high- supposed Vietnamese success model can’t be trans- lighted against the backdrop of what Sarrazin posed onto Muslims like an international hit song. called people who are ‘unwilling and incapa- My parents, who immigrated here in the 70s, ble of integration’. The influential Vietnamese- taught me that I had to be better than ‘the German author and cultural commentator Germans’ in order to be recognized as equal. Pham Thi Hoai points out that the relatively Getting a ‘2’ grade on a report card was a disap- small population of Vietnamese immigrants pointment. When I told them that ‘2’ means ‘good’, (and youth) in Germany only became noticea- they told me: ‘You should not compare yourself to Germans. You are different than them.’ That ble in mainstream German discourse ‘because sounded like: you are not worth as much as them]. we don’t wear headscarves and we’re better at school’ (Cicero, 2014). Khue Pham (2010), a With dazzling irony, Khue Pham illuminates young Vietnamese-German woman, explained just how Sarrazin’s spotlight on Vietnamese that the so-called Vietnamese success story is immigrant students blindsides them, masks a story of sacrifice and estrangement. their struggles, and casts a shadow on both them and other immigrants. Sarrazin’s praise Thilo Sarrazin hat mich gelobt, ich bin Vietnamesin. for the Vietnamese immigrants does not mean Eine von denen, die gut in der Schule waren und Deutsch früh gelernt haben, es lag wohl an den he knows any of them or understands anything guten Genen. Wir Vietnamesen sind ja sehr about who they are. Instead, this kind of praise beliebt. Kaum macht einer wie Sarrazin der distances all immigrants, Vietnamese and oth- Fremdenfeindlichkeit verdächtig, zitiert er unseren erwise. The Vietnamese immigrants are used Erfolg: ‘Guckt euch diese fleissigen Menschen an! like a pawn in a game that plays marginalized Wenn sie sich hocharbeiten können, warum können es die faulen Muslime nicht?’ members of the society off against each other in order to uphold an oppressive racist hierar- Mit seinem Lob wollte Sarrazin beweisen, dass er chy. Later in her essay, Pham mentions that nichts gegen Einwanderer hat. Er hat uns wie einen it’s not just Sarrazin who offers praise in this Joker gezogen in seinem Gute-Migranten-schlechte- Migranten-Spiel. Offentsichtlich kennt er uns manner: ‘The Germans often praise me, genauso schlect wie sie; das vermeintliche vietnam- because I speak perfect German. These words esische Erfolgsmodell lässt sich nicht exportschlager- of praise imply that I will remain different, no mässig auf die Muslime übertragen. matter how much I try’ (2010). Back-handed praise is not the work of one notorious racist, Meine Eltern, die hier in den siebziger Jahren ein- wanderten, brachten mir bei, dass ich besser as ’die but rather a common norm, an indicator of Deutschen‘ sein müsse, um als gleich anerkannt zu widely held race-based assumptions.

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The themes of diligence, hard work, sac- when they are achieving greater academic rifice, and guilt thread throughout Pham’s success than German students. It’s even pos- essay, for example, when her parents tell sible that their success is being highlighted her that a ‘good’ grade is not good enough. to goad German youngsters into working Unlike some of the Germans Pham encoun- harder. On the other hand, it is commendable ters, her parents withhold praise. Their for their parents to not stand out, to blend in ensuing explanation is an opportunity to per- with their surroundings. Tran’s article appears petuate internalized alienation and oppres- in a compendium that aims to bring grass- sion. Their solution to the problem: work roots ‘Vietnamese-German Realities’ into harder! This resonates with the point made by the mainstream discourse. It is aptly entitled the education researchers El-Mafaalani and ‘UnSichtbar’ or ‘InVisible’, a reference to the Kemper (2017): Vietnamese parents’ attitude inconspicuousness of Vietnamese immigrant that hard work is the path to success aligns youth in German society. well with the value that the German higher The Sarrazin debate of 2009–10 seeded education system places on diligence. In fact, a thesis that grew throughout the following diligence turns out to be a pivotal theme for years, especially once hundreds of thousands both first- and second-generation Vietnamese of people from Syria and northern Africa immigrant students in Germany. began seeking refuge in Europe in 2015: the Without actually using the term ‘model idea that Germany is being overrun by non- minority’, Pham’s essay describes the con- white immigrants. Although most German tours of what could be considered a model- citizens support the idea of welcoming refu- minoritizing dynamic. She notes that the gees and tolerating difference, expressions of supposedly successful Vietnamese model of outrage can flare up when non-whites break integration is far from perfect. She says it can- social norms. For example, when young men not necessarily be replicated by other immi- sexually assaulted (white) women during New grant groups. It comes at a huge price in terms Year’s Eve celebrations in Cologne and other of stress, and it does not guarantee parity or cities in 2015; a terrorist attack on a Christmas closeness with mainstream society. In her dis- market in Berlin in 2016; several stabbings in cussion of the perils of positive stereotypes, small towns in early 2018; and when dozens journalist Tran Quynh (2017) deliberately of asylum seekers battled deportation police uses the term ‘model minority’. She points in Ellwangen in 2018. In these cases, the per- out that in the United States, the term is often petrators committed violent acts, and those used to highlight immigrants who seem to actions made them exceedingly visible. On talk have achieved above-average socioeconomic shows and town councils, people debated how success. For Vietnamese immigrant youth to tamp down the violence: whether to stop in Germany, successful integration has been admitting refugees into Germany; whether to defined as academic success in the second isolate them in barracks outside of towns; or generation. Any mention of economic success whether to spread out their housing so there is very modest – remember Sarrazin’s words: would be less potential for conflict in one place ‘They sold cigarettes or owned a kiosk’ (Goebel, 2018). Germans may not have known (Schönfeld, 2009: 522). Instead, successful exactly what they were hoping for in terms of integration is demonstrated by the incon- successfully integrating new immigrants, but spicuousness of first-generation Vietnamese these hyper-visible violent incidents were immigrants, the ‘unremarkableness that is definitely not it. What we can learn from the presumed to accompany adaptation’ (Tran, Sarrazin debate and these later incidents is that 2017: 229). In other words, it is acceptable, there is popular consensus building around the and even commendable, for some immigrants idea that there is a ‘right way’ for immigrants to be visible, to stand out – for example, to integrate into German society.

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THE CURRENT MODEL FOR Germany – A Country of SUCCESSFUL INTEGRATION Immigrants? IN GERMANY Germany has not historically considered itself What follows in this section is based on com- to be a country of immigrants. Despite a long ments about Vietnamese immigrants during history of small Germanic kingdoms and city- the 2009–10 ‘Sarrazin debate’. states, Germany only coalesced as a nation in the 1870s. Throughout the 19th century, thou- sands of people from various German- Diligence + Inconspicuousness = speaking states emigrated to North and South Integration America. In other words, Germans were immigrants in other countries. After 1945, The emphasis on inconspicuousness among Germany was divided into two countries – first-generation Vietnamese immigrants is East and West Germany – and remained that no accident. There are very specific histori- way throughout the Cold War.9 Allied troops cal reasons why these immigrants worked occupied Germany until the 1990s, with hard to avoid being noticed; and when they American, British, and French troops in the must be visible, to show up as diligent and west, and Russian troops in the east. Following hard-working. In the 1990s, this representa- World War II, East and West Germany shoul- tional strategy – choosing to be as invisible dered the responsibility for resettling 4.5 mil- as possible – was the key for many lion ethnic Germans from eastern Europe. As Vietnamese to be able to live and work the Cold War continued, West Germany in Germany. accepted and even encouraged political and According to the German Federal religious refugees from East Germany and Statistical Office, there are 167,000 people eastern Europe to immigrate. Many of these of Vietnamese descent living in Germany immigrants spoke some German, shared cul- (2017). They outnumber people of Chinese tural traditions, and were classified as descent (157,000) but still comprise less than Germans rather than foreigners. For these 1% of Germany’s total population of more immigrants, West Germany created free ‘inte- than 82 million. If you ask a person living in gration classes’, including language instruc- Germany today if they know anything about tion and information about the German legal Vietnamese people in Germany, chances are, system, culture, and history (Goebel, 2018). they will say no. They have never noticed German citizenship was guaranteed for those them. This is especially true of western who could prove that at least one grandparent Germans, because the strategy for integrat- was German, so nationality focused more on ing Vietnamese immigrants into western hereditary than geographic qualifications. Germany was to disperse people across In 1965, West Germany began creat- many small towns in order to prevent them ing regulations to manage non-German from forming an ethnic ghetto (Blume and immigrants (Gesley, 2017). Starting in the Kantowsky, 1988). On the other hand, in east- 1970s, labor shortages in both East and ern Germany and eastern Berlin, Vietnamese West Germany forced those countries to immigrants are one of the largest groups of recruit foreign temporary workers, with the migrants (German Federal Statistical Office, express intention that they would not settle in 2017: 129–32). In fact, due to their numbers Germany. In 1990, the Act on Foreigners spe- and concentration in the hospitality and retail cifically drew on the premise that Germany sector, the person-of-color you are most was still not an immigration country, that likely to meet in this part of the country is a Germany’s capacity to take in immigrants Vietnamese immigrant.8 was limited and that preference had to be

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given to immigrants of German heritage, for- United States and allies. A ceasefire agree- eigners fleeing political persecution, and EU ment was signed in 1973. In 1975, northern citizens taking advantage of their freedom of Vietnamese troops invaded the southern capi- movement. West Germany’s constitution had tal of Saigon, uniting the country as the guaranteed asylum to any person persecuted Socialist Republic of Vietnam. for political reasons, but with the end of the Like Vietnam, Germany has been divided Cold War and the breakup of Yugoslavia, a and reunified within the past century. During then-record high of 440,000 people applied the post-war period, German territory was for asylum in Germany in 1992. This led to divided into four quadrants administered by the Asylum Compromise of 1993, which each of the allies (Fulbrook, 2015). The for- allowed Germany to expedite asylum deci- mer capital, Berlin, located deep within the sions within the transit zone of airports, and Russian-occupied zone, was also divided into to return asylum seekers to safe third coun- quadrants. In 1963, East Germany built a tries and safe origin countries. It was not until containment wall around their sector. Known 2005, with the adoption of the Migration Act, as the Berlin Wall, it symbolized the stand- that the government finally recognized that off between western capitalism and eastern Germany had become an immigration des- communism. In autumn 1989, reform move- tination. For the first time, people born in ments in East Germany toppled the govern- Germany to immigrant parents were granted ment and introduced democratic and market automatic German citizenship. Before 2005, economy reforms. In November 1989, the people born in Germany were not auto- Berlin Wall was opened. The following July, matically citizens, even if their families had the two Germanys entered into a monetary resided in Germany for generations. The union, and by September the eastern German Integration Act of 2016 created a two-tier states joined West Germany. naturalization system, with a fast-track to Migration from Vietnam to Germany citizenship for immigrants who demonstrate started in the 1950s, with a small number of willingness to integrate, and reductions in Vietnamese citizens who participated in edu- benefits for those who do not cooperate with cation and training programs in both East integration efforts. and West Germany (Schaland and Schmiz, 2016). Due to the Vietnam War in the 1960s, West Germans began to hear about Vietnam The Divided History of as a result of the worldwide student protests Immigration from Vietnam against American involvement in the war. to Germany East Germans, on the other hand, were urged by their schools, workplaces, and unions to Vietnam’s divided history lay the groundwork gather donations and supplies to bolster the for two different migration pathways from Vietnamese war effort (Spennemann, 1997). Vietnam to Germany in the 1990s (Bui, 2003, In 1973, the year of the ceasefire agreement in see also Hillmann, 2005). Ruled by feuding Vietnam, East Germany pledged to train 10,000 dynasties until the early 19th century, Vietnam Vietnamese citizens within a decade, as a show was then colonized by the French. Following of international solidarity. A few years later, Japanese occupation during World War II, West Germany offered to resettle 40,000 peo- nationalist forces defeated French re-occupation ple (of an estimated one million) from Vietnam, by 1954. The peace accords divided Vietnam Laos, and Cambodia who were fleeing war as into northern and southern halves, with the well as ethnic and political discrimination. north evolving along a Marxist–Leninist In 1980, Vietnam signed agreements with model and the south evolving through a suc- East Germany, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the cession of military dictators, supported by the Soviet Union, and other eastern bloc countries

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to provide multi-year training for large con- any application for asylum, demonstrate they tingents of Vietnamese workers at enterprises had not returned to Vietnam with a parting in Europe. In 1987, the pace of the program bonus, and show proof of adequate earnings, increased dramatically, with groups of 10,000 living space, and a clean criminal record. to 30,000 per year arriving for on-the-job train- These requirements were very challenging to ing in East German factories (Spennemann, meet, considering the massive social and eco- 1997). By 1990, Vietnamese contract workers nomic upheaval in the early 1990s in Eastern constituted the second-largest group of for- Europe and Germany. By 1995, about 15,000 eign nationals residing in East Germany after Vietnamese citizens were able to meet the the Soviet occupation troops. At the time the requirements to become naturalized German Berlin Wall fell, there were 60,000 Vietnamese citizens (Berger, 1996). However, about a third citizens in East Germany, most of whom were of the estimated 97,000 people of Vietnamese enrolled in the trainee contract worker pro- descent residing in Germany by 1995 were gram. There were approximately 35,000 peo- barred from attaining permanent residency ple of Vietnamese origin in West Germany, rights and were scheduled to be deported to most of whom had arrived as refugees. Vietnam (Deutscher Bundestag, 1995). With impending German reunification and These migrants were a political hot potato, the dissolution of the Soviet Union, thou- between the German and Vietnamese govern- sands of Vietnamese migrants from eastern ments for much of the 1990s. After the mas- Germany and Eastern Europe crossed into the sive deportations from East Germany in 1990, West. From 1990 to 1993, an average of 10,000 and up until July 1995, the Vietnamese gov- Vietnamese citizens who had been working in ernment refused to re-admit Vietnamese citi- Eastern Europe applied for asylum in Germany zens from Germany, including those whose annually. The safe third countries regulation asylum applications had been denied and dramatically reduced asylum applications even some who wished to return voluntarily by Vietnamese citizens from 1994 onward (Bui, 2003). This stance came at a time when (Spennemann, 1997). Meanwhile, enterprises Vietnam was busy re-integrating 70,000 peo- in the former East Germany laid off the vast ple from refugee camps in Hong Kong and majority of Vietnamese participants in the labor Southeast Asia, and was scheduled to re- training program in order to make their busi- integrate tens of thousands more. Germany nesses viable for a market economy. By June was also overwhelmed by migration chal- 1991, a mere 4,000 Vietnamese citizens were lenges. Starting in 1989, West Germany still employed on their contracts, down from received more asylum applications than at any 60,000 a year and a half earlier (Spennemann, time since World War II, peaking at 610,000 1997; Hermann, 1992)! The bilateral agreement in 1992. This made German institutions eager was amended to allow either the employee or to deport the 33,600 Vietnamese nationals on employer to terminate the employment con- their deportation roster. To force a deporta- tract, providing financial compensation to the tion agreement, Germany halted its develop- Vietnamese employee, and the choice of either ment aid to Vietnam in 1994 and lobbied for a returning to Vietnam with a bonus payment European aid embargo in 1995. A repatriation or residing and working in Germany for the agreement was signed in 1995, but bureau- remainder of their five-year contract. In 1993, a cratic delays dragged out the deportation pro- new regulation allowed people who had entered cess through 1997 (Hillman, 2005). as part of the labor-training program to obtain In summary, the seven years from 1990 to a special work permit and extend their resi- 1997 were tumultuous and deeply disruptive dency permit beyond the five-year period speci- for everyone in eastern Germany, and espe- fied in their original contracts, provided they cially for the thousands of Vietnamese citi- met certain conditions: they had to withdraw zens living there.

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Black Market Cigarettes Schönbohm (CDU) die konsequente Abschiebung straffällig gewordener Vietnamesen. … Allein im This is the specific historical moment in vergangenen Jahr sollten 2500 Vietnamesen which the trope of the Vietnamese cigarette Deutschland verlassen – bis heute wurde gerade seller entered mainstream German discourse mal 65 Menschen die Wiedereinreise in ihre Heimat genehmigt. (Der Spiegel, 1996) in the mid 1990s. State actors seized on the idea of Vietnamese people peddling smuggled [The Cigarette Mafia is a post-socialist crime phe- cigarettes and drew links to violent crime in nomenon. In the mid 80s, the GDR government order to help push through the repatriation fetched tens of thousands of Vietnamese contract program to rid Germany of tens of thousands workers into the country. With the Wende, many of them became unemployed; whoever was not of ‘illegal’ migrants (am Orde, 1996). A dra- lucky enough to find a job as an assistant in a res- matic storyline took shape in 1996 as gang taurant or at a farmers’ market, quickly took on the violence escalated, with Vietnamese people offer from compatriots to earn money by selling as both perpetrators and victims, and German untaxed cigarettes.… The criminals invested part of law enforcement struggling to get the prob- the profits, completely legally, into real estate, Asia-Shops or restaurants. … The helplessness of lem under control. This narrative helped the courts caused a judge in a judgement justifica- manufacture consent for the repatriation pro- tion made last fall, to speak openly of ‘the capitula- gram by highlighting the program’s promise tion of the German state based on rule-of-law’. to deport Vietnamese criminals. Because prosecutors have little to counteract the As an example of this discourse, a fea- intimidation of some Vietnamese compatriots, it was possible in Germany to ‘murder and blackmail ture article in the national magazine Der without a second thought’. In their distress, politi- Spiegel clearly drew this line of reasoning cians like Berlin’s domestic senator Jörg Schönbohm (Der Spiegel, 1996). Starting with mug shots (of the conservative Christian Democratic Union of seven of the nine Vietnamese men who party) are demanding consistent deportation of had recently been murdered in the Marzahn convicted Vietnamese. … Last year alone, 2,500 Vietnamese should have left Germany – to date a neighborhood of Berlin, the article explains mere 65 people have been allowed reentry to their the evolution of Vietnamese people’s involve- homeland]. ment in the black market for cigarettes and violent crime. The argument of the article is that a sophisti- cated and violent mafia is manipulating and Die Zigaretten-Mafia is ein postsocialistisches threatening the many comparatively helpless Kriminal-Phänomen. Mitte der achtziger Jahre hatte die DDR-Regierung Zehntausende von viet- Vietnamese people living in eastern Germany namesischen Vertragsarbeitern ins Land geholt. Mit and Berlin. Although the victims of violent der Wende wurde ein Großteil von ihnen arbeits- crimes are Vietnamese people, the article los; wer nicht das Glück hatte, etwa einen Job als contends that the violence also undermines Hilfskraft in der Gastronomie oder auf the German justice system. By referring to Wochenmärkten zu finden, nahm schnell das Angebot von Landsleuten an, künftig sein Geld mit the investments in restaurants and shops, dem Verkauf von unversteurten Zigaretten zu ver- which are clearly visible to German neigh- dienen. … Einen Teil ihres Profits investieren die bors, and by mentioning that 2,500 Kriminellen, ganz legal, in Immobilien, Asia-Shops Vietnamese are due to be deported, the arti- oder Gaststätten. … Die Hilflosigkeit der Justiz cle implies that more than just a few mafia- veranlaßte einen Berliner Richter, im Herbst vergan- genen Jahres in einer Urteilsbegründigung ganz bosses are implicated. It’s understandable offen von ‘der Kapitulation des deutschen that someone might shy away from a Rechtsstaates’ zu sprechen. Weil die Strafverfolger Vietnamese-run restaurant, after reading an den ‘mafiaähnlichen Einschüchterungen einiger article like this. The images and reasoning in vietnamesischer Landsleute’ wenig entegegen- articles like these were so powerful that they zusetzen hätten, könne in Detuschland ‘bedenken- los gemordet und erpresst werden’. … In ihrer Not spilled over, leading virtually all Vietnamese fordern nun Politiker wie Berlins Innensenator Jörg people in Germany to feel branded by the

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image of the illegal, violent, cigarette seller convey their own alternative representations. (Bui, 2003). Not without reason: in May They countered the image of the cigarette- 1996, Berlin’s special investigative unit selling criminal with strategic recapitulations assigned to stamp out black market cigarettes of collective migration history. In western had been renamed ‘Vietnam’ rather than Germany, immigrant advocates put forth a ‘Tobacco’ (am Orde, 1996). unified history of Vietnamese ‘boat people’ As demonstrated in contemporary inter- who braved the open sea on rickety boats to views and testimonials, mainstream press get to the West. One example, out of many, is coverage of the black market in cigarettes the following excerpt published in September made many Vietnamese people living in 1996 in the respected Frankfurt-based news- Germany, and especially eastern Germany, paper Frankfurter Rundschau. It was part believe that their identity as Vietnamese had of a report about a celebration organized by been tainted. Vietnamese organizations noted the German human rights organization Cap that Vietnamese people living and work- Anamur, which had rescued hundreds of ing legally in Berlin were exposed to dis- Vietnamese refugees in the 1980s. crimination, and Vietnamese snack bar and The little boy would probably not be alive if the clothing stand owners reported decreased German refugee ship Cap Anamur had not fished revenues following news of the 1996 murders his parents out of the South China Sea 15 years (Berliner Zeitung, May 25, 1996). An inter- ago and brought them to Germany. The fully over- view with a Vietnamese family published in loaded fishing boat belonging to the southern the east Berlin newspaper Berliner Zeitung Vietnamese had bobbed up and down for three days and nights before help arrived. Like this family, shows how much they felt their reputation who lives in Bochum now, the ships of the Cap was harmed by the dominant image of a Anamur Committee rescued thousands of people Vietnamese cigarette mafia (Berliner Zeitung, by 1987 who fled from the Communist regime in July 5, 1996): ‘Chu and Nguyen recount that their home onto the open sea … They all found a the Mafia has brought all Vietnamese into new home with their families in Germany – in West Germany. (Published in translation from the origi- disrepute. “Ever since they have struck ter- nal German in Bui, 2003: 114–15) ror in people’s hearts in Berlin, the Germans look at us with different eyes.” Chu observes This excerpt casts South Vietnamese as this in glances “that are no longer friendly”’. worthy due to the lengths they went to in In reaction, the family makes itself as invis- order to find democracy and freedom. It casts ible as possible, living in a small cheap West Germans as saviors and guardians of apartment on a loud street. Chu works as a democracy and humanity. The storyline reso- cleaning woman despite her degree in eco- nated with West Germans’ understanding of nomics, opting not to have a second child for their own post-war struggle, rising from the fear she might lose her job and thus the right ashes of a devastating war, rebuilding a soci- to remain in Germany. In the short ethnog- ety that values freedom, democracy, and anti- raphy of this article, Chu and Nguyen dem- communism. In this way, the narrative of onstrate what it looks like to be law-abiding South Vietnamese boat-people refugees Vietnamese immigrants: they repudiate the aligned with and affirmed the narrative of criminals’ abhorrent behavior; they content West German identity. themselves with less than what others have Meanwhile, immigrant advocates in east- in terms of jobs, living quarters, dignity, and ern Germany were also hard at work creat- security; and they hope to earn their right to ing a history of Vietnamese migration to East the lowest rung of society by working hard. Germany that cast them as worthy of resi- Vietnamese migrants and their advo- dency rights and respect. For example, the cates exercised agency. Against the images organization Union of Vietnamese in Berlin propagated by state actors, they tried to and Brandenburg put together an exhibit

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about the experience of Vietnamese living in are ‘immigrant origin narratives’ that clearly the eastern Berlin neighborhood of Marzahn. delineate a trajectory from place of origin to The exhibit consists of artifacts including integration in the host society (Bui, 2003: press clippings, letters, photographs, copies 175). They leverage the theme of overcoming of documents, and interpretive text, mounted nearly insurmountable challenges to explain on 11 large posters created between 1993 and how immigrants have earned their place in 1998. Some of the posters have titles that sum the host society. They fend off the trope of the up their content, including: cigarette seller, while answering the perennial question posed by members of the host soci- #2 Vietnamese in the GDR – For Five Years gives ety to anyone they detect as different: ‘where details about the labor contracts; are you from?’. Immigrant origin narratives are an epi-national strategy that inscribes #3 Working in Berlin – Living in Berlin illuminates daily life in East German factories and dormitories Vietnamese migrants into a German national which housed the workers; framework, against a dominant discourse that shows Vietnamese people as roving Mafiosi #5 The New Situation – shows positive develop- outlaws and marginalized petty criminals. ments around the time of the fall of the Berlin The ‘boat people’ and ‘contract worker’ Wall, but also some of the racist violence in East Germany after 1990; immigrant origin narratives have allowed Vietnamese migrants in Germany to affirm #8 The Struggle for the Right to Stay shows photos a sense of belonging, activate empathy, and of Vietnamese people protesting and documents secure rights from the host society, and also demanding their rights; to distance the shameful stereotype of the #10 Results points to achievements including the black market cigarette dealer. The origin 1997 revision to the Immigration Act granting narrative strategy counters the stereotype by permanent residency rights to former contract providing explanation and facts as well as an workers; emotional appeal for empathy based on the experience of hardship and struggle. #11 Unbroken Will toward Integration highlights the enduring commitment of Vietnamese people in Marzahn to become a productive part of German society. Partial Masking The titles of the posters describe the narrative While immigrant origin narratives seek to arc of a story about people who came to East provide information to counter a negative Germany with high hopes, who encountered stereotype that all Vietnamese migrants in heavy-handed regulations, racism, and years Germany are implicated in the black market of active political struggle to re-gain the abil- cigarette trade, a different strategy has taken ity to live and work legally in Germany. It is shape among a subgroup of Vietnamese an eloquent example of how Vietnamese entrepreneurs: partially masking their ethnic people transformed themselves from migrants identity by calling their businesses ‘Asian’ or into immigrants, from victims of violence and ‘Chinese’, rather than ‘Vietnamese’. It is no repression into people who persevered through accident that in the late 1990s, nearly every struggle to create a new space for themselves eastern German city boasted ‘Asian’ grocery as part of German society. This story reso- stores, snack bars, and restaurants. The low- nates with East Germans’ successful move- priority work permits issued to former con- ment for reform, and transition from a socialist tract workers after 1990 severely hampered into a democratic model of society. them from obtaining jobs in the regular labor The collective histories of Vietnamese ‘boat market, but obtaining employment was a people’ and Vietnamese ‘contract workers’ prerequisite for maintaining a residency

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permit. Starting their own businesses was the apartment or if we have contact with them, maybe only viable option. A 1995 survey of 500 we will get into trouble some time. We are cl- not Vietnamese living in eastern Germany by the clean people, but we do have our work. We simply cannot do that.10 Federal Labor Ministry found that more than half were self-employed. Of those who The vehemence of Hung’s reaction shows started their own business, 68% said the how much he feels the sting of the ethnic reason was ‘couldn’t find any other job’. stigma resulting from the discourse around Although Asian eateries were not the most Vietnamese cigarette dealing. It also demon- common form of self-employment for strates his fear of violence, and his strategy Vietnamese migrants, they were highly visi- for attracting customers despite his own and ble: many started out as food trucks located their fears. Hung believes that if he included on public plazas. Moreover, in the eastern ‘Vietnamese’ in the name of his restaurant, German landscape, ethnic cuisine was rela- passers-by would suspect that he was tively rare into the late 1990s. Ethnic restau- involved in the black market cigarette trade, rants and grocery stores capitalize on the a suspicion that he tries hard to dispel, both owners’ physical appearance of difference to in the interview and in everyday life. The market their goods. Interviews with several strategy of substituting an Asian identity for Vietnamese eatery owners inquired why they his Vietnamese one does the double duty of called their businesses ‘Asian’ or ‘Chinese’. explaining Hung’s otherness to prospective Some responded that they thought it would customers while also distancing the stereo- be impossible to market Vietnamese food to type of the Vietnamese cigarette mafia. The Germans unfamiliar with that cuisine, and a partial mask that Hung dons when he calls few remarked that Vietnamese cuisine is too his restaurant ‘Asian’ instead of Vietnamese labor-intensive to be profitable. Instead, they is a way to ward off fear so that German opted for a relatively cheap menu of fried strangers will dare to cross his threshold. noodles and rice dishes. One interviewee But Hung knows that is just the first step in explained another reason: a long process of getting to know one another better and justifying his place in [B]ecause Vietnamese, here is such a, I believe that was after the Wende, with this cigarette story, German society. Hung hopes that he can because not all Vietnamese deal in cigarettes. But contribute a small part to debunking the predominantly back then, and the illegal cigarette-selling stereotype by demonstrat- Vietnamese, they did trade in cigarettes. There is ing his work ethic, something that he believes also the story of the Mafia dealing with cigarettes the Germans closest to him will eventually or organizations and so on, and they get short- term profits, as with drug smuggling. And so many notice and respect. Germans, who cannot grasp it, they think all Vietnamese deal in cigarettes. So assume that – We must prove, I personally have to prove, so that look at my place for example, a guy outside thinks, the people think to themselves: ‘Look, he works ‘He certainly has dough from cigarette deals and from morning until night and every day there. And then he opens up a restaurant’. That is absolutely he works in the restaurant, from A to Z, he cleans not at all correct! And – but for Germans, just up himself, cleans the windows himself, and cleans throw all in one basket. … And if Germans think: the garden himself. He goes along the street and ‘Vietnamese, that is not for real’. And: ‘A cleans there. He does all that alone. He takes the Vietnamese certainly has dealings with the Mafia. garbage out and so on. He has worked there for Let’s not go there’. We are afraid of such a thing. years. He has nothing to do with those other Even though that is not correct. We don’t at all people!’. … And besides, eventually some of the trade in cigarettes! My – our people, yes, but we, German people, the customers, can gradually dif- we business-people, not. We have nothing to do ferentiate, whether some people work sensibly or with that. We have precisely not even contacts some people, who do certain deals. … I just take with those people. What should we do with those care of my business. And my character. And my people? We get into trouble if they get into our reputation, or the reputation of all Vietnamese, yes.

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Hung hopes that by conducting their busi- but the trope of the Vietnamese cigarette mafia nesses in this way, he and other Vietnamese remained, affecting Germans’ perceptions of entrepreneurs will be able to work off some Vietnamese migrants, and the migrants’ per- of the stigma surrounding Vietnamese ceptions of how they were perceived. To coun- migrants. By representing themselves in their ter their sense of ‘spoiled identity’ (Goffman, daily activities as diligent small-business 1963: 3), rescue their dignity, and ensure their owners, by going the extra mile, picking up acceptance in society, Vietnamese migrants had trash on the public street in addition to clean- to invent ways to deal with this ethnic stigma. ing their own stores, Hung and the other Immigrant origin narratives can function as owners of highly visible stores and stalls are an effective strategy for identity management trying to change the perception of Vietnamese in the face of ethnic stigma. The narratives of migrants in Germany. Another restaurant Vietnamese boat people and contract workers owner, Lan, commented that she believes that provided a powerful advocacy tool in secur- Germans think of her and others like her as ing rights and services for close to 55,000 of ‘hard-working, work all the time, even more the estimated 97,000 Vietnamese migrants in hard-working than the Germans!’.11 For Lan Germany in the 1990s. They helped to distin- and Hung, hard work is the pathway to earn- guish ‘legitimate’ categories of immigrants, ing respect and eventually integration in distancing them from the stereotype of the German society. By strategically deploying black market cigarette vendor and the dis- friendliness and diligence, they intentionally course around deporting Vietnamese nation- combat racism and negative stereotypes als. The narratives also served and continue to among their customers, neighbors, and even- serve in everyday interactions between immi- tually, the larger public. Twenty years later, it grants and natives to explain migrants’ differ- seems that they may have succeeded. ences from the host society through the lens of a legitimate, accepted, collective experience. The practice of partial masking, that is, calling themselves or their businesses ‘Asian’ CONCLUSION or ‘Chinese’ rather ‘Vietnamese’, was another strategy migrants wielded to deflect the ciga- Freire (2005) wrote about the importance of rette vendor stereotype. This strategy bought citizens to become critically conscious and Vietnamese migrants the time and space to avoiding naïve consciousness. Conscientization make a more favorable first-hand impression (or conscientização in Portuguese), accord- through their hard work. This everyday man- ing to Freire (2005) was related to achieving agement of their reputation, coupled with an in-depth understanding of the world. many conversations, helped start the process Although the model minority stereotype is of breaking down ethnic stigma. an academic term, reading the proverbial What can be learned from the appar- academic word and the world, a concept ent success story of Vietnamese migrants, developed by Freire (1985) is a necessary especially with a new wave of refugees component to achieving critical pedagogy seeking to integrate into German society? and also conscientization. First, it is helpful if leaders can avoid creat- Violent crime and black market cigarette- ing an ethnic stigma. In the case of recent selling became widely associated with migrants from the Middle East, leaders must Vietnamese migrants in Germany in the mid continue to emphasize that the refugees are 1990s, at a time when German and Vietnamese not Islamic terrorists. They must work to authorities clashed over deporting thousands ensure that refugees have a clear pathway to of Vietnamese nationals from Germany to residency rights and work permits. Housing, Vietnam. Eventually, the deportations pro- direct contact with German neighbors, lan- ceeded, and violent crime was tamped down, guage courses, meaningful work, and most

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importantly, a way for migrants to demon- 3 According to the German Interior Ministry, Ger- strate their eagerness to contribute to society many experienced a record 890,000 asylum appli- will go a long way toward integration. The cations in 2015; 280,000 in 2016; and 186,644 in 2017. Cited in www.dw.com/en/refugee-num work of shaping an immigrant origin narra- bers-in-germany-dropped-dramatically… tive for the thousands of refugees from Syria /a-42162223 (Accessed March 3, 2018). The has already begun, with the stirring images German Federal Statistics Office put the num- of risky crossings on the Mediterranean and ber of Syrians in Germany in 2017 at just under the hardships of crossing southern Europe. 700,000. https://www.destatis.de/DE/ZahlenFak- ten/GesellschaftStaat/Bevoelkerung/Migration/ These new immigrants and their advocates Integration/AuslaendischeBevolkerung/Tabellen/ should make sure to include in the narra- StaatsangehoerigkeitJahre.html (Accessed March tive some of the tropes that resonate with 3, 2018). Germans’ own experience, such as surviv- 4 We use the general term ‘migrants’ to refer to ing the bombardment and near-total devas- people who have crossed an international bor- der, and the more specific term ‘immigrants’ to tation of their cities, as Germans did after indicate intention to stay permanently. German World War II. Resiliency, a willingness to government demographers now use the term work hard, a high value on education, and ‘people with a migration background’ to refer to tolerance for different views are some of the people in Germany with at least one parent who things that Syrian refugees may find will was not born as a German citizen. 5 This was not the first national press on the topic provide common ground for starting empa- of Vietnamese student success. Karin Weiss had thetic relationships with their German hosts. advocated studying the phenomenon because The phenomenon of Vietnamese Wunder in she observed Vietnamese students attending Germany today shows how the model minority Gymnasium in Brandenburg at rates up to 74%, stereotype of Asians is highly portable, regard- as reported in 2008 in the news magazine Der Spiegel. Her intention was to show that immi- less of country. As Dayal (2014) points out, the grants could perform as well or better than eth- ‘“model minority” discourse […] has begun nic Germans on tests. She noted the significant instrumentalising certain communities of colour difference in academic achievement among chil- in Germany minoritised as “Asian”’ (para. 2). dren of immigrants in the eastern German states It is important to push against the Asian model compared to western states and the national average. She called for more studies and pointed minority myth so that culture does not become to factors outside of ethnic background that an excuse for failing to implement sensible and might impact academic success, such as widely equitable integration policies. available public preschool for children of immi- grants (Mai, 2008). 6 This explanation is contrasted to historian Jochen Oltmer’s assertion that a proactive welcoming Notes approach by the host society was the decisive factor (de Swaaf, 2016). 1 DW-TV’s English-language video, available on 7 Unless otherwise noted, this and all other transla- YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= tions in the text are provided by Pipo Bui. Part of ag2S8sd6HV0 (Accessed March 3, 2018)) high- this passage appears in an English translation in lights the Vietnamese in Germany who are aca- Spiegel Online (2010). demically successful. 8 With the exception of Berlin, eastern Germany’s 2 It is important to bear in mind that the term population includes less than 7% migrants, com- ‘minority’ has a different meaning in central pared to 34% in western Germany. In this part Europe than in the United States. It has generally of the country, Vietnamese migrants are out- referred to Indigenous ethnic minorities whose numbered only by Poles, Syrians, Russians, and past and current living spaces do not necessarily Kazakhs. align with current national borders, such as Roma 9 The Federal Republic of Germany was commonly and Sinti (Weller, 2005). Recognized minorities called West Germany. The German Democratic are guaranteed certain rights under international Republic was called East Germany. agreements. In this chapter, we will use ‘minority’ 10 Interview with Hung conducted in German on to refer to a group that is non-dominant in terms June 22, 2000. Author’s translation. Interviewee of population, social status, and power. names have been changed to ensure privacy.

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