IN CAMPS: VIETNAMESE REFUGEES, ASYLUM SEEKERS AND REPATRIATES. BY JANA LIPMAN

Reviewed by: Choong Pui Yee

Abstract

In Camps: Vietnamese Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Repatriates demonstrates how the survival of the Vietnamese refugees was intricately linked to the geopolitics and local politics of their host countries. The book explains the changing refugees’ identity. From refugees, asylum seekers, and eventually repatriates, the Vietnamese refugees’ status is contingent. Lipman narrates not only the struggles of the Vietnamese refugees who fled to survive and seek permanent resettlement, but also raises critical questions on asylum and refugee policy at the national and international levels. By incorporating sources from UNHCR archives, local and international newspaper articles, as well as government documents from the United Kingdom, United States, and Hong Kong, Lipman’s study underscores the contingencies inherent in refugee policy.