Canada and Lao Refugees

Title:  Hearts of Freedom - Stories of Southeast Asian Refugees
By:  Peter Duschinsky, Colleen Lundy, Michael J. Molloy, Allan Moscovitch, Stephanie Phetsamay Stobbe
Forward by:  Rt. Hon. Joe Clark (former Prime Minister of Canada)
Publisher, Year:  McGill-Queens University Press, 2025
Price:  CAD$35

Written from the Canadian perspective, the release of this book is serendipitously perfect as this year, 2025, marks the 50th anniversary of when Canada and many other countries began letting in Lao immigrants following the end of the Vietnam War.

For Canada and Southeast Asia's refugees, those poignant years were 1975-1980.  And while there are some Lao immigrants who arrived before and after that time period, those initial 5 years were instrumental in shaping immigration laws and the ethnic tapestry of the country.

This book seeks to provide the reader with both historical context, as well as, oral histories as provided by interviewees during this time period.  It's a retrospective look at their experiences, both highs and lows.  The book is also a companion to the website where video recordings with interviewees have been shared.

Furthermore, the book reminds us of the high level of engagement by Canada's government of the day (initially with Prime Minister Trudeau's government and continued with Prime Minister Clark).  What many people might not know or remember is that the UN High Commission for Refugees awarded the "people of Canada" the Nansen Refugee Award in 1986 in recognition of Canada's contribution and also because of the highly successful sponsorship program that included both government and private sponsors.

Canada was one of the first countries to agree to let in Southeast Asian immigrants during that time.  This decision helped lead the way for other countries to do the same.  Canada eventually accepted 200,000 Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Lao refugees.  At the time, this intake was the highest per capita compared to other countries.  Approximately, 10,000 were Lao. 

It can sometimes be a challenge to find material on the Lao experience within the Canadian context.  This book certainly helps to fill that void.

Of course, I'm a bit biased in that I would have hoped that the chapters on the Lao perspective were more extensive and varied.  But nevertheless, overall this publication is a wonderful read.

The team that worked on this should be congratulated (in fact there is a chapter on the project team as a whole).  The challenges of doing interviews across the country, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, would have made their work more difficult though they succeeded.

When I read through this book, I couldn't help but think what a gift to future generations who will one day ask "why or how did my family end up coming to Canada?".

Website

• HeartsofFreedom.org

Table of Contents

• Forward - p.ix
• Preface and Methodology - p.xiii
• Acknowledgements - p.xix
• The Hearts of Freedom Project - p.xxiii
• Maps follow page - p.xxix
• Introduction - p.3
• Timeline - p.15

Part 1 - Southeast Asia:  Wars, Oppression, and Refugees

• The Southeast Asian Refugee Movement: Its Root Causes and History - p.23

Part 2 - Vietnamese War Refugees

• Escaping Vietnam:  The War Refugees of 1975 - p.39
• The Vietnamese War Refugees' Lives in Canada - p.50
• The War Refugees:  Three Stories - p.59

Part 3 - Vietnamese Boat People

• The Boat People: Escape from Vietnam - p.79
• Boat People Escapes:  Four Stories - p.99
• Resettling the Boat People in Canada - p.111
• Boat People's Lives in Canada: Seven Stories - p.130

Part 4 - Cambodian Refugees

• Surviving War and Genocide, Escaping from Cambodia - p.169
• Cambodian Resettlement in Canada: Perseverance, Courage, and Hope - p.193
• Against the Odds: Three Cambodian Refugee Stories of Survival - p.202

Part 5 - Laotian Refugees

• Laos: The Secret War, Escape, and Refugee Camps - p.219
• Resettlement of Laotian Refugees in Canada: Struggles and Successes - p.236
• Constantly Adapting: Stories of Three Laotian Refugees - p.248

Conclusions and Reflections - p.267

Appendices

• Statistical Analysis of the Refugee Movement from Vietnam, and Laos to Canada, 1975-97 - p.285
• Statistical Analysis of the Hearts of Freedom Project Interviews - p.296
• Canadian Government and Civil Society Interviews - p.299
• Hearts of Freedom Project Management and Teams - p.304

References - p.309

Contributors - p.321

Index - p.325

Additional reading:

There is a "predecessor" book to the one featured above.  If you're interested to learn more about the Canadian government's involvement with Southeast Asian refugees, be sure to check out:

Title:  Running on Empty - Canada and the Indochinese Refugees, 1975-1980

By:  Michael J. Molloy, Peter Dschinsky, Kurt F. Jensen, and Robert J. Shalka

Publisher, Year:  McGill-Queens University Press, 2017