VIETNAMESE COMMUNITY IN REGINA
Before the fall of Sai-Gon on April 30,1975, there were about 1,200 Vietnamese in Canada. Most were students.
When Saigon fell, most remained in Canada. They were soon joined by more than 6,500 Vietnamese refugees who fled South Viet-Nam on April 30, 1975.
In order to control Vietnamese and Vietnamese-ethnic-Chinese in the South and to get revenge and/or to punish the Vietnamese who worked for the Republic of Viet-Nam in the war or were in the armed forces of the Republic of Viet-Nam, the Socialist Republic of Viet-Nam created the following after taking over Sai-Gon:
- "Re-education camps"
- "Nationalization of privately-owned businesses."
- "New economic areas"
For these reasons, from 1978 to 1984, there were over one million Vietnamese refugees who escaped from Viet-Nam by any means, especially by boat. They are called "boat people".
In 1978, Canada focused on Vietnamese refugees.
There were two large influxes of Vietnamese refugees who arrived to Canada in 1979-1980 and 1984-1985.
Of the 1996 Census, there were 136,810 people born in Viet-Nam living in Canada.
The majority of Vietnamese who are living in Canada, are now Canadian citizens.
The first Vietnamese refugee groups who arrived in Regina in February 1979 and the latest arrivals came in September 1994.
Of the 1996 Census,there were 1,030 Vietnamese in Regina and 795 Vietnamese in Saskatoon.
Vietnamese refugees arrived in Regina, received the assistance from their relatives, churches or the Government. Most received the assistance from the Government; they are called government-assisted-refugees.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada in Regina and the Regina Open Door Society Inc. play major roles in assisting Vietnamese refugees to resettle and to adjust to their new life in Regina.
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