Effects and significance of the Second Indochina War on New Zealand society
The Second Indochina War produced a range of significant long and short term consequences in not only Vietnam, but in countries internationally, including New Zealand. The New Zealand governments decision to be involved in the ANZUS and SEATO alliances that lead to their involvement in the Second Indochina War was controversial, and was impactful on not only the lives of the NZ soldiers, but also to the wider New Zealand society.
The mistreatment of NZ VeteransThe 3,400 New Zealand soldiers that served in Vietnam throughout the Second Indochina War suffered a range of mental and physical consequences as a result of their efforts in Vietnam however the lack of recognition that the New Zealand government gave the Veterans following their return from Vietnam resulted in the neglect of the Veteran’s post-war needs (physically and mentally), as well as alienation of the Veterans. As former RSA President Air Vice Marshal Robin Klitscher explained, "They landed at Whenuapai in the middle of the night and were told to put on civilian clothes, go home and not tell anyone where they'd been." Many of the Veteran’s had suffered exposure to the chemical gas ‘Agent Orange’ and suffered severe health issues that also affected their children and in some cases led to increased death rates. The Veterans also suffered from other health issues that are common amongst soldiers such as PTSD and were not offered treatment due to the New Zealand government's lack of support. Prime Ministers have since acknowledged this issue as Helen Clark states on the topic of issuing a formal apology to all New Zealand Vietnam War Veterans,"The apology will recognise that Vietnam veterans were not treated fairly on their return to New Zealand after the war.”
New Zealand's formal apologyOn the 28th of May, 2008 the Crown issued a formal apology to the New Zealand Vietnam veterans for the government's failure to address their concerns and give the proper recognition upon their return home which was delivered by former Prime Minister Helen Clark. In accordance of the planned apology, Ex-Vietnam Services Association spokesman Chris Mullane stated, "There were 35 or more years of denial that any of the health problems and so on had anything to do with being sprayed by Agent Orange. There's a number of layers of grievance, things that need to be remedied in this apology.” The issues that arose as a result of the government's lack of actions had negative repercussions on the lives of the veterans and their families which was recognised by the Crown in the formal apology, “The Crown places on record recognition of the service of those personnel; and acknowledges the many consequences of that service, including the physical and mental health effects. The failure of successive governments and their agencies to acknowledge the exposure of veterans to dioxin contaminated herbicides and other chemicals is itself acknowledged, as is the way in which that failure exacerbated the suffering of veterans and families.”
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RefugeesAs the North Vietnamese gained control of Vietnam, the country became an independent communist state despite the fact that thousands of Vietnamese did not want this change in government due to alternative beliefs or due to the fact that they supported the South Vietnamese government in the war efforts against the North. This led to many Vietnamese fleeing the country, commonly due to a fear of communism or due to a fear of being held as a prisoner of war or even being executed. The Vietnamese that fled the country began to become known as ‘boat people’, and were accepted in a range of foreign countries, including New Zealand. In 1977, the process of Vietnamese migration to New Zealand began as the government accepted 412 refugees. 1500 refugees were also accepted into New Zealand throughout the following years of 1979 - 1980, which started the fruition of the effects of the Vietnamese culture in New Zealand. Upon arrival, the ‘boat people’ typically were employed by factories, small businesses or created their own small business which by the early 2000’s had began to influence the New Zealand community more strongly with a stronger presence of Vietnamese restaurants and shops that exposed New Zealand’s society to the ways and traditions of Vietnamese culture. New Zealand also began to experience exposure to the Vietnamese people’s most popular religion of Buddhism, and in 1988 the Auckland Vietnamese Community was formed and created place of worship that continued to grow. The original Vietnamese refugees have been in New Zealand for over 30 years, and have continued to deliver positive contributions to our society and in 2013 it was estimated that the Vietnamese population has grown to total of around 6,600 people.
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