Photography/Media
The war in Vietnam brought photographs of horrifying atrocities into the homes of Americans. These photographs of bombs and death swayed public sympathies against the Vietnam war and in extension the Vietnamese refugees. The Vietnam war, known as the war America watched from their living room, was the first and last war in which the American military gave freedom of access to photographers and journalists. The photos that came back showed war and destruction, horrifying many Americans to the point of protest. The frightening and hopeless pictures turned public opinion against the war in Vietnam and by extension the refugees seeking asylum. Some of the most famous are shown here.
The photographs shown here were put in magazines, news reels, and TVs that broadcast into the homes of millions of Americans who had never seen war before and certainly not on the new, improved warfare that used chemical agents and bombs as everyday necessities. The revelations of the biological warfare that the US troops were using and the massacre and cover-up at My Lai served in the ending of the war, to sway public opinion firmly against further involvement in Vietnam. The photos shown below are of protests against the war.
When the war was over, most Americans did not want the reminders of the war to settle in America. In a survey taken in 1976, only 37% of Americans supported Vietnamese settling in America. The government, however, took a different stance and helped the refugees. Their pro-refugee stance in law and in the media helped pave the way to acceptance for the Vietnamese refugees. In the photos below, government refugee camps like the Hawkins Road camp in Australia were the first step for refugees to begin their journey to America.