The Vietnamese in Thailand: A History of Work, Struggle and Acceptance

Although Vietnamese have been migrating to Thailand for many centuries, the situation which they faced in terms of living and working changed significantly in 1945. This resulted from the attempt by the French to recolonise the Indochina region, which led to many Vietnamese seeking to flee the fighting and oppression by moving to Thailand. The experiences of this generation of people and their activities in the labour market are the main focus of this paper. It is shown that this generation of Yuon Op Pha Yop represents a unique set of people in Thailand. Their experiences are set against the labour market experiences of other sets of Vietnamese migrants in Thailand.