Amerasian

Amerasian is a term coined by author Pearl S. Buck, and adopted by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, for a person fathered abroad by U.S. servicemen to women of Asian nationalities. Thousands of children were born to Asian women during World War II and the Korean War, fathered by both U.S. and non-U.S. servicemen, throughout Asia, including the various islands which dot the Pacific. Currently, sveral countries have a minority of Amerasians, including the Philippines, Thailand, and most notably South Korea.

Definitions

Maggie Q is an Amerasian

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), an Amerasian is

Any person who is 18 or older, an emancipated minor, or a U.S. corporation may file this petition for an alien who was born in Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Kampuchea, or Thailand after December 31, 1950, and before October 22, 1982, and was fathered by a U.S. citizen.
:: -from instructions for INS Form 360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant

As noted above, Amerasian is a term used for a child of a U.S. serviceman in Asia. The term is also commonly applied to half Japanese children fathered by a U.S. serviceman in Japan on the island of Okinawa, as well as half-Korean children fathered by veterans of the Korean War, most notably seen on the 1960s soap opera Love is a Many Splendored Thing. This is also applied to children of Filipinos and American rulers during the U.S. colonial period of the Philippines and children of Thais and U.S. soldiers during World War II and Vietnam (the reference to Thailand stems from the U.S. military stationing their military bases during the Vietnam War). Aside from children of American and mainland Chinese parents (mostly born during World War II or in United States), since there are large overseas Chinese minorities in Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia, Amerasian can be a child born to American and ethnic Chinese parents in any country outside China. Children born to mainland U.S. and native Pacific Islander parents in U.S.-controlled Pacific Islands are also sometimes considered Amerasian.

Although the term Amerasian denotes mixed ancestry, it should not be interpreted as a fixed racial term relating to a specific mixture of races (such as mestizo, mulatto, eurasian, blasian, etc.) The racial strain of the American portion of one Amerasian may be different to that of another Amerasian, that is it may be White American, Hispanic American or African American, etc.

Because of centuries-old adherence most Asian cultures placed on racial purity, the lives that Amerasians and their mothers were forced to lead were, until recent years, a terrible and unforgiving one. The mothers' family would disown her for the "shame" she had brought onto them, while the children were completely shut out of the opportunities enjoyed by "pure" children. This was especially true for those whose American ancestry was African American. These barriers have slowly come down, and many children have been able to either rejoin their fathers or settle in their fathers' native country.

This official definition of Amerasian came about as a result of Public Law 97-359, enacted by the 97th Congress of the United States on October 22, 1982. Colloquially, it is sometimes considered synonymous with Asian American to describe any person of Asian and American parentage, regardless of the circumstances.

Famous Amerasians

Amerie is an Amerasian

*Rob Schneider (Filipino-American)
*Lou Diamond Phillips (Filipino-American)
*Lalaine Vergara (Filipino-Spanish-American)
*Foxy Brown (Filipino-American)
*apl.de.ap of the Black Eyed Peas (Filipino-American)
*Tata Young (Thai-American)
*Amerie Rogers (Korean-American)
*Crystal Kay (Korean-American)
*AI (Japanese-Italian-American)
*Jim Parque (Vietnamese-American)
*Maggie Q (Vietnamese-American)
*Daniel Henney (Korean-American)
*Tiger Woods (Thai-Chinese-American)
*Kimora Lee Simmons (Japanese-American)

Fiction

In the M*A*S*H episode "Yessir, That's Our Baby," the staff of the 4077th find an abandoned Amerasian baby and attempted help her after Father Mulcahy warns that she will be mistreated at the orphanage. Although the staff initially decline his advice about leaving her with a reclusive monastic order, their own efforts to solicit aid from various organizations were bluntly rebuffed with frustrating regularity. This included a confrontation with a South Korean representative who pointed out the mortifying fact to the US officers that their own government ignores the issue as well. Eventually, the staff leave the baby with the monks.

The Chuck Norris film Braddock: Missing In Action III (1988) depicted Amerasian children trapped in Vietnam; in the film, Norris is the father to an Amerasian child believing that his Vietnamese wife died during the Fall of Saigon.

The 2004 film The Beautiful Country is about Amerasian boy who leaves his native Vietnam to find his father (played by Nick Nolte).

See also

*Filipino American
*Vietnamese American
*Korean American
*Japanese American

External links

*Amerasian Citizenship Initiative
*Asian-Nation: Vietnamese Amerasians, by C.N. Le, Ph.D.
*Asian-Nation: Multiracial Asian Americans, by C.N. Le, Ph.D.
*AmerasianWorld.com
*Operation Reunite
*Amerasian Foundation
*Vietnamese Adoptee Network
*Adopted Vietnamese International