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Nation's 'Little Saigons' Hold Thriving, Informal Economies
In Vietnamese enclaves across the country, discounts on everything
from car repair to health care are about who you know and where you come
from. Vietnamese, like many immigrant groups, create extensive networks
of services with considerable discounts for their own.
By Andrew Lam, New America Media
 SAN
JOSE, Calif. - Apr 12, 2006 - For those who live in the various Little
Saigons scattered across the United States, there's a longstanding open
secret. You save money if you're part of the community, and you're
likely to be provided with a social safety net as well.
Since the Vietnam War ended, more than 1.2 million Vietnamese now make
their homes in America. The three largest pockets of Vietnamese are in
Santa Clara and Orange counties in California, and in Houston, Texas.
In these areas and in others such as Sacramento, New Orleans, Orlando,
Las Vegas and San Diego, an infrastructure has been built to cater to
the community. From Vietnamese-language newspapers to legal advice, from
groceries to funeral services, from public transportation to medical
practices, a new immigrant from Vietnam need not speak much English to
get almost all of his or her needs met.
Take the bus system, for example. In Vietnamese newspapers, you'll find
bus companies that advertise direct routes that extend the length of
California at prices cheaper than Greyhound. At one point, three bus
companies vied for Vietnamese-American customers traveling from San
Francisco to San Jose to Orange County. On the buses, passengers are fed
a Vietnamese sandwich and soft drinks for lunch, while a television
showing Vietnamese singers blares overhead. For those without cell
phones, the driver will call their relatives to pick them up when they
reach their destination. The buses are one of many bloodlines connecting
the various Vietnamese communities in California.
Being Vietnamese helps save money when it comes to remodeling your home
as well. Mrs. Chi Le, not her real name, told me that her San Jose home
was remodeled by a Vietnamese contractor who used Hispanic laborers.
"The kitchen cost $7,000 to remodel. The white contractor asked for
$16,000 and the Chinese one asked for $11,000." She said she was
satisfied with the work, and especially because the manager spoke
Vietnamese. She signed no contract and doubted that the contractor had
an operating license. What if they didn't do a good job? I asked. "It's
word of mouth. If he's bad and not reliable, I call a few people and his
business in the community is over." When Mrs. Le put her house up for
sale, her agent also agreed to take 1 percent off his sales fee because,
well, she's Vietnamese.
Though I do not live within a Vietnamese community, as someone who
speaks fluent Vietnamese, I too can benefit. Recently, I needed to have
a mechanic look at my car, which was making a rattling noise. I went to
a Vietnamese-owned garage in San Jose where my parents live. The
mechanic, who knew my father, decided to skip the diagnostic test
charge. He also replaced the broken part with a used one, saving me more
money. "Say hello to your father," he said when I came to pick up my
car.
"It's a who-you-know economy," observes Chanh Pham, who organizes
Vietnamese fashion shows and San Francisco Little Saigon's annual beauty
contest. He says that community-owned services are crucial to his
success. "Vietnamese services are more convenient and a lot cheaper. I
use a Vietnamese printing press in Orange County for my calendars and
posters because it's good and cheap, then I get them delivered to San
Francisco by using the Vietnamese bus service. It's about 15 times
cheaper than Fed Ex."
Competition also helps drives down prices, Pham says. "Sometimes we
underestimate the power of small businesses that thrive due to cheap
labor and high volumes." Take Lee's sandwiches, he says. Its baguette
sandwiches are sold for less than $3, and while the profit margins maybe
low, the sheer volumes have made its owner, Chieu Le, very rich. Le, who
started out with a catering truck, has parlayed his business into a
multi-million dollar chain. He has 22 stores in California, Arizona and
Texas and employs 500.
Health care, too, is available for those in the know. Vietnamese without
Medicare or health insurance can still find medical assistance, for a
nominal fee. Take the case of Mr. Thien Nguyen. He's been unemployed for
some time, but goes to a Vietnamese American doctor who charges $25 a
visit. He gets his medicine for free as the doctor gives him promotional
pharmaceutical drugs. "It's not the best health care in the world, but
it ties me over 'til I can find a job and get back on my feet," he says.
"If I don't belong to a community, I don't think that kind of service is
available to me."
At no other time was this more true than when Vietnamese all over the
country responded overwhelmingly to help displaced Vietnamese from
Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. Millions of dollars were raised for
all Katrina victims, but Vietnamese-American displaced were given
special attention.
When displaced New Orleans resident Danny Nguyen and his family drove to
Houston he did not listen to the local public radio station. Instead, he
turned his dial to Saigon Radio KREH 900-AM in Houston. Nguyen and his
family were directed by the broadcaster to go to the Hong Kong City mall
instead of the Astrodome. At the mall they were greeted by
Vietnamese-American volunteers and various Vietnamese religious groups,
who took them in.
"Even in death, Vietnamese take care of each other," my mother adds. She
and my father belong to an association in which members' funerals and
cemetery plots will be paid for. "It was very different for us when we
first arrived in the United States 30 years ago, because there was no
Little Saigon. But now if you just arrive and don't speak English, you
just have to pick up the Vietnamese yellow pages to get all the help you
need."
Other Readings of Interest
Andrew Lam is a New America Media editor and the author of
"Perfume Dreams: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora." (Heyday Books,
2005). |
