By the end of the 19th century, France had control of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia; thus creating French Indochina. France called the region Indochina because the countries had been influenced by the two great nations of India and China. Geographically, Indochina is located on a peninsula in the South China Sea between China and India.

The Boat Peoples of Indochina is a testimony to the power of imagery and the role of photography in how we see and think about war. While the name Kim Phuc is unfamiliar, the photograph of the girl who was flayed by napalm in the Vietnam War has seared itself into the consciousness of millions. It was these images of thousands in refugee camps and of survivors being plucked from the South China Sea that convinced governments around the world to accommodate the mass movements of Indochinese refugees. In this regard, Canada has set a world standard in its humanitarian acceptance of refugees.

The narratives of survivors and refugees found in the segments: Indochina Wars, Exodus and Resettlement were taken from the files and archives of the Cambodian Laotian and Vietnamese Associations. These stories were given in the context of survivors seeking help for mental depression, tracking down family members interred in refugee camps and family reunification and sponsorship of them to Canada. More than twenty years later, many still bear the shame of rape, losing their homes, and the guilt of having survived while loved ones didn't. In preserving the privacy of these individuals, we have agreed to withhold their geographic information or to simply use their initials.

This Digital Collection was produced under contract by the Sumner Group,
for the Canada's Digital Collections Program, Industry Canada.