This collection contains correspondence, audiovisual materials, publications of organizations, artifacts, artwork, and other documents related to Southeast Asian refugees. Materials from the refugee camps convey the struggles and issues faced by the refugees. Organizational materials focus on anti-Communist activities and the resettlement of refugees in the United States. All of the correspondence from refugee camps in Hong Kong, most of the audiovisual materials, and many of the publications are in Vietnamese.

Paul Tran is a Vietnamese-American community activist who has worked broadly with Vietnamese refugees. He was born Loc Hoang Tran in Vietnam and came to the United States in 1975, settling in Lexington, Kentucky. In 1977 he moved to Orange County, California, where he attended Santa Ana College and the University of California, Irvine. While in college he began working at Viet Nam Hai Ngoai magazine, where he adopted the pseudonym Tuong Thang. He graduated from UC Irvine in 1982 and a few years later purchased Viet Nam Hai Ngoa i magazine, where he remained editor-in-chief until 1996. In 1989 he participated in the International Conference on Indochinese Refugees, Geneva and traveled to Hong Kong eleven times between 1989-1995 to work with asylum seekers. He was elected vice-president of the Vietnamese Community in Southern California in 1992 and 1994. Tran founded the Tap Hop Cac Luc Luong Dan Chu and Nahn Quyen political organization in 1992, as well as the Voice of Vietnamese Radio program in Orange County, California.

24.6 Linear Feet (29 boxes and 17 oversize folders) and 45 digitized images

Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Head of Special Collections and University Archives.

Collection open for research.