FROM IRAC TO SEARAC
The Story of an Evolving Ethnic Organization

Established in 1979 in the aftermath of the "Killing Fields" and amidst the crisis of the "boat people," the Indochina Refugee Action Center (IRAC) evolved through different stages of development, from a group of concerned Americans dealing with a critical refugee situation to a national ethnic Indochinese advocacy organization with long-term goals for community empowerment. To embody the spirit of its new mission, the organization’s name was changed in 1983 to Indochina Resource Action Center, preserving the acronym IRAC. In 1992, because of the colonial overtones implied by the term (French) Indochina, the name IRAC was changed to Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC).

IRAC/SEARAC has repeatedly redefined its mission and developed new programs to keep abreast of the changing needs of a diverse, quickly growing, rapidly changing community. Through the years, our constituents have changed from refugees to permanent residents to citizens, and have moved from reliance upon public assistance to economic self-reliance. For a number of years, SEARAC expanded its programs on both the domestic and international scenes. SEARAC has earned national and international recognition for its information-gathering and in-depth research, for its promotion of a public policy agenda on behalf of Southeast Asians in the US, for active participation in just and humane solutions to Southeast Asian refugee situations, and for facilitating the formation of three major national ethnic network organizations in the US.

SEARAC’s vision is to raise the voice of Southeast Asian Americans, and to thereby increase their participation in the shaping of domestic policy. SEARAC is expanding its advocacy mandate to cover legislation and policies at federal and state levels, such as welfare reform and naturalization, that could have harmful effects on Southeast Asian Americans. In addition, SEARAC monitors and disseminates information on programs, policies and legislation of interest and concern to Southeast Asian Americans.

Phase 1: Emergency Response to the Refugee Flow (1979-1981)

When the plight of the 1979 "boat people" caught public attention, many in government and private voluntary agencies began to consider what the United States could do about the several hundred thousand refugees languishing in first asylum camps. At first there was little consensus, but when President Jimmy Carter made the decision to resettle 14,000 refugees per month, thoughts began to focus on strengthening the then ad hoc domestic resettlement system to handle a projected influx of 168,000 Indochinese refugees over the coming year.

The Indochina Refugee Action Center (IRAC) was born in July of 1979. In the words of Rob Stein, the first executive director of the organization, "IRAC was little more than a nucleus of consultants from diverse backgrounds who created the organization to address two critical issues: the famine in Cambodia and capacity building within the domestic resettlement system."

By mid-December of 1979, IRAC’s Cambodia Crisis Center had been set up as the staff arm of the National Cambodia Crisis Committee to launch a national public information and fundraising campaign. This effort, under the chairmanship of Mrs. Rosalyn Carter, assisted nearly 20 international agencies in raising more than $90 million in support of relief operations for the Cambodian people.

Meanwhile, IRAC formed a "working group" which included representatives from voluntary agencies, federal, state and local government, and other private sector organizations. Major achievements by IRAC in this initial phase included the establishment of a data collection and analysis system within the Office of Refugee Resettlement and of the Orientation Resource Center at the Center for Applied Linguistics, the publication of the Refugee Resettlement Resource Manual detailing resources available for refugee resettlement, and the convening of a series of practitioner workshops and regional consultations to ascertain priority needs and facilitate dialogue among the key actors in the emerging resettlement field.

Most notable was IRAC’s Indochinese Involvement Initiative, which focused on emerging community leadership and refugee self-help organizations. These self-help organizations soon came to be known as "mutual assistance associations" (or MAAs), a phase coined by IRAC. In December of 1979, IRAC convened 25 expert Indochinese refugees at a national refugee policy and program planning consultation in Santa Ana, California, and subsequently surveyed sixty Indochinese MAAs across the country. These meetings resulted in the production of the first comprehensive report on these organizations. The report concluded: "An investment in the future of self-help is in the finest tradition of this country’s historic response to all refugee and immigrant groups. It is only within a refugee’s own ethnic community that lasting, long-range services can lead to successful socio-cultural transition and economic self-sufficiency within the pluralistic American society. Therefore, it is essential — as well as cost effective — that the potential contribution and resettlement role of the MAAs be nurtured and developed."

Subsequently, ORR initiated its support for Indochinese MAAs with a series of MAA incentive grants. The first of these funding initiatives involved the direct granting of $1.2 million to 25 MAAs, and a grant of $750,000 to the Cambodian Association of America for the Khmer Guided Placement Project. These grants were accompanied by a policy statement: "States should make every effort to engage in purchase-of-service contracts with refugee self-help groups, often known as Mutual Assistance Associations, in the provision of services to refugees and as advisors on program planning and policy matters. The goal of such State efforts should be to assist these community-based, service-oriented refugee organizations in attaining the strength and maturity to assume an ever greater role in serving and supporting their ethnic communities." (Phillip Hawkes, ORR Director)

Phase 2:Transition to an Indochinese-Managed Organization (1982-1986)

At the beginning of this phase, IRAC’s Board and staff were restructured to reflect the organization’s focus on ethnic community development. A new Board consisting of majority Indochinese representation was formed and Le Xuan Khoa was selected to be IRAC’s first "ethnic" chief executive. IRAC’s new name, with Refugee replaced by Resource, reflected a growing sense of responsibility from within the Indochinese communities — a movement away from dependence on the government and towards the establishment of a resource center emanating from the Indochinese-American communities.

In the context of longer term development within the overall Indochinese community, the Board articulated a twofold mission: 1) To provide a forum in which the needs and interests of Indochinese living in the United States can be voiced, enhanced and promoted; and 2) To serve as a resource center which promotes community development and economic advancement among Indochinese-Americans.

IRAC’s activities concentrated primarily in the area of refugee community development through direct MAA training and technical assistance programs and advocacy for MAA funding. IRAC developed a network of refugee organizations across the country and served as the clearinghouse for federal institutions that wished to interact with Indochinese refugee communities.

The continuing refugee flow and the crisis of asylum in Southeast Asia again attracted IRAC’s attention and triggered another advocacy effort on behalf of refugees in first asylum camps. This renewed effort then created a parallel track that deeply committed IRAC to refugee protection and assistance activities and paved the way for the next phase of development in which IRAC devoted much time and energy to working with the international community in finding just and humane solutions to the Indochinese refugee problem.

Besides the MAA capacity building/leadership development program, major achievements during this transitional phase included the convening of a national Highland Lao meeting which eventually resulted in a special federal program to help stabilize Highland Lao communities and inspired IRAC’s Hmong/Highlander Development Fund; the establishment (in partnership with the US Committee for Refugees) of the Coalition for the Protection of Vietnamese Boat Refugees, which was instrumental in educating the public and getting Congressional approval for $5 million for an anti-piracy program in Thailand; and the creation of the Working Group on Refugee Admissions and Protection, the precursor to InterAction’s subcommittee of the same name. Among the Working Group’s many achievements was the establishment of a Khmer Family Reunification Program, whereby close relatives in Thai border camps could come to the US as immigrants.

As a result of IRAC’s advocacy efforts, the Refugee Assistance Extension Act of 1985 included recognition of MAAs and their role in refugee resettlement. In fact, one new criterion to be used in the process of awarding Reception and Placement ("R & P") grants was "cooperation with refugee mutual assistance associations." The legislation also required that the US Coordinator for Refugees provide for a study on the advisability and feasibility of "permitting refugee Mutual Assistance Associations to participate... and to apply for...[R & P] grants and contracts."

IRAC organized the first national Indochinese Community Leadership Convention in June 1986, with the participation of over 300 Indochinese-Americans and community advocates from 37 states. Entitled "Confronting New Realities," the Convention addressed both domestic and international refugee policies and programs and formulated appropriate action plans for specific issues.

Phase 3: Active Participation in "Durable Solutions" to the Indochinese Refugee Problem (1987-1997)

Sensing the steadily worsening situation of refugees in the Southeast Asian camps, the Board authorized IRAC’s first fact-finding delegation to visit Southeast Asia in February of 1987. The team comprised five members: IRAC President Le Xuan Khoa, IRAC Board Member Tony Vang, IRAC Associate and SEAMAAC (Southeast Asian Mutual Assistance Association Coalition) President Sam Yang, and two volunteers: mental health physician Dr. Tran Minh Tung, and community specialist Nguyen Van Hien. Upon return, the delegation held a press conference on Capitol Hill sponsored by Senators Mark Hatfield and Claiborne Pell. Their ten recommendations, including "an international conference to deal with the new refugee crisis in Southeast Asia," were communicated to the Administration and the international community. Highlighting the impact of these refugee voices, Washington Post senior staff writer Don Oberdorfer quoted Le Xuan Khoa: "For many years, we have been considered a problem. Now we want to be part of the solution."

This fact-finding trip triggered a series of advocacy activities, the most significant of which were IRAC’s international conference on the Crisis of First Asylum (June 1988), followed by its involvement in the preparatory work for the Comprehensive Plan of Action (CPA) which was adopted at the International Conference on Indochinese Refugees in Geneva a year later. Sergio Vieira de Mello, then Director of UNHCR’s Bureau for Asia and Oceania and CPA Steering Committee Chairman, observed: "A great deal of study and reflection have obviously gone into the preparation of this [IRAC’s] most constructive and helpful paper which focuses on many of the key areas of particular concern to UNHCR in our efforts to ensure that adoption and implementation of the Comprehensive Plan of Action take full account of the rights of asylum-seekers and refugees."

IRAC attended the 1989 Geneva Conference both as an independent refugee organization (IRAC President Le Xuan Khoa) and as advisor to the US delegation (Board Member Tony Vang). The Cambodian refugee situation was addressed separately by the international community in the larger context of regional security and a political solution to the internal conflict in Cambodia. IRAC voiced its serious concern over the safety of some 350,000 refugees/displaced persons in the border camps and strongly advocated for the voice of the refugees and the role of Cambodian Americans in the resolution of the Cambodian crisis as well as the eventual reconstruction of their country.

In August 1989, IRAC’s effort on behalf of Vietnamese political prisoners (together with the Association of Families of Political Prisoners and a religious group headed by the Reverend Ly Cong Thuan) was publicly recognized by US negotiator Robert L. Funseth after signing the agreement with Vietnam on the release of all political prisoners and their eventual US resettlement: "IRAC’s efforts on behalf of Indochinese refugees over the past year was a contributing factor to the success of the International Conference on Indochinese Refugees held in Geneva this past summer." Subsequently, IRAC/SEARAC focused on two CPA implementation problems: refugee status determination (screening) and repatriation of screened-out people. As a result of persistent efforts by SEARAC and other members of InterAction’s CPA Task Force, in February of 1996 the US and Vietnam reached agreement on a special program called Resettlement Opportunity for Vietnamese Returnees (ROVR), which allows genuine refugees who have been unfairly screened-out by first asylum countries to be reviewed by US officials for possible resettlement. As of mid October of 1998, 14,468 ROVR applicants had been re-interviewed and 12,646 (87%) approved for U.S. resettlement.

On the domestic side, SEARAC continued to provide leadership training to MAAs and facilitated the formation of Hmong National Development, Inc., and the National Alliance of Vietnamese American Service Agencies. SEARAC worked closely with the National Immigration Forum, InterAction, the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium and other national Asian-Pacific American groups on new US policies affecting all ethnic minorities, especially welfare and immigration reform.

Among the many achievements during this period, three stand out.

• Legislation — Remarking on the passage of the Hatfield-Atkins Indochinese Refugee Assistance and Protection Act of 1987 by a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate, Senator Mark Hatfield said: "The voluntary agencies and advocates such as the Indochina Resource Action Center played a critical role in the consideration and passage of this historic bill. Special credit, of course, goes to the Indochinese-Americans who helped bring this issue to the attention of their Members of Congress. They spoke for refugees in the camps at a critical juncture in the Indochinese Refugee Program."

• First Asylum Crisis Response — SEARAC’s three-pronged initiative included:
  
  1. The convening of an international conference on the "Crisis of First Asylum" (June 1988) which attracted over 300 participants from 32 states and representatives from 15 countries of asylum/resettlement, addressing three major issues: the impact of refugees on countries of first asylum, the preservation of first asylum and protection for refugees, and the search for long term solutions. This international forum laid the groundwork for the subsequent International Conference on Indochinese Refugees in Geneva (ICIR/June 1989).
     
  2. Publication of a comprehensive study entitled In Search of Asylum: Vietnamese Boat People in Hong Kong which included an analysis of Hong Kong’s changing policies and a legal evaluation of/recommendations on screening and repatriation procedures. 3) The production of Toward Humane and Durable Solutions to the Indochinese Refugee Problem, a 25-page document, endorsed by some 200 Indochinese organizations in North America, Europe, and Australia, which was submitted to UNHCR and 12 member countries of the ICIR Coordinating Committee at their final preparatory meeting in Geneva on May 25-26, 1989.

• Leadership Development/Community Empowerment —
  
  1. Working with selected MAAs, SEARAC’s innovative MAA Sparkplug program called forth an MAA leadership team comprising the Executive Director, Board Chair, and a "sparkplug" (a non-Indochinese individual willing to volunteer personal time). The program equipped each MAA team with leadership skills, successful techniques, and practical strategies for use in the ongoing development of effective ethnic service organizations.
     
  2. The Southeast Asian Citizenship Partnership promotes responsible citizenship among Southeast Asians who have made the United States their home. SEARAC’s partners in this program are the three national ethnic networks: Cambodian Network Council (CNC), Hmong National Development (HND), and the National Alliance of Vietnamese-American Service Agencies (NAVASA).

Phase 4: Community Empowerment and Advancement in the U.S. (1998- New Millennium)

With the conclusion of the Southeast Asian refugee program and the retirement of SEARAC President Le Xuan Khoa, the Board decided it was time for SEARAC to refocus its mission onto domestic issues and community empowerment. At its September 1997 retreat, the Board defined SEARAC’s roles as coalition leader, coordinator, facilitator and advocate for all Southeast Asian Americans on issues of common interest. By January 1998, a new Executive Director, KaYing Yang, was recruited. Ms Yang is a young professional who has great familiarity with SEARAC’s advocacy activities and many years of experience in the refugee service community. As proclaimed by KaYing in her lead article in The Bridge (July-August 1998), a new era has begun. Her tone-setting appeal to the community clearly articulates SEARAC’s new mission: "Let’s march into the 21st Century joined by the sense of spirit for community empowerment, economic independence, political activism, intergenerational respect and social consciousness."