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Amerasian is a term coined by author Pearl S. Buck for a person fathered by U.S. servicemen. Approximately 10,000 Amerasians were left behind after the Vietnam War. Thousands more were born to 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.
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.
Because of centuries-old adherence most Asian cultures placed on racial purity, the lives 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. Fortunately, 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 State 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.
Amerasian is a term that applies to anyone who is of both American and Asian decent.
For more information about Amerasians please go to Amerasian World (http://www.amerasianworld.com)
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