Politics & Governance / International Politics / Colonialism & Decolonization

How Empires Weaponized Refugees to Steal Indigenous Land

Archipelago of Resettlement: Vietnamese Refugee Settlers and Decolonization across Guam and Israel-Palestine

Evyn Le Espiritu Gandhi

What happens when escaping a war zone turns you into an unwitting colonial settler? It sounds completely counterintuitive. Refugees are victims fleeing terror and devastation. How could they possibly be part of an occupation? Slide 1: The Humanitarian Trap Governments love celebrating refugee rescues. They parade gratitude on camera. But look beneath the surface. Humanitarian missions often mask ongoing military theft. Slide 2: Guam, 1975 Operation New Life relocated over 110,000 Vietnamese refugees to Guam almost overnight. The US military framed itself as the global savior after the catastrophic defeat in Vietnam. The catch? The camps sat on ancestral land seized directly from indigenous Chamorros. Military rescue legitimized permanent military occupation. Slide 3: Israel, 1977 Prime Minister Menachem Begin granted citizenship to hundreds of Vietnamese boat people. Global headlines cheered Israel’s compassion. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of native Palestinians remained violently barred from returning to their own homes. Acceptance of one displaced group served as moral cover to erase another. Slide 4: The Refugee Settler Condition Refugees seeking safety find themselves trapped inside an imperial machine. To gain citizenship, they are integrated into lands stolen from native peoples. Survival becomes weaponized against indigenous liberation. About the Book and Author: This breakdown is based on Archipelago of Resettlement: Vietnamese Refugee Settlers and Decolonization across Guam and Israel-Palestine, an acclaimed study by Evyn Le Espiritu Gandhi. Dr. Gandhi is a professor of Asian American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, specializing in trans-indigenous solidarity, critical refugee studies, and imperial histories. Her groundbreaking book uncovers how imperial powers link far-flung territories and challenges us to imagine a decolonial future rooted in collective justice rather than land dispossession.