Envisioning Vietnamese Migrants in Germany: Ethnic Stigma, Immigrant Origin Narratives and Partial Masking

Ethnic stigma is the worst-case scenario for a migrant group, but migrants also cope with origin narratives and partial masking--two novel concepts introduced in this book. Parallel to the national narratives of natives, immigrant origin narratives by Vietnamese in Germany invoke and retrench the histories of East and West Germany and North and South Vietnam. By partially masking their identity as Chinese or Asian, Vietnamese entrepreneurs circumvent ethnic stigma and use their physiognomy to market exotic goods.

Pipo Bui is researcher at Stanford University.