Vietnamese people in the Czech Republic

Vietnamese in the Czech Republic

Total population
61,012–80,000 0.6-0.8% of the Czech population
Regions with significant populations
Prague, Cheb, Varnsdorf
Languages
Vietnamese, Czech
Religion
Mahayana Buddhism
Related ethnic groups
Vietnamese people

Vietnamese people in the Czech Republic, including residents and citizens, form the largest immigrant community in the country (and 3rd largest ethnic minority at all, after Slovaks and Romanies), numbering more than 60,000 people.

According to the 2001 census, there were 17,462 ethnic Vietnamese in the Czech Republic. The Vietnamese population has grown very rapidly since then, with the Czech Statistics Office estimating that there were 61,012 Vietnamese residing in the Czech Republic in October 2009. Nguyen, the most common Vietnamese surname, is now the 9th most common surname in the entire country.

History

Vietnamese immigrants began settling in the Czech Republic during the Communist period, when they were invited as guest workers by the Czechoslovak government. Migration was encouraged by the Vietnamese authorities, with the intention that the migrants would return with skills and training.

Following the collapse of communism in Czechoslovakia, many Vietnamese decided to remain in the country rather than return home. This first generation of immigrants has traditionally made a living as vendors in street markets or stalls. In recent years, however, a significant number have moved towards establishing their own businesses and integrating more broadly into society, similar to the experience of other overseas Vietnamese in Western countries. However, the small business sector remains the key economic domain of first-generation Vietnamese people in the Czech Republic.

Vietnamese immigration continued in the 1990s and 2000s (decade), with Vietnam being one of the countries targeted by the Czech Republic's skilled migration programme.

Geography

The majority of Vietnamese live in Prague as well as in Karlovy Vary Region, particularly the town of Cheb. Also northernmost part of Bohemia – around the town Varnsdorf – has significant Vietnamese population.

Status

In the Czech Republic, national minorities which number over 20,000 are afforded a number of rights, including government funding for the protection of their language and culture. In recent years, the Vietnamese community has sought recognition as a national minority, as its numbers exceed 20,000. In 2004, however, the Government Council for National Minorities ruled that Vietnamese do not constitute a "national minority", with this term applying only to indigenous minorities who have inhabited the Czech Republic for a long period of time.

In Prague, however, which has the largest community of Vietnamese, there is a Vietnamese representative on the city's National Minority Council, and Vietnamese are included in Prague's policy for national minorities.

Educational performance

Whereas first-generation Vietnamese immigrants are perceived mainly as street- and market vendors, second-generation Vietnamese in the Czech Republic have a reputation for high levels of educational attainment, outperforming their Czech classmates and winning competitions of Czech language.

Criminal activities

In some regions, such as the Northern Bohemia, the Vietnamese people are leading the statistics of crimes committed by foreigners, being second only to Romanies from Slovakia.

Vietnamese criminal gangs in the Czech Republic usually have a three level structure. Kingpin is usually a well established man, who came to the country as a student in 1980s. The second level consists of his close friends from studies or family members, while the third level comprises "soldiers", who are often in the country illegally and are fully dependent on the criminal organization.

Criminal activities of Vietnamese gangs in the country consist mainly of tax evasion, infringement of intellectual property rights, smuggling and frauds, but include also racketeering, robbery and murders.

During the 2000s Vietnamese people dominated the production and sale of illegal drugs in many regions of the Czech Republic. In 2011 alone, the police arrested almost two hundred criminals of Vietnamese origin on drug related charges. Unlike their local competition, mostly of Balcan or Romani origin, the Vietnamese drug lords cooperate with each other, which makes their criminal activities that much harder to uncover. Also, when dealing with wire tapping, the police has to rely on translators, some of whom were uncovered as giving information to the Vietnamese drug lords. Vietnamese gangs use a variety of devices to protect the drug production facilities, including improvised explosive devices, venetian blinds connected to electricity or trapdoors with bayonets.

See also

• Mongolians in the Czech Republic

External links

• (Czech) Klub Hanoi - association promoting Vietnamese-Czech relations
• A glimpse at Prague's secretive Vietnamese community
• 2004 article on Prague's Vietnamese community