| ID | 186639 |
| Title Proper | Cold War Construction of the Amerasian, 1950–1982 |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Doolan, Yuri |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | On November 17, 1981 John Keller was brought before the Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and International Law to provide the first testimony in support of H.R. 808—a new bill that would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to extend preferential immigration rights to individuals in Asia illegitimately fathered by U.S. citizens. “I was born in Korea,” he began.1 “From pictures I could tell my father was an older man, dressed in a U.S. Army uniform.”2 Keller would go on to describe his abandonment at the age of four, his experiences of abuse in a South Korean orphanage, his recruitment into a gang of juvenile delinquents, and his dramatic escape to the streets of Itaewon. There, he lived inside a wooden box and begged Americans stationed nearby for money, clothes, and food until one day he was taken in by U.S. missionaries. After his rehabilitation at St. Vincent’s Home for Amerasians, where he learned English, converted to Christianity, and was given a formal education, Keller was adopted by an American family in Georgia and immigrated to the United States. “My life is really happy now,” he testified, “but I am here today to tell my own story because I don’t want my brothers and sisters who I had to leave behind to be forgotten and to live with people always pointing their fingers and calling them names. Please, please help us.” |
| `In' analytical Note | Diplomatic History Vol. 46, No.4; Sep 2022: p.782–807 |
| Journal Source | Diplomatic History Vol: 46 No 4 |
| Key Words | Cold War Construction of the Amerasian ; 1950–1982 |