Book Review: The Gift of Freedom: War, Debt, and Other Refugee Passages

Abstract

Author Mimi Thi Nguyen defines the "gift of freedom" as a form of debt placed on subjects of American wars, a gift that can only be graciously received by adhering to the stipulations of the gift giver. Chapter 3 offers a fascinating analysis of the refugee as the refugee patriot, a necessary figure in the geopolitics of "transnational multiculturalism," which Nguyen describes as "an ensemble of biopolitics, culture wars, and security apparatuses through which the refugee patriot recoups the racial liberalism of U.S. empire" (p. 141). In sum, this engaging first book compels readers to rethink the refugee figure beyond the narrow confines of human rights discourse.

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The Gift of Freedom: War, Debt, and Other Refugee Passages . By Mimi Thi Nguyen . Durham, N.C. : Duke University Press , 2012. xvi, 276 pp. $84.95 (cloth); $23.95 (paper).

Book Reviews--Southeast Asia

What does it mean to declare war in the name of freedom? What are the remainders of war, and how might we reflect on freedom as a function of empire? These are just a couple of questions that may arise from reading The Gift of Freedom, a provocative work that examines the relationship between post-war Vietnamese refugees and their host country, America. Author Mimi Thi Nguyen defines the "gift of freedom" as a form of debt placed on subjects of American wars, a gift that can only be graciously received by adhering to the stipulations of the gift giver. This notion remains central throughout the monograph and serves as the primary argument in unpacking liberal ideologies of progress, humanity, and freedom, and their relation to the refugee figure as a freed subject.

As a cultural studies project, The Gift of Freedom combines film and media analysis and draws from a number of theoretical frameworks, such as critical race theory, postcolonial theory, and poststructural theory. In particular, Derrida's idea of the gift as an "economy of exchange and obligation between giver and recipient" (p. 6) and Foucault's theory of freedom as what he describes as "a relation between the governor and the governed" (p. 6) are integral to the book's framing. The question of what is human is also presented as deeply tied to the gift of freedom, as noted by Nguyen's citation of Orlando Patterson's and Saidiya Hartman's respective works on chattel slavery. Interdisciplinary and theoretical, this work provides an alternative model for those seeking new ways of conceiving of and writing history and may prove fruitful for scholars of refugee studies and Asian diaspora.

Setting the stage in chapter 1 with Harry Truman's 1947 speech to Congress in which he reveals the Truman Doctrine, Nguyen begins by interrogating the concept of freedom as that which enables the expansion of American empire. In this chapter, she also explores the notion of transition, paying close attention to how the colonial system of order guides our modern sense of time and state of being. The refugee is an example of a figure poised between then and now and between normalcy and madness. Nguyen designates this as the "refugee condition," an anachronistic position of limbo as the subject languishes in refugee camps. The author aptly illustrates this idea in her analysis of the film Green Dragon, set in 1975, about Vietnamese refugees in Camp Pendleton.

The iconic 1972 photograph of Phan Thi Kim Phúc, commonly known as the "napalm girl" picture, is the subject of chapter 2. Nguyen explores the politics of seeing and the "contests of meaning" that arise in English-language narratives of the image. In noting that "this photograph is itself a theater of war" (p. 87), she highlights the visual narrative and, more importantly, the relationship between the viewer and the subject. Nguyen's examination extends to Kim Phúc herself whose public declaration of forgiveness proves her self-determination and consequently her value as a liberal subject. While Nguyen's critical reading offers up new possibilities of analysis, at times her interpretations feel restricted to viewing Kim Phúc as only reflective of liberal influence. I am curious to know in what ways Kim Phúc's public persona might have shown resistance or an alternative understanding of her position as the "graceful" victim.

Chapter 3 offers a fascinating analysis of the refugee as the refugee patriot, a necessary figure in the geopolitics of "transnational multiculturalism," which Nguyen describes as "an ensemble of biopolitics, culture wars, and security apparatuses through which the refugee patriot recoups the racial liberalism of U.S. empire" (p. 141). In this effort, she examines a number of contradictions of transnational multiculturalism, such as the 2003 controversy over the resolution to recognize the pre-1975 South Vietnamese national flag proposed by the Vietnamese American Public Affairs Council. This chapter neatly ties together the author's argument concerning the reciprocal relationship between liberal war-making and humanitarianism.

The epilogue is perhaps the most thought-provoking segment, as it is here that Nguyen clarifies the "gift of freedom" as a form of debt bestowed upon the racialized subject of U.S. empire. Debt, she writes, is "a politics of loss and absence," but it is also "a politics of what is given in its place. To be indebted is to continue to live after war and dispossession, but with these things not having ended" (p. 182). Although brief, this thoughtful conclusion leaves the reader with rich musings on the role of the refugee or immigrant and its relationship to war, empire, and, most importantly, freedom.

In sum, this engaging first book compels readers to rethink the refugee figure beyond the narrow confines of human rights discourse. My one point of contention is that the author does not problematize the issue of the liberal media itself, which would have reinforced her already incisive critique of various media representations of liberalism. Even so, Nguyen offers a refreshing perspective on cultural formations rarely researched in area studies, and The Gift of Freedom is a major contribution to Vietnamese and Vietnamese diasporic studies. As such, this book is recommended to scholars of cultural studies, critical race studies, immigration and migration studies, transnationalism, Asian American studies, and Asian studies.