Struggles of Asian Pacific Americans described in report

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Friday, April 28, 2006

Struggles of Asian Pacific Americans described in report
King County among the areas spotlighted

By JOHN IWASAKI
P-I REPORTER

When Kum Soung arrived in the United States from Cambodia, he knew only a few expressions: Hello. How are you doing? I'm fine. Thank you.

He picked up more words, enough to get work as a machine operator in North Carolina, and moved to Seattle in 1999.

Now he is taking an English-as-a-second-language class designed especially for those seeking citizenship.

"You improve yourself when you become an American citizen," he said Thursday during a break in class at Asian Counseling and Referral Service. "It's easy for you to get a job. You can vote."

But many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are struggling with education, employment, income, housing and acquisition of English and citizenship, despite the "model minority" label affixed to some of them, a new national report says.

Policy-makers and service providers should differentiate among groups, such as those in King County's diverse Asian Pacific American community, so that certain members aren't overlooked, said Karen Narasaki, president and executive director of the Asian American Justice Center in Washington, D.C., which helped produce the report.

"You can't lump all the communities together and get an accurate picture of the needs today," Narasaki said Thursday during a briefing on the study in the International District.

Equally damaging is to view Asian Pacific Americans as "a drain on the economy, forever 'foreign' and never a thriving part of the community," said Diane Narasaki, Karen's sister and executive director of Asian Counseling and Referral Service. "These things need to be challenged."

The report, called "A Community of Contrasts," examined 2000 Census and other data for more than 20 Asian Pacific American groups in the country, paying particular attention to King County and four other "emerging communities."

It makes four basic policy recommendations: Provide "culturally competent and linguistically accessible" health and human services, equal access to quality education and equal opportunities for employment, and protect human rights, including immigration rights.

The report said that 37 percent of Asian Americans in King County have limited proficiency in English, the highest rate of any major racial or ethnic group. Most Vietnamese and Hmong do not speak English well, along with a near majority of Cambodians and Laotians.

Helping immigrants gain English proficiency is key because it affects a person's ability to get a job, escape poverty, continue an education and become a citizen, said representatives of local social service agencies and other organizations serving Asian Pacific Americans.

Increasing funding for services such as English-as-a-second-language classes "cost more up front but ultimately is more effective in the long run," Diane Narasaki said.

Breaking the language barrier is crucial, agreed Tony Lee, a director for the Fremont Public Association and the Statewide Poverty Action Network.

"Without learning English, we're not going to succeed in the labor market," he said.

Thirty years ago, refugees would receive three years of resettlement assistance from the government, Lee said, but now it is two or three months, heightening the need for upfront services.

Because a higher percentage of Asian Pacific American students pass the Washington Assessment of Student Learning test than other students of color, educators might fail to consider multiple learning styles or achievement levels for those who struggle, said Nadine Shiroma, co-founder of Eastside Asian Pacific Islanders, a civic involvement group.

Among other findings, the report said that in King County:

Asian Americans are the second-largest racial or ethnic group, with an estimated 2004 population of 253,253 or 14 percent. Pacific Islanders account for 17,383 residents or 1 percent.

A quarter of Asian Americans are Chinese. Rounding out the top six are Filipinos, Japanese, Vietnamese, Koreans and Asian Indians.

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, along with Latinos, are the fastest-growing major racial or ethnic group. Asian Indians tripled in size as a group and Vietnamese doubled.

Nearly 20 percent of Pacific Islander and Asian American adults have not graduated from high school, almost double that of county residents overall. Most Hmong and Laotian adults, and more than a third of Vietnamese and Cambodian adults, do not have a diploma.

The per-capita income of Asian Americans ($21,178) and Pacific Islanders ($15,246) falls far short of that for the overall county ($29,521). Hmong, Guamanians, Indonesians and Cambodians have the county's highest poverty rates.

Sixty percent of Asian Americans and more than 25 percent of Pacific Islanders were born outside the United States. Both groups have above-average rates of becoming naturalized citizens.

Soung, the Cambodian �migr� who is studying to become a citizen, said that learning English has helped him when he sees his physician or visits the local immigration office.

His classmate, Amy Lee of Burma, makes sushi for Uwajimaya and carries on conversations with the Asian grocer's diverse customers.

Sambath Seth, another classmate, works on a fishing boat in Alaska, where his co-workers sometime uses hand signals to communicate.

"If you know English," Seth said, "(life) become better."

P-I reporter John Iwasaki can be reached at 206-448-8096 or johniwasaki@seattlepi.com.

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