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Vietnam Population Relocation
Massive relocation of the population, blandly called the
"state redistribution of labor" program, began after
reunification in 1976 and has been an integral part of the
security effort. At least 5 million people have been uprooted in
this process, known as "breaking the machine." While partly
economic in its motivation, the relocation's main purpose has
been to break up the existing social structure. In assigning
individuals to new economic zones, for instance, care has been
taken to scatter those from a single urban area or village to
separate locations. The formation of new associations by these
people was then supervised by the VCP, which used various mass
movements and proletarian social organizations--augmented by
communication and education programs intended to raise class
consciousness--to help foster class struggle and to turn the
middle and upper classes into social pariahs. This social
ostracism was one of the reasons that many middle-class
Vietnamese left the South after 1975 as
"boat people" (see Glossary).
Data as of December 1987
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