Buddha Is Hiding: Refugees, Citizenship, the New America

Buddha Is Hiding examines Cambodian refugees in California as they navigate American institutions and reshape their identities in a new land. Through extensive fieldwork in the 1980s, anthropologist Aihwa Ong documents their interactions with welfare offices, health clinics, schools, churches, and workplaces. The study focuses on how institutional practices and power structures affect refugee families, particularly women and children. Ong tracks multiple Cambodian families over several years, recording their experiences with social workers, medical staff, teachers, and other authority figures who serve as gatekeepers to American citizenship. Through rich ethnographic detail, the book reveals the complex ways refugees are transformed into American subjects through encounters with bureaucracy, medicine, education, and religion. The analysis considers how race, class, and gender intersect with citizenship and belonging in contemporary America. The work presents a critical framework for understanding how liberal democratic institutions both empower and constrain new Americans in their quest for belonging. Its insights extend beyond the Cambodian case to illuminate broader questions about immigration, assimilation, and the meaning of citizenship in modern nation-states.

Readers describe this ethnographic study as detailed but dense academic writing that can be challenging to get through. Many note its value in documenting Cambodian refugees' experiences with American healthcare, welfare, and religious systems. Readers appreciated: - Deep examination of how institutions shape refugee identity - Rich details about Cambodian immigrant communities - Clear connections between policy and real human impacts Common criticisms: - Heavy academic language that limits accessibility - Theoretical sections can be repetitive - Some readers wanted more refugee voices/perspectives Ratings: Goodreads: 3.9/5 (22 ratings) Amazon: 4.2/5 (6 ratings) One reader noted it "provides crucial insights into how citizenship is negotiated through everyday institutional encounters." Another criticized that "the academic jargon sometimes obscures rather than illuminates the subject matter." Most academic reviews recommend it for graduate-level coursework in anthropology, immigration studies, and Asian American studies rather than general readers.

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🌿 Author Aihwa Ong conducted extensive ethnographic research in California's health clinics, social service offices, and refugee households over multiple years to gather firsthand accounts of Cambodian refugees' experiences. 🌿 The book's title refers to a common saying among Cambodian refugees who felt abandoned by their faith during the Khmer Rouge regime: "Buddha has disappeared" or "Buddha is in hiding." 🌿 The study reveals how healthcare workers and social service providers often acted as unofficial "citizenship teachers," helping refugees navigate American cultural norms and expectations. 🌿 Many Cambodian refugees featured in the book settled in the East Bay area of California, particularly in Oakland and San Francisco, creating new community networks while dealing with poverty and trauma. 🌿 The research examines how Cambodian women, in particular, had to transform themselves from survivors of genocide into self-sufficient American citizens while maintaining their cultural identities and family responsibilities.