This article examines the role of social networks and informal institutions in facilitating the resettlement and socio-economic integration of Vietnamese returnees from Cambodia in the Tri An Lake region, Dong Nai Province. In the context of statelessness and the absence of legal identification, these returnees faced significant barriers in accessing official support from local authorities. Under such circumstances, kinship-based networks, fellow migrant connections, and local community ties—together with informal support mechanisms —played a pivotal role in providing essential resources such as shelter, livelihood opportunities, informal credit, and emotional support. Drawing on oral history interviews with Vietnamese returnees who have resettled around Tri An Lake since the late 1980s, the study reveals that these social connections and informal institutions helped individuals navigate initial crises and contributed significantly to their long-term stability and integration.

Tan An was a former province in the Mekong Delta, now part of Long An Province, Vietnam. During the Vietnamese resistance against French colonialism (1945-1954), in addition to military, political, and economic activities, Tan An province vigorously organized and developed general education, becoming a highlight of the educational movement during the war in southern Vietnam. Using the methods of writing educational history and oral history, this article outlines the process of organizing and conducting general education in Tan An and its impact on the local resistance efforts. The results show that despite continuous warfare, general education activities in Tan An persisted, achieving significant accomplishments in eradicating illiteracy, raising public awareness, developing teaching staff, and constructing schools and classrooms suitable for wartime conditions. The educational development process in Tan An provides valuable lessons for building and developing general education during wartime, including experiences in leveraging the tradition of self-reliance to advance education and mobilizing community contributions when the state focused all resources on the war effort.

Culture plays an important role in shaping the perceptions, beliefs, and experiences of refugees as they navigate decisions and actions in a new society. Based on an analysis of 88 oral history interviews conducted by the Vietnamese American Heritage Foundation (VAHF) with Vietnamese refugees in the US after the war, this paper examines the relationship between culture and social integration, particularly the cultural values that Vietnamese refugees have chosen and promoted to help them adapt quickly and successfully in the new society. Using a thematic analysis method, cultural values such as self-effort, a studious tradition, sacrifice, and intergenerational responsibility help Vietnamese refugees improve their socio-economic status after a period of settlement in the U.S. The stories specifically illustrate how Vietnamese people have applied cultural values to social integration strategies, establishing connections between culture and economic opportunities within the socio-economic conditions of the United States.

Oral history is both a method of gathering information and an important source of historical data in social history and public history. The narratives of individuals are not only exploited to find historical facts or “additional” details to a grand narrative but uncover the meaning of individuals’ stories for a broader social context. That shift has made oral history increasingly an interdisciplinary research method. However, compared with the popularity of oral history in international academic disciplines, the application of this research method restricts in Vietnam. This article presents the possibilities and prospects of oral history through different research topics/fields in history, at the same time, specify the causes of obstacles to the legitimization of oral history in Vietnam.