ALT Text: Vietnamese in Louisiana. Graphic: photos of Louisiana bayou, the French quarter in New Orleans, an asian woman at an asian market, and a Vietnamese community center.

ALT text: Vietnam and Louisiana share more in common than one might think. Both regions have subtropical climates, are heavily influenced by the legacy of French colonialism, and have high populations of Catholics. It’s no surprise then that many Vietnamese immigrants have decided to call Louisiana home. Graphic: photos of banh mi, a church, and a beach.

ALT Text: Vietnamese immigration to the Bayou state began after the Vietnam War. The first waves of Vietnamese were largely refugees who resettled in and around New Orleans. Since a sizable percentage of Vietnamese moving to the states were Catholic, national Catholic charities spearheaded efforts to assist newcomers in finding jobs and housing in New Orleans. Many of the first Vietnamese refugees worked in the fishing industry and in factories. In the years after, many have opened up their own businesses – ranging from restaurants to beauty salons to tattoo parlors. Quietly becoming a part of the Louisiana societal fabric, the community often kept to itself – but that changed in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina. Graphic: Photos of from the late 70s of Vietnamese refugees arriving in the state.

ALT Text: Much of New Orleans East, where a large Vietnamese enclave resides, was devastated by the hurricane. Officials’ original plan indicated New Orleans East would be made into a “green space,” not the former neighborhood it once was. To make matters worse, officials attempted to dump several million tons of the city’s toxic debris from the disaster less than two miles away from the heart of the Vietnamese enclave. Graphic: Photos of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina