Hmong refugees begin arriving this month

[seemslikeadream]

by Toni Randolph, Minnesota Public Radio
June 3, 2004

Later this month, Hmong refugees will begin arriving in Minnesota from Thailand. By the end of the year, the Twin Cities will have nearly 5,000 new Hmong residents. They'll join the more than 20,000 Hmong who began arriving here in the 1970s. While this new wave of refugees will have some obstacles to overcome when they arrive, they'll have some advantages their predecessors never did.


St. Paul, Minn. — One of the biggest advantages that the newly-arriving Hmong refugees will have is other Hmong here to welcome them. Cheu Lee, the publisher of the Hmong Times, says when his family came to the United States in 1976, it was a lonely arrival.

"When we first arrived here in America, we had no Hmong waiting at the airport. We had no relatives to greet you at the airport or at home --just yourself. And here, the newcomers we'll be greeted at the airport" he said.

Lee says friends and family will help the new-arrivals learn their way around -- literally and figuratively. For example, they won't have to figure out where to get staples of the Hmong diet such as rice and hot peppers like the first wave did. Hmong grocery stores have popped up all over the Twin Cities in the past 30 years.

Tzianeng Vang, 35, the chairman of Hmong Nationality Archives in Saint Paul, says he and his cousins are expecting about 20 family members to resettle in the Twin Cities by the end of the year. He says the new arrivals won't be coming out of a cultural vacuum. He says they've had exposure to urban life and American culture through relatives already living here. Vang says that wasn't the case when his family resettled in the U.S. in 1980, when he was about 10 years old.

About half of the 15,000 refugees living at the Wat are school-age children. About 2,500 new Hmong students could enroll in the Saint Paul public schools by the end of the year. School officials are already making plans to set up three transitional language centers in the elementary schools and expand them as necessary.


more
http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2004/06/03_randolpht_hmong/

[seemslikeadream]

1. Artist chronicles the Hmong migration

Artist Cy Thao stands next to "The Hmong Migration", his exhibit at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. (MPR Photo/Laura McCallum)

Five thousand years of Hmong history unfold in an exhibit at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. "The Hmong Migration" is a series of 50 oil paintings by St. Paul artist Cy Thao. Thao is also a DFL state representative, and only the second Hmong state legislator in the country. Thao says he hopes his exhibit helps people understand the story of the Hmong people.


St. Paul, Minn. — "The Hmong Migration" is part history lesson, part art exhibit. Each of the 50 paintings is accompanied by a short description of a particular time in Hmong history. The paintings are full of vivid blues, greens, and oranges. Cy Thao said he chose the bright colors to make it easier to view paintings of war and genocide.

"The images and the stories are so depressing, so sad, that I think if I choose a different color, or a color that fits the story a little bit more, the tone of the story, I think, it would be too hard," Thao said.



Crossing the river from Laos to Thailand

The story begins in China, where the Hmong people lived near present-day Beijing about 5,000 years ago. They fought against the Chinese, and lost, and many left the area. Over time, there were other wars, and some Hmong people migrated to Japan, others to Laos and other countries in southeast Asia. They helped the U.S. fight against communist soldiers, and after the Vietnam War, many fled to Thailand.

That's what happened to Thao's family. His father was a government official in Laos, and in 1975, he led his family of 11 across the river to Thailand in the middle of the night. Thao was 2 years old. His family lived in a refugee camp for about six years. One of Thao's favorite paintings in the exhibit is drawn from memories of living in the camp.

more
http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2004/05/20_mccalluml_hmongmigration/

[truthspeaker]

12. Cy Thao isn't just an artist, he's my state rep!

Met him several times at caucuses. Personable, engaging guy. Voted against the proposed state gay marriage ban.

[seemslikeadream]

2. Portrait: Ly Xiong Pao

Hundreds of Hmong men fought the Communist forces during the "secret war" in Laos
Part of This Is Home: The Hmong in Minnesota
Born in 1925, Ly Xiong Pao was one of many Central Intelligence Agency-trained Hmong who fought against communist forces and rescued downed American pilots. Ly, who grew up in a small city in Laos and attended school through third grade, speaks Hmong, Laotian, and French. He was a government administrator and soldier in Laos before his CIA training. Early on, in 1960, Ly and a group of soldiers fought a battle in Xieng Kouang Province.



Ly: My group consists of civilians and soldiers - 195 people. We only have 27 weapons. We went there during the nighttime, and we got there at 4 o'clock in the morning. We were trying to take over the airport, and trying to take over the munitions there, and trying to take over the work place and factory.

During that time the Laotian soldiers were the security there. But then the leader, military leader, was not there. When we took over, we told the soldier there "we are here to give you freedom and give you economic wealth, not to kill you."
A few months later, American airplanes dropped the first of many weapon shipments for the Royal Lao Army and Hmong soldiers. The war ended in 1975. As communist forces took control, Ly helped others find their way out of Laos. Four years later, Ly left Laos forever and fled to a refugee camp. He stayed there two years and then moved to Europe and later, South America.
Ly: The reason I went to France and French Guiana and my kids to the United States was that, by law, polygamy is practiced and I have three wives, and I have 32 children - 11 sons and 21 daughters. When I registered to come to the United States, they wouldn't accept me because I practice polygamy.

And then we lived in Cacao, in French Guyana. And then French law said one person can only marry to one person. And then I divorced two of my wives and then keep one. I decided to divorce the ones that have older children that can take care of them. And keep the one who has younger children who needs my support.
Ly Xiong Pao has lived in Saint Paul now for 10 years. Photographs and posters of Hmong leaders adorn the walls inside his home. Ly, now an old man, is a Hmong clan leader and shaman. A traditional shaman's shrine stands against one wall. Draped across the ceiling is a xa neng, two wooden dowels with four pieces of wire tied from end to end.
more
http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/199903/08_nymanl_home/portraits/pao.shtml


General Vang Pao (left), while still a young lieutenant, standing next to Air America pilot Fred Sass in 1961. The CIA contracted with Air America to provide support for the Hmong troops

[CaliforniaLady]

3. What language do Hmongs' speak?

I have a relative in Wisconsin, which also has a growing Hmong
population, and he would like to be able to communicate with
Hmongs.  He said their language is Hmong, but maybe it is
Chinese?? 

I'm not familiar with Minnesota, but I hope they have
employment opportunities for all those refugees.
 



  

[truthisfreedom]

4. i believe the language is also called Hmong. i have an Hmong employee

and he has been the most trustworthy, steadfast worker i've ever known. i don't have any idea what i'd do without him.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

5. Language...

The spoken language is Hmong. There is no Hmong written language, per se (I may be wrong on this) I believe it's represented in writing with some subset of Chinese characters. Someone with more expertise should comment.

[CaliforniaLady]

6. Really would like to find a written version of Hmong, but....

my relative in Wisconsin said he has not been able to find any books to help him translate Hmong to English.

It would be an advantage in Wisconsin if more Democrat activists could learn Hmong and my relative is anxious to learn their language.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

8. A few links...

I can't vouch for the veracity of any of these... found them with a bit of googling. Perhaps they may be of some use.

Hmong Language FAQ
By David Mortensen, UC Berkeley
http://ist-socrates.berkeley.edu/~dmort/hmong_lang_faq.html

Omniglot: Pahawh Hmong alphabet
In China Hmong is known as Miao and is written with Chinese characters or with an alphabet known as Pollard Miao. In Thailand, it is written with the Thai alphabet.
http://www.omniglot.com/writing/hmong.htm

"Latin RPA": This is the most widely used set of characters used to write in Hmong. They include the uppercase and lowercase western alphabets, number from zero to nine, the comma and the dot, (A..Z,a..z,0..9, and "," and "."), for a total of 64 characters. Historically, this set was used by the catholic missionaries in the early twentieth century during their first encounters with the Hmong. Since Hmong were illiterate, words were created by these missionaries, and given meaning accordingly to a phonetic-style rule. There are no grammar, no established standard comparable to the French Academy, and use an extremely small rules of syntax. Since the late 1950s, it has become the adopted writing language world wide; and even has become an officially recognized foreign language taught at Fresno City College, California.
More at:
http://www.hndlink.org/language.htm (referencing info on www.hmong.com that I have not bothered to look up)

The most striking piece of information is this, from the Wausau Daily Herald:
The Hmong language was primarily based on an oral tradition that had survived from generation to generation through conversation until just 50 years ago, when written forms were created.
http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/wdhlocal/282982486168019.shtml

Edit: Emphasis on the Fresno CC bit.
Edit: Malformed HTML.

[saigon68]

10. See # 9 below N/T

[oldlady]

14. the young and old cannot read Hmong

the youngest Hmong (under 20) rarely know how to read Hmong. The oldest, (50 plus) do not read Hmong because it was not a written language until the late 1950s and not taught in the camps. Very, very rarely will you find someone who reads only Hmong and not English. My neighborhood is 30% Hmong and it drives kids crazy when schools send home notes to their parents written in Hmong-- if there isn't an English equivalent the kids can read, the family has to call someone else in the city who can read Hmong and either have them come over or read it letter by letter over the telephone for a translation.

You can take Hmong language classes at some of Wisconsin's Technical Colleges.

A great book on the culture of Hmong is "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down" I had one of my Hmong friends read it and he proclaimed it was very accurate.

[saigon68]

9. We have already done this In Wisconsin

See Sen Russ Feingold's site

http://www.russfeingold.org/lus_hmoob.php

Hmong-Nplog Yuavtsum Sawv Khovkho


Kuv zoo siab thiab hawm txog tsoom Hmoob-Nplog hauv Wisconsin uas nej tau muab lub neej txojsia, nej lub tebchaw vajtse los pauv peb lub tebchaws. Nej txoj kev muaj peevxwm thiab sibzog rau lub sijhawm tsovrog Nyablaj tsim nyog kawg lawm uas nej yuav tsum muaj neej nyob tebchaws Ameslikas. Yog sawv daws pab, peb txoj kev sibkoom yeej muaj zog tsim kom tau ntau yam kablig kevcai los ntawm ntau pab pawg neeg los rau lub tebchaws no. Ua tsaug rau nej txoj kev pab lub tebchaws no.

-U.S. Senator Russ Feingold

[goodhue]

13. Kucinich's Ten Points in Hmong . . .

http://www.minnesotaforkucinich.com/extras/KucinichTenPointsHM.pdf

[seemslikeadream]

15. saigon68 it's good to know that some people live up to promises

and remember

2001 Hmong Population and Education in
the United States and the World
August 24, 2001
Researched and Collected by Dr. Vang Pobzeb

From 1975 to 1991, more than 500,000 people in Laos fled and became international political refugees in the world because of the legacy of the Vietnam War in Southeast Asia.


The Communist Lao and Vietnamese governments have been exterminating Hmong people in Laos since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975 and are still doing so today, because of Hmong people cooperated with the U.S. government during the Vietnam War. In 2001, witnesses in Laos have reported that many thousands of Communist Vietnamese soldiers are cooperating with the Communist Lao government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR) to conduct an ethnic cleansing war, genocide and human rights violations against Hmong people in Laos. Therefore, we appeal to and call upon Hmong American intellectuals, educators and the general public to unify our leadership strategies and efforts in order to save the lives of Hmong people in Laos. We call upon all Hmong people to unify and work together to save the lives of Hmong people. Power politics in the world and global actors are remaining silent on the genocide against Hmong people in Laos because they are concerned with economics and commercial goods for themselves. They do not really care about human rights violations and genocide in Laos and in other parts of the world.

There are about 300,000 Hmong American people in the United States in 2001.


In 2001, there are approximately 80,000 Hmong American people in Minnesota; and 80,000 Hmong Americans in Wisconsin.


About 40,000 Hmong Americans moved from California to Minnesota, Wisconsin, and other states between 1996 and 2001.


About 70,000 Hmong Americans still live in California in 2001.


Many Hmong Americans moved from California to Minnesota and Wisconsin and other states because of the problems of welfare reforms and unemployment problems

http://www.laohumrights.org/2001data.html

[newyawker99]

16. Hi CaliforniaLady!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Voltaire99]

7. I welcome them.

Welcome to America. We ruined your ancestors' lives, blighted your homeland, despoiled the region.

May you prosper here, and live in peace, and do better than we did.

[seemslikeadream]

11. What a wonderful suprise to see this morning!

Thank you all for the interest.


Jack Austin Smith, a Vietnam Veteran and a retired career soldier


Writing to an American who was confused about the Hmong people, Jack Austin Smith, a Vietnam Veteran and a retired career soldier, wrote the following in 1996 (quoted from his e-mail to me, with permission):

The war in Vietnam was fought on several fronts and I served in two them. The main American battle ground was in the Southern end of South Vietnam. In order for the North Vietnamese forces to fight us there, it was necessary for their supplies and troops to go through Laos and Cambodia on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, and Laos was controlled by a Pro-Communist Government at that time. Therefore America was not allowed to have any forces on the ground, although we were allowed to bomb and attack North Vietnamese troops with our aerial forces. About 99% of the combat forces on the ground were Hmong irregulars who were persuaded by Americans to forget about being neutral, and to fight the N. Vietnamese regulars (not relatively poorly trained Viet Cong guerrilla forces). We supplied air cover, but every combat trooper knows aircraft can't take and hold ground. We depended on the Hmongs to do this. Without modern arms, without medical help.
After the fall of Saigon we pulled out of Southeast Asia and left the Hmongs to continue the fight without air support. When we left, the Hmong had to fight both the Laotians and the N. Vietnamese. They could not fight tanks, heavy artillery and aircraft with rifles. A great many Hmongs were slaughtered in their villages. Many were slaughtered at airfields where they waited for evacuation planes that never came. A few were able to fight every foot of the way across Laos and cross the Mekong River into refugee camps in Thailand where they were further mistreated by rather corrupt UN and Thai officials. Out of a estimated 3,000,000 prewar Hmong population less than 200,000 made it to safety. One other ill informed or stupid writer said "they were all gone" meaning, I guess, that the combat Hmongs were all dead, they are wrong. Most of the survivors are in Australia, France and here among us.

Now I don't know about those heroes who have never heard a shot fired in anger, but I am embarrassed that my country so mislead these people. The Hmongs gave up literally everything for us: their country, their homes, their peaceful way of life, most of their families, everything that we would cherish. We promised them our continued support and then we bugged out.

You mentioned having relatives who fought in Vietnam and I hope they all survived. However their chances would have been much less if the Hmongs hadn't intercepted over 50% of the N. Vietnamese troops and supplies. If you truly loved your relatives, you should be grateful for the Hmongs' sacrifices.
http://www.jefflindsay.com/hmong.shtml