Ann Arbor : University of St. Thomas (Minnesota), 2004.
Pages:
218
Language:
English
Abstract:
The Hmong are a people who have persevered through many lifestyle changes because of the warfare of the Vietnam and the Secret War in Southeast Asia. As mountain people, the Hmong lived secluded from other ethnic groups and cultures until the emergence of war swept the Hmong of Laos into the greater Lao society. From the first moment of war, Hmong life was forever changed. Traditionally and historically having maintained a culture that resisted change, the Hmong found themselves in new environments requiring massive change even for survival. The Hmong underwent both hardship and triumph on their journey from the foothills of their home mountains to the rapidly moving society of the United States of America. Each step was a new experience for the Hmong refugees. Many scholars have studied the life experience of the Hmong during this life-altering change. The core story, however, lives not in the work of scholars but deep within the hearts of the Hmong. A Hmong and His Story probes the larger, deeper Hmong journey through the life story of one Hmong individual, who was born in the jungle of Phou Bia, grew up during the Secret War, emigrated to Thailand as a refugee, and finally to the United States of America.