- Paperback: 267 pages
- Publisher: Temple University Press (April 27 1994)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1566391636
- ISBN-13: 978-1566391634
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15.3 x 1.9 cm
- Shipping Weight: 413 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,970,902 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
Product Description
This collection of evocative personal testimonies by three generations of Hmong refugees is the first to describe their lives in Laos as slash-and-burn farmers, as refugees after a Communist government came to power in 1975, and as immigrants in the United States. Reflecting on the homes left behind, their narratives chronicle the difficulties of forging a new identity. From Jou Yee Xiong's Life Story: "I stopped teaching my sons many of the Hmong ways because I felt my ancestors and I had suffered enough already. I thought that teaching my children the old ways would only place a burden on them." From Ka Pao Xiong's (Jou Yee Xiong's son) Life Story: "It has been very difficult for us to adapt because we had no professions or trades and we suffered from culture shock. Here in America, both the husband and wife must work simultaneously to earn enough money to live on. Many of our children are ignorant of the Hmong way of life . Even the old people are forgetting about their life in Laos, as they enjoy the prosperity and good life in America." From Xang Mao Xiong's Life Story: "When the Communists took over Laos and General Vang Pao fled with his family, we, too, decided to leave. Not only my family, but thousands of Hmong tried to flee. I rented a car for thirty thousand Laotian dollars, and it took us to Nasu . We felt compelled to leave because many of us had been connected to the CIA . Thousands of Hmong were traveling on foot. Along the way, many of them were shot and killed by Communist soldiers. We witnessed a bloody massacre of civilians." From Vue Vang's Life Story: "Life was so hard in the (Thai refugee) camp that when we found out we could go to the United States, we did not hesitate to grasp the chance. We knew that were we to remain in the camp, there would be no hope for a better future. We would not be able to offer our children anything better than a life of perpetual poverty and anguish." Author note: Sucheng Chan, Professor and Chair of Asian American Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, is general editor of Temple's Asian American History and Culture Series.
About the Author
Sucheng Chan, Professor and Chair of Asian American Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, is general editor of Temple's Asian American History and Culture Series.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Cried and laughed all at once.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Hmong Means Free: Life in Laos and America (Paperback)
The author's intro was informative but lacks passion (some day, a Hmong author may be able to do a more passionate job on our plight). The narratives were honest and sincere. There was no "sugar-coating"--I know! The narratives had a single common denominator: the sufferings of the human condition. Throughout the narration, I cried and laughed all at once. I cried: all the sufferings. I laughed: when one of the narratives failed the drivers' written test (in California) the first time because after she took the test, she didn't even realized it was in Spanish until her husband told her--she did not know Spanish. The book gave me a sense of my history in a personal and down-to-earth way. The book is an excellent reference.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Helping young Hmong Americans find and identity...,
By
This review is from: Hmong Means Free: Life in Laos and America (Paperback)
I work in the healthcare field and have seen quite a few young (teenage +) Hmong Americans struggling with their sense of value. In particular, a young girl who had been "Americanized" AKA taken from her family when she was young because of supposed abuse - a common practice not that long ago. She was depressed, living with a loving but very white family in which she felt inferior. Asian gang activities in our area made her feel embarrassed. This book put a spark back in her eyes. I found it wonderful and would highly recommend it.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Hmong means free,
By Tou B. Yang (USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Hmong Means Free: Life in Laos and America (Paperback)
I just want to say something about the two words Hmong and Meo because many people seem to misunderstand. "Hmong" is what the Hmong called themselves long ago during Fishing & Gathering, agrarian, and horticulture civilization. On the other hand, "Meo" is what the Chinese named the Hmong due to prejudice and discrimination result from war: Chinese battled with the Hmong during pre-industrial society in the late 1700s. Tou B. YAng
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