Hmong Events

Hmong Leadership - July 4th and Hmong New Year

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 03:17:00 GMT

Next was the Lao Family election last December. One that I found flawed to begin with. Our election process was so flawed, it makes you wonder who came up with the idea. The election was meant to be open to the Hmong public. I don't know what they mean by open, but if you didn't registered, you were not allowed to vote. To me, this was a private club or membership vote. If you were a Hmong and showed your residency in Minnesota, you should be allowed to vote. Instead, they passed out voting registration forms. You had to fill out this form before you can vote. The form included all of the information that was on your driver's license or MN ID card.

Category: Events

May 21st - Judgement Day

Fri, 13 May 2011 03:45:00 GMT

May 21st is fast approaching. Many may not know what May 21, 2011 is, but many believes that this is the Second Coming of Christ. I'm not religious or concerned about the event, but many of the Hmong do.

This reminds me of the Y2k. News media were portraying that the Y2K glitch were going to cause mass distruptions and some believed that the world was going to end. How did this event affect the Hmong? During that time, many of the Hmong sold their homes, pulled their children out of schools, stored food rations and water, gas and other materials to survive should something happened. The worst was the families that moved back to Laos or Thailand believing that if they were to die, it would be better dead in your place of birth. Y2k came and nothing happened.

We now have another one, May 21, 2011. I've heard from a few rumors going around in the Hmong community for people to repent and be saved. Since our culture is not a singular religion, there is a rift between the "old" belief and the "new". Some of the "new" have been going around the community telling people to prepare for the end. The "old" are asking the "new" if May 21 comes and goes without any problems, would that validate that their belief is wrong.

Hmong religions are consider as "old" or "kev ncaiv qub" and "new" or "kev ncaiv tsiab". The "old" is the shaman and ancestors while the "new" is the Bible. Each has it's importance in the community. This split is enough to make families exclude each other at family gathering or funerals. With May 21 approaching, this has once again poses a who is right and who is wrong.

What's your thought May 21, 2011?
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Category: History

Category: Events

KDWB Morning Show

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 12:45:00 GMT

KDWB is a local radio station in Minnesota. Their morning show is listened by many Hmong. The morning show has a parody song on certain subjects. At times they are funny, but there are times they aren't. This week, KDWB played a short parody on the Hmong. Below is the clip on YouTube.

You would think that they would have run it through some type of approval first before saying it over the radio. Somehow their excuse is that they have many Hmong listeners who understands that they are joking on the radio and its ok for them to keep slamming it. I've heard many of their parody on the Hmong and some time wonder do we, Hmong, accept this and let them continue to do it? I think we're the group that KDWB Morning Show pick on the most when it comes to parody songs. It's like the little kid that gets picked on by the school bully whenever the bully wants to.

The one thing that is disturbing here is that Clear Channel who owns KDWB, is not saying much about it except for a weak apology. When comments like this crossed the line and a community is upset about it, the owners of the show should take appropriate action. By not doing so, encourages their staff to continue the behavior. In the case of the bully analogy, the parent has approved the action of their child and allows them to continue to harass the weak.

This reminds me of Tom Barnard on KQ92 Morning Show in 1998 when he made fun of the Hmong girl who killed her new born son. It was insensitive and Tom Barnard never really apologized or any other action was given to him by the radio station.

My question here is, is the Hmong community so weak that we have no say in public discrimination and humiliation? Do we continue to stand by and watch others poke fun at us as a group regardless of here in the US or around the world. For us to be respected and accepted, we need to stand up and take action as one. In cases like KDWB, we should boycott the radio station. My kids listens to the radio station all the time and is sad to hear things like that on the radio. We teach our children not to make fun of any group, yet you have KDWB that is heard by millions that it's ok to do it publicly and no action will be taken.
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Category: Events

AT&T - T-Mobile Merge

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 04:57:00 GMT

Since the announcement of the merger between AT&T and T-Mobile last week, it would be not be good news to cell phone users. I have been using T-Mobile for the past four years and like their data plans. I rarely use voice minutes. Even though T-Mobile's cell phones were not the best, they offered the best data plans. Tethering has been a plus on TMO. I've had the HD2 when it first came out and I've been using it as a modem for my laptop. In addition, their family plans allow my kids to get access to the Internet and YouTube at a cheaper price than with other carriers.

Category: Technology

Hmong Caub Fab - 35 years later

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 12:51:00 GMT

I ran across an article from the Foreign Policy Journal. Here is a link to the article, "Hmong Searching for a Home". From reading the article, it is sad to keep hearing that we still have guerrillas fighters in Laos who can't have the options of surrendering and live.
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Hmong Flea Markets

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 17:59:00 GMT

Flea markets has been one of the best places for Hmong people to go shopping, dining and meet friends. It's like the new year or July 4th soccer tournament every day.

In Minnesota, there are two main Hmong flea market. The International Marketplace on Como Ave and the Hmong Village on Johnson Parkway. The Hmong Village is a new comer to the Hmong flea market. The Hmong Village took over the old St. Paul School District building where as the International Marketplace took over the old lumber mill.

Both of these two markets has many markets and restaurant to serve the public. The International Marketplace includes three buildings and an outdoor mall area in the center. This allows vendors to sell their products outside during the summer. The Hmong Village is all indoor mall.

Pros:
International Market

Large parking lot
Larger vendor display rooms
Open mall area for summer shopping.

Hmong Village

Indoor mall and protected from the enviroment.
Good restrooms
Good store layout and consistent design.

Cons
International Market

Bad parking pavement and worse during the wet and winter season.
Cars crossing too close to main walk ways between the buildings.
Inconsistent shop layout and walk ways gets too close when vendors push their products to isle.

Hmong Village

Insufficient parking. Lot gets filled quickly.
Access to mall parking is limited and dangerous during rush hours and weekends.
Vendor rooms are too small for displaying products.

So which of the two markets do you like best? If your not from Minnesota, what's the name and location of your Hmong flea market?

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Green Bay Packers win Super Bowl

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 04:52:00 GMT

Congratulations to the Green Bay Packers on winning the Super Bowl XLV! The Packers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers to the NFL champ. Both team played well with the exception of the Steelers turn overs that ended their hopes of winning the Super Bowl.

Anyway, what does football has to do with the Hmong? Football has slowly becoming the sport choice of Hmong youth in the past few years. In the early 80s and 90s, most Hmong youth would be racing to the soccer fields to play soccer. Many would play until it was so dark, you couldn't even see the ball anymore. Lately, that has changed, I have seen many Hmong youth playing football and passing on soccer as the sport of choice. For example, take the annual July 4th soccer tournament in St. Paul, Minnesota.

When the event started, soccer was the main sport and volleyball was the secondary sport. All the fields were reserved for soccer teams. There were times when the teams would almost reach 60 or 70 teams. Now, about two fields are reserved for flag football. It may be labeled flag football, but sometime it feels more like real football. The Hmong youth are now bigger, taller and stronger than the first generation of youth.

So where does this leads? Well for one, would soccer be the secondary sport for the next generation of youth? Would many of our soccer tournaments be football instead? If football becomes a top choice for our players, what safety measures should many of the parents take?

What's your take on Hmong sports? Do you prefer to watch a soccer, volleyball or football game?

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Gen. Vang Pao Tour

Sun, 09 Jan 2011 07:25:00 GMT

In discussing with family members, reading the information being released by news medias and Hmong elders, when are we (Hmong) going to do the right thing and not exploit every opportunity that comes at hand. If the General is going to have a traditional Hmong funeral and then buried, why is it that his body will be brought to other parts of the US for others to see him? Hmong funeral ends on the last day of the funeral and his body is to be buried. It is not to be extended and open for others to see it again. He is "suppose" to be on his way to meet the ancestors and not more mourners.

In discussions with my peers, it seems that many do not see the value in flying the General's body around the US. If they, Gen. Vang Pao's family members, are to do this, it should be done now when the traditional Hmong funeral has not started. Even at this point, it just doesn' t feel right to "parade" his body across the US. Granted, Gen. Vang Pao is a Hmong General, many Americans don't know him or who the Hmong people are to care about it. He is not in a position that should be showcase to the general public. If people want to see him, they should be able to go to the funeral in Fresno, California. If more than 50,000 Hmong and others attend the funeral in Fresno, it would show solidarity among the Hmong and that he is still being well respected. If the attendance is any less, his influences among the Hmong and its community has lessen over the past decades. If the people respects him enough, they will travel the distance to say their last good-bye and pay their respect in person. I have seen the General attend many of his commarades and friends who have died in person. If the General is willing to do this others should be able to do the same for him on short notices.

By showcasing his body across the US, this appears to be more of disrespect and a break from Hmong funeral traditions and rituals. Once the formal funeral process has started and completed, the body should no longer be visible to anyone.

What's your thoughts on the General Vang Pao Tour?

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General Vang Pao

Fri, 07 Jan 2011 20:32:00 GMT

General Vang Pao is one of the most recognized name and figure in the Hmong history. He will be remembered as a great General and hero to many Hmong during the Vietnam War. He was a great liason between the US and the Hmong guerilla fighters that the US recruited to save down pilots and attack the Ho Chi Minh Trail that cross from North Vietnam down to South Vietnam. If it were not for his decision to assist the US in the Vietnam War or in Laos, it was known as the "Secret War", Hmong people would not be in the US or any other countries today.

However great he was during the war, General Vang Pao's reputation has gone through many changes over the past decade. It went from a hero in the Vietnam War to corruptions within the Hmong communities. I remember growing up and my parents would say that "one day we will go back and take back our homeland. The General has promised us." During these times, many Hmong support the General in this vision and dream. Eventually reality sets in and many Hmong refugees became disheartened and accepted the reality that it will never happen.

As time went by, new generations were born in the US and other countries, the ties and support to the General slowly wither. The gap between the young and old were shown when he was accussed of conspiracy to overthrow the Laos government in 2007. All charges were later dropped.

Regardless of what opinions the young and old have of Gen. Vang Pao, he will be missed and should be a role model for the Hmong. He went from a poor boy in the jungle of Laos to help bring opportunities to many of the young Hmong generations.

Listening to his speech at the Minnesota Hmong New Year marks his last few words for the Hmong people to learn to live together and love each other. You can watch the full speech here.

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Tags: General Vang Pao,hmong,history

Minnesota Lao Family Election

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 07:41:00 GMT

It's over a week and no announcement of who won the Lao Family election. There is rumors that the candidates are accusing corruption with the election process. The election did not go well and there are raising concerns that Lao Family has not answered or discuss publicly. There are no information on their website as well, Lao Family Website.

Why is it that WE Hmong can't seem to cooridnate an process correctly. This election was in total chaos. At the polling center in Lao Family, I saw many things that could discourage voters and incite corruption. Below is a few list of concerns.

Voting day should have been postponed. It was snowing and there were more than two feet of snow by morning. It was almost impossible to get to the polling location. Since the polling location was at Lao Family Center, it should have been moved to a different date to allow voters to come and vote safely. This puts many of our Hmong voters at harms way and the voting population to a low turnout.
Registration Process Flawed.
- I like the idea of pre-registration to keep records, but honestly, why? If Lao Family represents all Hmong in Minnesota, our valid drivers license should be good enough. What is the point of registration other than to collect membership drive and what happens to the database once the election is over?
- Many of the registrations, people who filled it out did not complete it fully. There were names that were missing the Minnesota issued ID card or drivers license. Others were unreadable due to the fact that many of our elderly can't write well. If they can't read these registrations, do they call up and follow up with the person or do they discard it?
Voting registration by Last Name.
- Instead of a "general"registration table, the registration was separated by Last name. Lee's went to one table. Vang went to another table and so on. Knowing Hmong people, if you were Lee, you would vote for the Lee candidate. If you were Vang, you would vote for the Vang candidate. If you walk into the polling center and saw that your line was shorter than the other, it would indicate that the line with the most people would be the winner.
No Walk-In voting.
- One part of the democratic process is to allow people to vote when they walk in. It has been part of the "American" process. At any primary or general election, you can walk up to the polling location and show proof of residence or have a neighbor vouch for you and you can vote. Here we have created another "Hmong" style voting. You can't vote if you didn't register. Many did not hear about the election until it was too late.
Registered, but name was not on the list.
- You went through the hassle of filling out the registration form and it doesn't show up on the list. So what happened here? Is there a process to follow up on what happened to these names? Will the finding be published as to why it was lost or missing?
- What was the rate of missing voter registration? If more than 10% was missing, can this election be validated? If not, what happens?

This election should put more focus on our community organizations and people who runs it. Without really understanding how a process works, we faulter at every step and it makes us look unprofessional and disorganize.

Did you vote and what was your experience?

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