Xing Jong-Hello! Welcome to Hmong Outreach Homepage! I shoud've made this earlier, but I just never got around to do this. Today (Friday, November 28th of 2003) was Hmong New Year at St. Paul's Rivercentre, which my sister and I attended. This seem to be an appropriate time to create this homepage. I've already gathered up resources on the Hmong people via internet, which I plan to just paste from the original Asian Student Association homepage. I added links to this throughout the years I attended UMM.
Hmong Refugees - a people without a home
"Plight of the Hmong Refugees in Northern Thailand. see Rlingo.org to give. These people are without country and without help save what comes from God and God's people."
Similar Stories
After attending a Hmong play, I notice some similarities of the "flood" story with the Book of Genesis:
Hmong Folktale on Flood, by Associate professor of anthropology at CSU, Chico and Coordinator of Asian Studies, specializing in South Asia.
Roots from Middle East?
On Saturday, Janurary 31st-a couple of friends and I were in downtown St. Paul too see the Ice Palace. It was too cold, so we took advantage of the skyway system (click skyway map) to walk from one building to another in order to get out of the cold (8 degrees above zero, a heat wave after 20 below zero all week). While getting to our destination, we were looking for a restroom. We found this place that I never been into of all my years walking through the skyway system. It was such a divine meeting place (City Hall) because it felt like "deja-vu"-I've been here before! I told my friends that I had some dream one time of me being here. While I was fascinated (praying/interceding too-asking God what is so significant about this place) with this area-about to have a friend take a picture with his digital camera-a security guy name Tong came over. He let us use one of the lock bathrooms. We ended up talking to each other about "stuff" from karate and then on Hmong history....
-Hmong Story
He shared how the Hmong people were one of 3 major kingdoms in China "before Christ". They were a powerful "dynasty" that the 2 "major" existing kingdoms came together and defeated the Hmong. He shared how the Hmong had bows and arrows, while the other 2 were still less-advanced. During this time, only people in the Middle East have been known to have a highly developed sophisticated of weapon technology-bow and arrow. This concludes that the Hmong may have some roots from the Middle East!
I ask Tong where he learned all of this, and he told me this is from stories that has been told by many other Hmong from generations before him. This was history that I never knew before, which gave me a different outlook of the Hmong people. Later on, my friend and I (two by two) would share some of the "Good News" with him relating to the "Flood" from the Book of Genesis. He told me the "flood" could be the Yellow River in China that has been know to flood over its banks regularly.
*scroll down to "Global-History"
Related Links:
*searched "Hmong History in China" via Yahoo "Search"
I was at the Taste of Asia (Saturday, March 26th of 2005) when a Hmong speaker was motivating the Hmong American college students to "take action" about America's promised to the Hmong people who faught against the communists North Vietnamese during the infamous Vietnam War. The speaker protested with his family by walking all the way from Minneapolis to Washington D.C. in order to give attention to the U.S. Government's promise to the Hmong people. After the speaker shared before we ate ("all you can eat"), I did some research on my family's history (Filipinos fought alongside the Americans during WWII. I ended up finding a "common battle"=>see Filipino Veterans Movement (PBS).
Hmong Soccer Tournament
I've been to the Hmong Soccer Tournament several times. The most recent was this year with several of my friends (see Tour de St. Paul)...
Center of Hmong Arts and Talent, "only Hmong arts organization in Minnesota - and possibly in the world - that produces quality plays by Hmong Artists about the Hmong experiences."
*referred by Cy Thao, who came to share Hmong Tapestry and his artwork at UMM's HFA on Friday, Februrary 13th of 2004
With more than 200 vendors, new Hmong Village in St. Paul has much to offer
Market houses more than 200 vendors
By Madeline Daniels
mdaniels@pioneerpress.com
Updated: 11/25/2010 11:55:39 PM CST twincities.com "When it seemed that Lee Vang had learned the ropes of working in the kitchen, his older brother simply handed him ownership of Asian Special Drinks & Deli at Hmong Village.
"My family, we like to help each other out," said Lee Vang, a first-time small-business owner from Brooklyn Park.
His story is not uncommon among the hundreds of business owners at Hmong Village, an indoor market that opened last month on the East Side of St. Paul. Of more than 200 general-merchandise vendors, produce stands and professional offices, most are family-run.
"People can come here and establish a family-owned business," said Chia Xa Vang, one of nine owners of Hmong Village. "This kind of market is good for this time in the economy."
Co-owner Yong Yia Vang estimates 500 jobs were created when the center opened in October, including vendors and management staff.
The opportunity to start a business in such an environment is especially helpful for immigrants with poor English skills or little education who feel more comfortable around friends and family, according to Chia Xa Vang.
Wayde Wynn of Oakdale, who sells life insurance from a Hmong Village office, said the market advances the community as a whole.
"It's already the central place where big and little businesses come together," he said. "It really shares with me the Hmong community is going in the right direction.
"For them, an opportunity to make a little extra cash — you can't put a price on a feeling
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like that," he added.
Among the vendors, shoppers can find clothing, cell phones, movies, music, household products, groceries, toys, tea gardens and beauty products.
Booths were created out of storage lockers that fill a once-vacant St. Paul Public Schools storage facility. It is often packed with families shuffling between counters of tricolor tapioca desserts, off-brand toilet paper and painkillers.
Yong Yia Vang said it appears the tenants are making profits, or expecting to, but it is too early to tell.
This weekend may bring an uptick in sales, however, as Hmong New Year celebrations begin.
"We've been talking to everyone that we should have something similar to Black Friday in here," Yong Yia Vang said.
Eileen Yang of St. Paul co-owns one of the stalls with her older sister and began discounting some products up to half off this week.
Her family owns a chain of similar booths in the Twin Cities, where they sell herbal and traditional medicines, swords, clothes, wall hangings and a variety of other items. She said they've come to expect healthy sales during the Hmong New Year.
Although it is unclear how successful Hmong Village entrepreneurs will be, all leasable space is taken and there's a
Min Yang tells a customer the price of one of the dress at her booth in the Hmong Village in St. Paul on November 18, 2010. Yang sells mostly women's clothing in her shop, which she embroiders herself. (Pioneer Press: Ashley Halbach)
long waiting list.
Even though the majority of customers are Hmong, the owners take pride in the diversity Hmong Village fosters. You will also find Vietnamese, Chinese and Cambodian businesses, among others.
"If people have never seen an Asian country, they can stop here and it's going to be very similar," Chia Xa Vang said.
Madeline Daniels can be reached at 651-265-2489.
If You Go
What: Hmong Village (Zos Hmoob)
Where: 1001 Johnson Parkway (directions), St. Paul
Open: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
More information: 651-771-7886
Shopping tip: Bring cash, because some vendors do not accept checks or credit cards.
What: Hmong New Year
Where: St. Paul RiverCentre exhibition halls and Roy Wilkins Auditorium, 175 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul
When: 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. today through Sunday
More information: 651-265-4800"
Village a place for all Hmong
A large new indoor marketplace on St. Paul's East Side provides a place with goods, services, food and conversation for folks of all ages -- and all under one roof.
By CHRIS HAVENS, Star Tribune
Last update: October 23, 2010 - 12:01 PM startribune.com
720 Payne Avenue
Saint Paul, MN 55130
Phone: 651-796-4500
Fax: 651-796-4599
contact@hope-school.org "... goal is to provide students in grades PreK-8 with a rigorous academic foundation, focusing on the mastery of fundamental and higher-order thinking skills that prepare them for life-long learning, while instilling in them the finest Hmong and American values...
*where my nephew is currently going (Fall of 2012)
Events
Hmong New Year, held in the River Centre in St. Paul after Thanksgiving
{2010)
2010 Hmong New Year Scenes- Nov 28th,09' St. Paul, MN
"
This is an article that I wrote a few years ago and was featured in HmongToday:
A lifelong believer in traditional spiritual healing (�ua neeb�), my passage to finding Jesus Christ (or �Yexus� as we Hmong know him) has caused a drift between me and the rest of my family.
Diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF) when I was 12 years old, I have been fighting chronic lung disability for the majority of my life. A life threatening condition, CF has taught me a lot of things as well as raising a whole lot of questions.
Over the years, countless Shamans have treated me. My situation had been so severe at times that my parents have taken me out of state to get �spiritual� healing, herbal treatment and pretty much everything else in the Hmong healing world. They wanted so much for me to be cured, that they were willing to try everything and anything. Growing up in a huge family, I have seen more Hmong ceremonies and rituals than many people will probably see in a lifetime. With 14 siblings, there�s a lot of �ua plig� and �ua neeb� when one of us gets sick and what not.
I never really got into GOD because it just never occurred to me that I needed another religion in my life. I was in that mode of I'm Hmong so I�m believing in what our culture believes. And to be honest, I thought that those who were �Christian� were denying their Hmong culture. After all, isn�t Shamanism a defining attribute of being Hmong?
As a believer in Yexus, it is always a blessing to be able to give a testimony of coming to Him. Everytime a person gets this opportunity, it opens a chance to show others what Yexus has done. One of the affects of having CF is that you are an easy victim for pneumonia, a bacterial infection that attacks the respiratory of the lungs.
It wasn�t until high school when all the years of pneumonia really began to take its toll on my lungs. The first time I got hospitalized for about two weeks was when my lungs were bleeding. That was a time that I will never forget, because when I look back, it was a time when GOD first started to point things out to me. Eventually I recovered and was back on my feet doing thing as usual.
Usually if we don't hear GOD too well the first time, the second time usually is a little clearer. And just when I thought it couldn't get worse, a few years later one of my lungs collapsed. So there I was again, in the same hospital, this time with tubes in my chest, wires hooked up to me and all the other usual needles that they needed to run the medicines through. I mean, if you saw me you would've thought that I was probably not going to make it. The first night that I there, the doctors wanted to put a tube in my chest to try to vacuum the air out. When surgery got underway, and I was drugged up, all I saw was a bright light above me. Then I saw an angel standing next to me and he told me that he was there to take me somewhere. As we were going up through the clouds on some sort of escalator, I could see angels going up and down as if they were running errands.
Eventually he took me to a room and asked me to stay there, a few moments later he came back and took me to a place where the steps stretched on for as long as the eyes could see. Then a voice came from above the stairs. All that I remember was the voice telling me that it wasn�t my time yet, and that �there was a plan for me to accomplish."
I didn�t think too much of it at the time, but now I am starting to realize what it all meant. That sounds pretty much like a movie scene right? Well, that�s what I thought too, so I didn�t share it with anyone for a while. Weeks went by and I was talking to my aunt from Pennsylvania and she, being a Believer of Yexus herself, told me of a dream that she had the night of my surgery. She saw me standing with a man in white robes in the middle of a stairway, and an angel said to her, �Do you know that child there?� My aunt said yes I do, he is my nephew. The angel asked her, �What is his name?� And she said �Pao� (you know how Hmong people tend to have more than one name).
Then the angel said to her, from now on he is to be called �Xamuyeej�. Awaking from her dream, she was in tears and singing that name out loud. Let me tell you, when she was telling me this, a million things began running through my mind. This was the beginning of the road to Christ for me. It wasn�t until recently when I started to really know GOD. I am now experiencing Him in a way that I can truly make sense of all of my past encounters with Him.
Take for instance the name that my aunt gave me, Xamuyeej. About a year ago I looked through the Hmong Bible and discovered the meaning of that name. In the English translation, it is Samuel, which means that GOD hears. And I truly believe that GOD heard the cry of my parent�s heart and put it in my aunt�s mouth to proclaim that name. Just as GOD heard the cry of Samuel�s mom before she gave birth to him.
Looking back, GOD has been there for me and has taught me so much, but without any knowledge or faith in Him, I did not recognize that it was Him. Only now, like Samuel, I have heed to his calling and have a relationship with Him. Just as Samuel was called to take charge of the priesthood of his time, do I understand what my role as the first Believer of Yexus in my family is? Because I have chosen to follow GOD and my parents are still holding on to the traditional belief, there is always that spiritual conflict. Sometimes I wonder what do they think about it and how do they feel about my decision? Do they feel that I have betrayed them? Being the oldest son, have I let them down by not holding onto tradition? These are only few of the questions that run through my mind. I mean, how do you follow GOD and still be a good son who holds up the role of being the oldest? There�s so much tradition that goes against the way of GOD, so how do I deal with it?
What GOD is teaching me is that the hard times that we go through is only to help mold us spiritually. It is not always an easy lesson but He reminds me that He is only a prayer away. A question that I have had for a while and recently revealed to me is the commandment of Honoring thy father and mother. Well, how do I do that? Obviously if I have chosen the path not of tradition, have not I dishonor my parents? But then GOD reminds me that the commandment is "Honor thy father and mother". Not, "Honor thy father who also believes in me and forget them if they don't believe in me".
And yes, I have actually had cousins who have said that about me behind my back. That me choosing a new faith is a slap to my parents� faces because they are still living. Honestly it did not offend me because it lets me know that I am on the right path. Although the view for those who believe in GOD is that all will be okay when you accept Him, that is not always the case. What GOD provides is a fellowship, a relationship that will guide and direct you in life�s many challenges. There is so much to believing in GOD than just going to church, singing, and praying. It is the fact that you can build a relationship and grow spiritually and to have a solid foundation to stand on, a foundation of truth. And that in Him, I can have assurance that I am not alone in this world. Now that I have chosen to follow GOD, I am blessed with the knowledge that regardless of our hard times, there is a GOD who is in Heaven that knows me by name, and He is faithful to answer me when I call on Him."
"..As the Thai military today shut the last Thailand refugee camps that served as a years-long "temporary" home for ethnic Hmong asylum seekers who allied with the U.S. during the Vietnam War, local Hmong leaders in St. Paul saw it as the end of an era.
For the most part, they're more scared than hopeful.
The 4,000 Hmong from the final camp in Pehetchabun, Thailand, are now reportedly on their way to Laos, which many of them fought to keep from falling into communist hands in the 1970s.
"Their safety will for sure be compromised when they're forced to go back to Laos," said Cy Thao, a state representative from St. Paul. "I fear for the political refugees the most."
Ilean Her, executive director of Council on Asian-Pacific Minnesotans, has an elderly uncle in the camp. Her family last heard from him two weeks ago, when he noted increased activity.
"They really fear there will be retaliation and that they will be killed," she said. "They still have that mentality because the war is so fresh in their minds. We've had 30 years of separation from the war. They've been living it every day." ..
-Radio Hmong Wameng on Tuesdays @8:30-10:30p Mpls 90.3FM/St. Paul 106.7FM Hmong American News on Thursdays @8:30-10p Mpls 90.3FM/St. Paul 106.7FM "This Is Home: The Hmong in Minnesota", tribute from Minnesota Pulic Radio
-Television Kev Koom Siab, Channel 19 (St. Paul) on M-F @11:30a & @7p
Ministry
Hmong United Methodist Academy 2008, Part 1
"On November 2 - 6, 2008 at the Lake Tahoe Vacation Resort in South Lake Tahoe, California, from the welcome letter, the Hmong United Methodist Academy Director - Paul Joseph Yang - wrote:..."
Start Date : November 19, 2011
End Date : November 19, 2011
Time : 3:00 pm to11:00 pm
Location :
4580 Victoria St N, Shoreview MN 55126 "Celebrating God's goodness with live music, food, and fellowship! ALL admission sales and a portion of food sales will go towards 'Breaking Free', an anti human-trafficking organization here in MN." Hmong Music Channel 17 (St. Paul) on Wednesdays @10p
Heart of the City Worship I Love You Lord and Qhuas Nws (Holy, Holy, Holy in Hmong)
"Heart of the City leads a couple of worship songs-I Love You Lord and Holy, Holy, Holy (in Hmong) -in this regular city gathering"
*see Multicultural Worship: Heart of the City "Qhuas Nws, qhuas Nws, qhuas Nws,
Nws cov tub txib qhuas Nws,
Nyob saum ntuj sawv-daws
Hu nkauj thiab qhuas Vaj-tswv kawg nkaus,
Nws paub txhua yam hub-si,
Vaj-tswv muaj hwj-chim loj dua ntais tag-ntw."
Hmong song - Kev Hlub Puas Muaj Tiag - Music Videos
"..Birchwood, Wis. — The shooting took place in a small township near the borders of four rural, wooded counties. During deer season the woods are crawling with people in blaze orange, and it's not unusual to hear of small disputes, over property lines or who owns what deer stand. But nothing has ever happened of this magnitude.
According to Sawyer County Sheriff Jim Meier, Chai Vang, 36, is accused of opening fire on a hunting party, killing six people and seriously wounding two others.
...
OPEN SEASON documentary trailer
"Uploaded on Jan 19, 2011
A Hmong immigrant is convicted of killing six white hunters in a violent confrontation during the 2004 deer hunting season in northwestern Wisconsin. Was it a racial incident? Was it the random act of a madman? Did it happen because urban development has diminished the woods, leaving hunters to battle over limited territory? Chai Soua Vang, the perpetrator, is now in prison, his victims buried. But there's a much bigger story here: a story about race, ethnicity, immigration and the changing face of our nation. Part courtroom drama, part intimate portrait, this feature-length documentary looks at the root causes and the reverberating impacts of this tragedy, bringing into high relief the simmering tensions -- racial, cultural, economic -- that lurk in America's heartland.
Award for Achievement in Citizen Journalism - 2011 San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival.
Audience Award - 2011 Sound Unseen International Duluth.
Coming to a local PBS station near you beginning October, 2011.
NEW!!! OPEN SEASON is now available for purchase on DVD from the Center for Asian American Media http://caamedia.org/buy-caam-films/fi...
...." Chai Vang
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"...ang claimed race was a factor, alleging that during the verbal dispute, some of the local hunters yelled out racial slurs at him such as "chink" and "gook". On the stand Hesebeck admitted Robert Crotteau had called Vang a 'Hmong a--hole.' Hesebeck also admitted that he told law enforcement that Robert Crotteau had problems with trespassers in the past, specifically citing Hmong hunters, who often travel to Wisconsin from Minnesota to hunt. The term "Mud Duck" is often used in Western Wisconsin to refer to Minnesota residents, similar to "Cheesehead" being used to describe Wisconsin residents. Willers used this term to describe Chai Vang when he radioed back to the cabin. The term has no racial connotation, although the defense claimed it did. While it is unknown how Willers and the others knew that Vang was from Minnesota, the state is well known for having the largest population of Hmong in the United States....
"...A Population Without a Nation
The Hmong people are an ethnic group whose origins go back about 3,000 years in China. Most Hmong— about eight million—still live in southwestern China. Another four million live in the Southeast Asian countries of Thailand, Burma, Laos and Vietnam, where they immigrated during the 19th century following centuries of persecution in China. There, they existed mostly as farmers living in rural areas.
The first Hmong migration of notable size to the United States began with the fall of Saigon and Laos to Communist forces in 1975. Many Hmong had worked with pro-American anti-Communist forces during the conflicts in Vietnam and Laos. As a result, they were subject to violence and retribution in Laos. Many Hmong escaped Laos to Thailand where they were incarcerated in refugee camps.
From 1981 to 1986, the number of Hmong refugees slowed to a few thousand each year, but admissions picked up again between 1987 and 1994, when about 56,000 Hmong refugees were accepted. After 1994, Hmong refugee admissions slowed to a trickle as most of the Thai camps were by now empty, with the remaining Hmong repatriated to Laos. Also, Hmong immigration based on family reunification remains low, especially compared to other Southeast Asian ethnic groups.
With the first wave that arrived in the late 1970s and early 1980s, voluntary resettlement agencies purposely tried to disperse the Hmong around the country, such as Providence (RI), Philadelphia, Chicago, Des Moines, Iowa, Kansas City (KS), Denver, Missoula (MT), Tulsa, and Salt Lake City. This strategy, however, proved unsuccessful as many Hmong were settled in a poor, predominantly African American neighborhoods where they encountered much hostility and violence.
Also, many Hmong wished to be reunited with family and clan members. These reasons led to a massive shift of the Hmong population in the mid-to- late 1980s to central California cities like Fresno, Stockton, and Merced, and to a lesser extent, to Minnesota and Wisconsin..."
Gran Torino (2008) official trailer - produced & directed by Clint Eastwood
Gran Torino - Official Trailer, from youtube.com "Release Date: 9 January 2009 (USA)
Genre:Action | Drama | Thriller
Director: Clint Eastwood
Cast: Clint Eastwood, Christopher Carley, Bee Vang, Ahney Her
Writers: Nick Schenk, Dave Johannson
Plot:
Clint Eastwood directs and stars in the drama Gran Torino, marking his first film role since his Oscar-winning film Million Dollar Baby. Eastwood portrays Walt Kowalski, an iron-willed and inflexible Korean War veteran living in a changing world, who is forced by his immigrant neighbors to confront his own long-held prejudices.
Retired auto worker Walt Kowalski fills his days with home repair, beer and
monthly trips to the barber. Though his late wifes final wish was for him to take confession, for Walt—an embittered veteran of the Korean War who keeps his M-1 rifle cleaned and ready—theres nothing to confess. And no one he trusts enough to confess to other than his dog, Daisy. " Gran Torino (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia "...is a 2008 American drama film directed by, produced by and starring Clint Eastwood. It is the highest-grossing movie of Eastwood's career at the North American box office without adjustment for inflation.[3] The film features a predominantly Hmong cast, as well as Eastwood's younger son, Scott Eastwood. Eastwood's older son, Kyle Eastwood, provided the score. The film opened to theaters in a limited release in North America on December 12, 2008, and later to a wide release on January 9, 2009.[4]...
Production
...Warner Bros. suggested that the movie should be shot in Michigan due to tax rebates intended to lure television and film productions to the state. Producer Robert Lorenz said that while the script was originally set in Minnesota, he chose Michigan as the actual setting as Kowalski is a retired car plant worker. Eastwood wanted to cast Hmong as cast members, so casting director Ellen Chenoweth enlisted Hmong organizations and set up calls in Detroit, Fresno, California, and St. Paul, Minnesota; Fresno and St. Paul have the two largest Hmong communities in the United States, while Detroit also has an appreciable population of Hmong.[13] Chenoweth recruited Bee Vang in St. Paul and Ahney Her in Detroit.[12]...
Gran Torino on Local Fresno News Station, from youtube.com
-Music Jamie Cullum - Gran Torino, from youtube.com "You can download this song NOW on iTunes!
Jamie's video for the Golden Globe nominated theme song for Clint Eastwood's latest movie. "
STATE Robbinsdale teen to star opposite Clint Eastwood, from ksax.com Posted at: 01/17/2009 10:28:31 PM "ROBBINSDALE, Minn. (AP) - After winning out over 2,000 aspiring young actors to make his movie debut opposite Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang might ask himself: Do you feel lucky, punk?
The 17-year-old Vang grew up watching Eastwood in Westerns and as Dirty Harry. Now he's part of "Gran Torino," which pulled in $29 million last weekend and gave Eastwood the best movie opening of his career.
Vang's parents were born in Laos, then moved to Thailand before emigrating to the U.S. about 1987.
He was born in Fresno, California, and moved with his family to Minneapolis two or three years later. He never acted but says he decided "on a lark" to audition for "Gran Torino."
Vang plays Thao, the Hmong neighbor who leads Eastwood's crusty, bigoted, retired Ford worker, Walt Kowalski, on a journey of redemption in "Gran Torino."
He says working with the 78-year-old Eastwood was scary at first. But Eastwood was a patient teacher with a low-key approach to directing.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)"
Music
-Acoustic
Maiyia - Living in the Light
"Hey everyone! I know it's been a while since I've uploaded a new video. Here is a new song that I am working on. My Lord Jesus has made my life so wonderful so I had to write this song to express my joy!. I hope my happiness can spread to you too! God is so good all the time. "
-Rap
Hmong Christian Rappers at the Studio PT. 1
" Christian Hmong Rappers at the studio. Jojo Yang from Portland Hmong Alliance rapping. Cant Really see him in the booth"
Jesus When We Die - Mathaoz - Hmong
"
Jesus When We Die - Mathaoz " Mathaoz - Yaw Don't Wanna Know Me
,from youtube.com
-Worship & Praise
Hmong Christian Praise And Worship Band
" Tsa Suab - Kuv Tug Kwvluag "
Theatre
-Drama
Slow Fade - Inspirational Short Hmong Youth Film
'Hebrews 4:12
"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit..."
Slow Fade by Casting Crowns
Arafax Deep by Falling Up
Visit the Statesville Hmong Alliance Fellowship Youth! 2214 Bristol Rd. Statesville, North Carolina."
*The Hmong people do not really have a country to call home. They are descendents of a tribe of people that escaped China (Lonely Planet) to the mountains of Laos (Lonely Planet). Then after the Vietnam War, they were pushed to flee from this country to Thailand (Lonely Planet) as refugees.
"Thailand (MNN) ― In the hills of Thailand, the Hmong people live in poverty, making an average of U.S. $1.60 per day. The practice of forced marriage provides bride money, a welcome relief to those struggling as subsistence farmers or day laborers. A center assisted by Compassion International provides hope in the form of education for young girls who would otherwise be married off.
"I worry about the girls in the project," says Vadsana, director of the Kao Kor Grace Child Development Center in a Hmong community. "They feel they have no choice. Many of our girls don't think they can reject the man their parents have chosen for them. It would be disrespectful."
Workers at the center have found that education is a powerful ally in preventing forced teen marriages. Hmong culture deemed the practice necessary generations ago when the average lifespan of Hmong people was between 30 and 40 years. Girls as young as 13 are forced into marriage, often to older men. When the center opened in 1990, center workers had to prove to the Hmong people that they were trying to help families find a way out of poverty.
Hmong culture allowed only boys to attend school, so the community resisted an educational opportunity for their girls. By providing Hmong children in the village with medical care and after-school tutoring, Compassion-assisted workers gradually persuaded the Hmong people to allow both boys and girls to attend the center. One young girl testifies that if not for Compassion's intervention, she would have been married off.
"I saw a lot of my friends get married and have many children when they were still young, but they divorced or had a family crisis after their short marriage" said Pacharee, a 17-year old girl whose family was won over by the center's offer of hope for her future. " So I thank God that He chose me to join the center because He gave me wisdom to do the right thing, to study further, which has resulted in a brighter future."
Pacharee is at the top of her class, among hundreds of girls who have passed through the center's doors. One of 10 children in a desperately-poor family, she says that her parents wanted to marry her off to give her what they believed to be a better life. Pacharee says she wants to get married and have children some day, but for now she would rather worry about studying for tests and finishing her homework. Pacharee dreams of becoming a pharmacist. If you'd like to help provide a better future for a child in Thailand, learn about child sponsorship by clicking here. "
"Listen to a free Audio Bible online, or download a Free MP3 Bible - http://www.audio-bibles.com Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Psalms 119:105"
"By correlation archeological and anthropological evidence, oral tradition, and Chinese imperial records, scholars have traced the Hmong to central Asia, possibly as early as 5000 B.C. Hmong folktales describe a place having six months of light and six of dark, where snow lay on mountains and ice covered lakes. Over many centuries, they migrated eastward descending through northeast Tibet into southern China. There, the Chinese referred to them as Miao(Meo in Southeast Asia), sometimes translated as "barbarians", but actually a variation on the word "man". Their name for themselves Hmong, means "free people"...
Are the Hmongs one of the Lost Tribes of Hebrew? "
Many also believe that the Hmong are one of the Lost Hebrew Tribes. To back this up, a folktale talked about a great flood that happened to the Hmong. Also, Linguistics have compared the Hmong written language to those of ancient Hebrew, and found them to be similar. Hebrew and Hmong also share similar animal sacrifices in religious beliefs. Even with the head dress, the Hmong and the Hebrew head dress are similar in a way. Last but no least, there are Hmongs with blond hair, and blue eyes. This comes to the conclusion that somewhere along the way, may the Hmongs intermarried with blond haired blue eyes people, or maybe the Hmong may have migrated to Europe for a while before heading towards China....
*see GoodnewsEverybody: Middle East-Israel
Chinese Civilization中华文明1-5Our Ancestors曙光初照
"In Chinese mythology, Chi You (蚩尤) is a war deity who fought the Yellow Emperor. For Hmongs, Chi You is a sagacious mythical king. Chi You meaning "txiv yawg" in Hmong or grandfather. Chi You is also the god of rain, and a descendant of Shennong, the inventor of agriculture. His appearance is half giant, half bull, with the front of his head covered with (or made of) iron Mythology Along with Yan Di and Huang Di, Chi You is a deity in Hmong mythology, Chi You was the mythical leader of the Hmong, king of Jiuli, and once a follower of Yan Di. When Huang Di subdued Yan Di, Chi You was weary of the suppression and conspired with Yan Liang, another deity. Soon, Huang Di and Chi You clashed in the Battle of Zhuolu. According to Chinese legends, Chi You and his people rebelled against Huang Di at Zhuolu plains. Both sides used magical powers, but Chi You had the advantage because his troops were armed with forged swords and halberds. Using his power (perhaps a mythological explanation of meteorology used in warfare), Chi You covered the battle field in thick fog. Only with the help of a magical compass chariot (South Pointing Chariot) could Huang Di's troops could find their way through the mist. He also used his daughter Nü Ba, the Goddess of Drought, to harm Chi You's troops. Later on, Chi You suffered more defeats and was captured. Only Ying Long, the winged dragon, being a brave servant of Huang Di, dared to slay him. Chi You's chains were transformed into acorn trees, while Ying Long was cursed to remain on earth forever. According to Chinese legend, the people under Chiyou (蚩尤 Chīyoú) were defeated at Zhuolu (涿鹿 Zhuōlù, a defunct prefecture on the border of today provinces of Hebei and Liaoning) by the military unification of Huang Di (黃帝 Huángdì) and Yandi炎帝, leaders of the Huaxia (華夏 Huáxià) tribe as they struggled for supremacy of the Huang He valley. The compass was believed to be the crucial reason of Huaxia's victory. The battle, believed to be taken place in the 26th century B.C, was fought under heavy fog as Huaxia was able to match against Miao with the compass. After the loss, the original tribe split into two smaller splinter tribes, the Miao (Hmong) and the Li (黎 lí). Miao continuously moving southwest and Li southeast as the Huaxia race, now known as Han Chinese race, expanding southwards. Some fragments of the races were assimilated into the Chinese during Zhou Dynasty. Yet, in other versions, the people of Jiuli fragmented in 3 different directions. It is said Chiyou had 3 sons, and after the fall of Jiuli, his oldest son led some people south, his middle son led some people north, and his youngest son remained in Zhuolu and assimilated into the Huaxia culture. Those who were led to the south established the San-Miao nation. Perhaps due to this splitting into multiple groups, many Far Eastern people regard Chiyou as their ancestors, and by the same token, many question the ethnicity of Chiyou as exclusively Hmong or otherwise. In some circles of thought,Chiyou is also regarded as one of China's forefathers alongside the ethnic Han ancestors, Huangdi and Yandi. Other mythology states that Chi You had 81 brothers, and was a grotesque looking creature: he had six arms, four eyes, the head and hooves resembled an ox and his head was made of metal (copper and iron, mentioned 銅頭鐵額). He only ate stones and pebbles; therefore his teeth were almost unbreakable. One of his achievements was the first use of metal weapons in warfare. He is said to have forged the first swords from bronze or copper. He was violent and no one could defeat him. Historical records Across the Eastern Asia, many people had worshipped Chi You as the war guardian deity. "
"2700 BC: Description in the Chinese Annals of Chi-You, the mythical ancestor of the Miao people in Central China, near the Yellow River or Yang Tse Kiang. The Miao tribe under Chiyou defeated at Zhuolu defunct prefecture on the border of today provinces of Hebei and Liaoning) by Huang Di leader of the Huaxia tribe as they struggled for supremacy of the Huang He valley..."
"has prepared the following summaries (PDFs) about the history and culture of the Hmong people to increase awareness and understanding of the Hmong people..."
"There are roughly 180,000 Hmong people in the U.S., largely concentrated in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and California. Several million Hmong people remain in China, Thailand, and Laos, speaking a variety of Hmong dialects. The Hmong language group is a monosyllabic, tonal language (7-12 tones, depending on the dialect), with features that may make it an important bridge (according to some people) between Thai, Burmese, Chinese, and other Austro-Asian languages. The written language is said by some to have been eradicated over centuries of persecution in China (though it is not certain that there ever was a unique written language for Hmong). According to some traditions, Hmong women once sought to preserve their banned Hmong writing by stitching stylized characters into their dresses. Some of the symbols may have been preserved, but their meaning was lost.
It was not until late in this century that a writing system for Hmong was introduced. Several forms were attempted, but the dominant method is a romanization system in which pronunciation seems highly nonintuitive for English and Hmong speakers alike, though it seems to be based on sound linguistic principles. (The letter "P" is pronounced as "B", "PH" as "P", "X" as "S", "S" as "SH", "T" as "D", "R" as something like "DR", etc. Tones are indicated by one of the consonants j,g,b,v,s or d at the end of each word, or no consonant for the mid-range level tone. It's terribly intimidating when first learning it, but it's pretty reasonable after all.) An increasing number of materials have been printed in the romanized Hmong language, but it is still difficult for most of the Hmong people to read. .."
"WITNESSES TO A SECRET WAR tells the stories of three generations of Hmong refugees as they struggle with their personal and political legacies. The Xiong family, who fought on America's side of the "secret" war in Laos, tries to claim their own piece of the American dream while Hmong American Ka Ying Yang tries to understand her own similar family history."
Hmong and General Vang Pao in the Secrect War in Laos1
Vang Pao - the fat *#! deciever and traitor
"The truth about Vang Pao and his story of deception. This is just a short video about the truth of vang pao and his attempt to kill innocent lao people. He used his own people as pawns so that he himself could get rich off drug trading. Why the hell do you think he left. if he was true "patriot and hero" he should have died for his cause. But wait what did he do? he left his people behind. of course the hmong rebels are going to be punished the are terrorists. Just take a second to think about it, no country is going to let an armed force stay peacefully on the land. they threaten the Lao peoples way of life. Their are many other races in Laos but the hmong are the only ones who try to kill innocent Lao people.
Also there is a brief celebration of Lao PDR with lao national anthem. to celebrate revolution "
"When the authorities in Bac Ha district in Vietnam�s Northwest Mountainous Region discovered that villagers had converted to Christianity and discarded their altars, they sent 'work teams� to the area to apply pressure, Compass Direct said.
Earlier this month they sent seven high officials � including Ban Gia Deputy Commune Chief Thao Seo Pao, district Police Chief A. Cuong and district Security Chief A. Son � to try to convince the converts that the government considered becoming a Christian a very serious offense.
Compass Direct also reports that Christian leaders in the area said threats included being cut off from any government services. When this failed to deter the new Christians, they said, the officials threatened to drive the Christians from their homes and fields, harm them physically and put them in prison.
"When the Christians refused to buckle under the threats, a leader of the Christians, Chau Seo Giao, was summoned daily to the commune headquarters for interrogation. He refused to agree to lead his people back to their animistic beliefs and practices," Compass reported.
Giao asked the authorities to put their orders to recant the Christian faith into writing. The officials declined, with one saying, �We have complete authority in this place. We do not have to put our orders into writing.�
They held Giao for a day and night without food and water before releasing him. He is still required to report daily for �work sessions.�
Compass Direct reported that in September, Hmong evangelists of the Vietnam Good News Church had traveled to the remote Ban Gia Commune where it borders Ha Giang province. Within a month, some 20 families numbering 108 people in Lu Siu Tung village had become Christians and had chosen Giao to be their leading elder.
The Compass report says: "Rapid growth of Christianity among Vietnam�s ethnic minorities in the northwest provinces has long worried authorities. There were no Protestant believers in the region in 1988, and today there are an estimated 300,000 in many hundreds of congregations. As recently as 2003, official government policy, according to top secret documents acquired by Vietnam Christians leaders, was the 'eradication' of Christianity."
It adds: "Under international pressure, however, a new, more enlightened religion policy was promulgated by Vietnam beginning in late 2004. Part of the new approach was an effort to eliminate forced renunciations of faith. The provisions and benefits of such legislation, however, have been very unevenly applied and have not reached many places such as Ban Gia Commune."
According to Compass Direct, Vietnam�s Bureau of Religious Affairs prepared a special instruction manual for officials in the Northwest Mountainous Region on how to deal with the Protestant movement. Published in 2006 and entitled �Concerning the Task of the Protestant Religion in the Northwest Mountainous Region,� this document included plainly worded instructions for authorities to use all means to persuade new believers to return to their traditional beliefs and practices.
Compass says this document directly contravened Vietnam�s undertaking to outlaw any forcible change of religion. Under international pressure, the manual was revised and some language softened, but according to an analysis of the 2007 revision of the manual released in February by Christian Solidarity Worldwide, the language still communicates the goal of containing existing Christianity and leaves the door open to actively stop the spread of Christianity.
Compass Direct also says the Central Bureau of Religious Affairs instruction manual for training officials shows no change to the 2006 document�s core objective to �solve the Protestant problem� by subduing its development, concluded the February report by CSW and the International Society for Human Rights.
The 2006 manual had outlined a government plan to "resolutely subdue the abnormally rapid and spontaneous development of the Protestant religion in the region."
Whereas the 2006 manual provided specific legitimacy for local officials to force renunciations of faith among members of less well-established congregations, the 2007 edition imposes an undefined and arbitrary condition of stability upon the freedom of a congregation to operate,� the CSW report says. �Therefore, the treatment of any congregation deemed not to �stably practice religion� is implicitly left to the arbitration of local officials, who had previously been mandated to force renunciations of faith.�
Without a full and unconditional prohibition on forcing renunciations of faith, the report concludes, the amended manual does not go far enough to redress problems in the 2006 original, Compass reported.
Officials in the remote village of Ban Gia felt no compunction to resort to strong-arm methods to halt the growth of Christianity, said one long-time Vietnam observer.
"When a church leader advised the central government of the problem in Ban Gia Commune, the pressure only increased,� he said. �The unavoidable conclusion is that it is still acceptable in Vietnam for officials to force recantations of Christian faith.�
Laos: Crackdown targets Hmong Christians
By Elizabeth Kendal
World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (WEA RLC)
Special to ASSIST News Service Thursday, August 16, 2007
"AUSTRALIA (ANS) -- A Presbyterian missionary first brought the gospel to Buddhist, animist Laos in 1885. Whilst the ethnic Lao were resistant, the ethnic minorities were not. Thanks to Gospel radio and indigenous missionaries, the 20th century saw revivals amongst the Hmong and the Khmu which sometimes involved whole villages turning to Christ. During the second Indochina war the Hmong, who live in the hills that straddle northern Vietnam and Laos, joined with the American forces against the Communists. But by April 1975 the Americans had been driven out and the Communists had won. This left the Hmong in a dire situation as an ethnic and growing religious minority under vengeful Communist regimes. According to Operation World, some 90 percent of all the Laos Christian leadership were forced to flee the Communist advances, reprisals, purges and persecution of 1975.
The Laos government, still one of the world's most severe abusers of religious liberty, has explicitly declared its intention to 'eliminate Christianity'. The government not only severely persecutes Christians, it is also pursuing a genocidal war against the restive Hmong, using military means which include gross barbarity, chemical weapons ('yellow rain') and starvation. (See note and links below)...."
Miscellaneous
Hmong people
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"The terms Hmong (pronounced [m̥ɔ̃ŋ]) and Mong ([mɔ̃ŋ]) refer to an Asian ethnic group in the mountainous regions of southeast Asia. Hmong are also one of the largest sub-groups in the Miao minzu populated in southern China. Beginning in the 18th century, Hmong groups began a gradual southward migration due to political unrest and to find more arable land. As a result, Hmong currently also live in several countries in Southeast Asia, including northern Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar-Burma.
In Laos, a significant number of Hmong/Mong people fought against the communist-nationalist Pathet Lao during the Secret War. When the Pathet Lao took over the government in 1975, Hmong/Mong people were singled out for retribution, and tens of thousands fled to Thailand for political asylum. Since the late 1970s, thousands of these refugees have resettled in Western countries, including the United States, Australia, France, French Guiana, and Canada. Others have been returned to Laos under United Nations-sponsored repatriation programs. Around 8,000 Hmong/Mong refugees remain in Thailand.[1]...."
Music
Hmong Gospel/VajTswv Yuav Rov Los(Karaoke Sing Along)
"Come and find God he's the only one who can save your soul and can bring you with him to heaven, please come and find and except him today....you'll be much happier than before... "
Youth
Make a Stand Hmong CMA Christians
"Hmong-American Christians in the CMA find it difficult to attend church because of ongoing political battles that wage between different clans.
This has to do with a lot of the old Hmong ways that have been integrated into the faith and has caused a great disconnect within the church.
Even though each generation of Hmong Christians did things that seem to fit at their moment in time, there needs to be a sweeping change as many young people are unhappy with this system.
Most young married or non-married Hmong Christians have been hesitant to speak out for fear of being outcasts or trying to be loyal to the family clan. There are even those who have lost faith.
It is now time for the younger generation to come together and lay the foundations for the next generation Hmong Christian churches."
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