All Hmong must go

[Old Hippie]

I would be curious to see the over all drop out rates here...it seems like the thing to do around here.

 

Wonder what age groups that covers as well?

[YimSiam]

I think this disparity has been true for quite a while - there's a perception of the Asian 'model minority' but in reality the differences between groups is significant. I'd say you can trace it to two factors: those that do poorly came not of their own volition, but rather because the situation was no longer tenable in their own country (and most of these did not come directly from their own country, but from an intermediate country where they spent years in camps); and, they had little or no tradition of formal education in their country of origin. Thus, you have the Laotians (and particularly the hill tribe groups - Hmong, Mien, Khmu) doing relatively poorly, like the Cambodians, Montagnards, etc. Meanwhile, those who came by choice directly from their countries - Chinese, Indians, lots of Koreans - and had a history of education do very well.

 

In short, refugees who come from very rural or hilltribe backgrounds end up in cities like Oakland (west and east, no hills) or Richmond, CA, while non-refugee immigrants move on up the food chain. Refugees might work hard, get decent jobs in unskilled labour - but the next generation often stumbles if the family doesn't know how to keep the kids in school. Not always - there are plenty of Hmong doing alright in the central valley or Minnesota - but often.

 

With the Petchaboon Hmong, the ones who should be allowed to come to the US (the refugees who can't go back) are those that would likely do poorly for a couple generations - but the point would not be to benefit the US but to protect the refugees. The ones who don't actually have problems but rather are trying to get a free resettlement to the US would probably do fine in the States - but they should be sent back if they wouldn't face persecution, and if they still want to come to the US they can go ahead and apply for Diversity Visas next time around, or sign up for mail-order-bride services or whatever, just like everybody else...

 

YimSiam

 

 

[Old Hippie]

"...In short, refugees who come from very rural or hilltribe backgrounds end up in cities like Oakland (west and east, no hills) or Richmond, CA,..."

 

 

I live in Richmond CA, there is indeed a fairly big Lao/Hmong population here. Their presence is becoming more and more prevalent. Over all, I'd say they are more of an asset to this community then a detriment.

[kwai_hai]

Those who can't be sent back could be allowed to live in Thailand...........

YimSiam

 

As long as they don't end up trying to sell those wooden frogs. That sound used to be quite pleasant but I have heard it so much it now annoys the f' out of me.

[..]

I think you are safe. Those frog-sellers are predominately Akha I think... Not Hmong anyway.

 

You around this weekend? I'm making a brief stop in Bangers.

 

Cheers,

SD

[Flashermac]

Yep, it's the Akha who have appeared everywhere in the last couple of years with those noisy wooden frogs.

 

[YimSiam]

Flash,

 

Very strange, the sudden appearance of the Akha in Bangkok - I didn't believe they actually were Akha at first, I thought they were just folks half-dressed in Akha wear, but they have that distinctive Tibetan look, and they do speak Tibeto-Burman Akha language. Bizarre. I guess they just keep drifting southwards, China, Chiang Mai, Bangkok... like they have for centuries... Them frogs are creepy.

 

cheers,

 

YimSiam

[YimSiam]

"...In short, refugees who come from very rural or hilltribe backgrounds end up in cities like Oakland (west and east, no hills) or Richmond, CA,..."

 

 

I live in Richmond CA, there is indeed a fairly big Lao/Hmong population here. Their presence is becoming more and more prevalent. Over all, I'd say they are more of an asset to this community then a detriment.

 

Old Hippie,

 

I used to work in Richmond - crazy city! Boom/bust history - at least it's not the murder capital of America anymore (not for lack of trying...).

 

To me, the most interesting group there is the Mien/Yao - all those Lao hill people, the women with the red boa-type outfit, the names that have "Sae" in them - Saelee, Saechao, etc (check the 510 white pages under 'Sae-'...). Richmond's probably the biggest Mien concentration outside of Laos. Like most hilltribes, they have their own name - Mien - which usually means 'the people', while the dominant society calls them something else - Yao - which usually means 'slave'. The Hmong call themselves Hmong, the others call them Miao, "slave" -- similarly, Akha can be connected to Thai for slave, although bit differently.

 

The Mien are hilltribe opium cultivators - here's a Richmond story:

 

When the Mien started concentrating in Richmond 15-20 years ago (because a leader moved there, and partly because bad neighborhoods in Richmond were the bottom of the US urban barrel, which was where the Mien were destined to end up, given difficulties in assimilating), they craved the opium they used in Laos and the Thai refugee camps for relaxation and medicine. This was especially true with the old folks, for whom opium smoking was hardly a vice, let alone a crime. Problem was, opium doesn't grow on trees in America...

 

So, the Richmond Mien developed a scheme that worked brilliantly for a while. They figured out that you could send, say, a half-pound package (maybe a book, or just a piece of wood) to a relative in a refugee camp in Thailand. When the package arrived in Thailand, corrupt postal officials would look the other way while the recipient replaced the half-pound book with half a pound of Lao opium. They'd carefully re-seal the package, record it as 'undeliverable, return to sender', and it would be sent back to the original sender - for free! - and on the way back into the states it would apparently avoid close scrutiny, as just a returned package, and grandma and grandpa Mien would have a good time with the pipe for a while after picking up their 'returned' package at the post office...

 

Eventually, Richmond police stumbled onto this ruse , and over a short period high numbers of elderly Mien were busted for trying to import opium - many were arrested, but most released without charges after getting some clarification about the laws of the USA...

 

Anyway, next time you see an old Lao lady crossing Barrett or McDonald, or headed to Verde to pick up her kids at school, watch out! She just might be a drug trafficker...

 

What were we talking about again?

 

YimSiam

 

 

 

[chuckwoww]

They are Akha spreading out from Chiang Mai. Enterprising folk. They know how to capitalize on their cute costumes.

[YimSiam]

In northern Lao towns where backpackers started showing up in the nineties, the Akha'd be there in their Akha clothes, with a chintzy bracelet for sale in one open palm, and a ball of opium in the other, closed, palm. Funny thing was, they both cost damn close to nothing... Wonder if it's still the same?

 

cheers,

 

YimSiam