Mee Moua leaves state Senate, legacy

State Sen. Mee Moua, D-St. Paul, became the highest serving Hmong American politician when she joined the Minnesota legislature. After serving eight years, she announced in May 2010 that she would not seek re-election (MPR Photo/Laura Yuen)

St. Paul, Minn. — Mee Moua was 32 and a virtual unknown when she won a special election in 2002 as a Democrat to represent St. Paul's blue-collar East Side in the state Senate.

Moua will always be remembered as the nation's first Hmong-American elected to a state legislature. But looking back, she thinks that the appeal of her historic win touched on something much broader.

"In the deepest part of our hearts, we all love a great American Dream story," she said.

A refugee girl from the mountains of Laos, Mous settled in the Midwest, joined the Girl Scouts and the debate club, and studied her way to the Ivy League at Brown University. Immigrants -- and the children of immigrants -- tend to relate the most to her experience, she said.

HMONG PRESENCE AT CAPITOL COULD DISAPPEAR

When she was followed by State Rep. Cy Thao, Hmong Minnesotans could proudly point to two of their own holding office at the Capitol.

Now that the two Democrats have decided not to run for re-election this fall, the number of Hmong-American lawmakers could dwindle to zero.

Moua said that since she announced her decision not to seek re-election, some Asians have expressed their disappointment. She understands the pull of identity politics -- how constituents feel empowered when someone in power looks like them or speaks a shared language.

"When people come to the Capitol, there will no longer be a short Asian-American woman kind of bopping around," she said.

Over the eight years that Moua has been in office, the novelty of Hmong Minnesotans in politics has worn off. Her younger sister, Vallay Varro, was elected last year to the St. Paul Public School board, serving alongside another Hmong-American woman.

Moua says the press didn't turn her sister's ethnicity into a headline.

"It was remarkable to me how unremarkable it was," Moua said. "It's actually become mainstream to have Asian-American and Hmong-American candidates to run for these offices. And it's now no longer unusual or out of the ordinary that they win."

Still, Moua and Thao, also from St. Paul, haven't always gotten the full support of the Hmong community in Minnesota. Thao said other Hmong-Americans are constantly challenging their authority.

That much was clear in 2007, when Thao and Moua went on a fact-finding trip to Thailand to investigate the mass desecration of Hmong graves, only to be followed by a separate Twin Cities delegation comprised of competing community advocates.

"There's this sibling rivalry that gets pretty vicious in the end," Thao said.

BROUGHT VALUABLE PERSPECTIVE TO LEGISLATURE

Moua's legislative record hasn't been dominated by Hmong issues. But some say Moua did bring a singular perspective to the job of chairing the powerful judiciary committee.

"Senator Moua always had a focus on whether or not an individual's rights were abused due to the color of their skin," said state Sen. Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove.

Limmer, the ranking minority member of the committee, said he is as conservative as Moua is liberal but always found her to be open-minded.

Yet Moua made waves with some law-enforcement officials this year when she proposed legislation that would ban police departments from sharing secret files on gang members and activities. Moua said she had concerns about racial profiling, especially of young African-Americans who she says could be entered into the database simply for being photographed with a known gang member. The proposal came after a series of scandals involving the now-defunct Metro Gang Strike Force.

"So she saw abuse in law enforcement, and I think that's why she wrote the bills she did," Limmer said. "Was it an overreach? Hmm. Some people might say so, but you could understand where she was coming from."

Some law-enforcement officials, though, painted Moua as a gang sympathizer. And Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher said at the time that Moua was overreacting to isolated problems with the strike force.

"I think that overreaction has caused her to introduce reckless legislation that will jeopardize the safety of citizens, officers and case prosecutions," Fletcher said.

Moua said she was taken aback by the reaction from law enforcement.

"They wanted to make this about cops vs. dangerous criminals," she said. "But the actuality is it's about cops vs. people in the community who haven't done anything [wrong] and who were being profiled in these databases."

Chaska Police Chief Scott Knight said Moua has been known to question police practices -- which may have irked some law enforcement officials.

"While sometimes some of my peers had some frustrations, I thought she was very healthy for the global approach to law enforcement, and the balance with community and citizens' rights and fairness," Knight said.

"ANCHOR" FOR FAMILY

Moua said her decision to retire has nothing to do with the criticism. Her reasons were more personal -- and culminated with the death of her mother-in-law last summer. Sai Yang helped care for Moua's three children, and after her death Moua and her husband began to feel the pressures of juggling her legislative job and raising a family.

"Her absence really made it so clear and crisp how much of a role she played in creating a stable anchor for my children and for my whole family," Moua said.

Moua said she needs to be that anchor -- while continuing to provide for her family.

"I'm trying to find a job that will accommodate my desire to be able to be a good Girl Scout mom, a Boy Scout mom, and a softball mom," she said.

Moua, an attorney, said she's considering careers in philanthropy, civic engagement, and consulting, and that she's open to moving across the country or even abroad. But Moua said she hasn't ruled out a return one day to politics.

The trail she blazed to the Capitol may lead other Hmong-Americans on the same journey. In a field of nine candidates in the Senate race to replace her, four are of Hmong descent.

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New Hmong film at Brookdale

Paj Nyiag was not the “son” her father had wish to have. Unloved and abandoned by her father, she faces life with tears and a broken heart.

Moua Lee wrote and co-directs with Zoua Vang Lee. Mark D. Lee is is the Director of Photography. The film stars Dib Thoj, Kos Lis, Ntxhoo Lis, Npis Yaj, Suav Hawj, and Sua Lis.

Hmong Film

(No Rating)

June 27,

7:30 p.m.

Brookdale 8 Cinemas

5810 Shingle Creek Pkwy

Brooklyn Park, MN

www.brookdalecinemas.com

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Vietnam Veterans Traveling Wall arrives in Wisconsin Rapids on Thursday

"It brings people together. People for the war. People against the war. It has a lasting effect," said John Devitt, wall creator and former Army helicopter door gunner.

The Moving Wall, a portable replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., is one veteran's tribute to the sacrifices made by his fallen comrades.

As part of the Cranberry Blossom Festival, the Wall is coming to Wisconsin Rapids on Thursday, with opening ceremonies beginning at 5 p.m. at Witter Field. The Wall is a 3/5 scale of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C.; it stands six feet tall at the center and is approximately 300 feet in length. The Wall will stay in Wisconsin Rapids until closing ceremonies after the Cranberry Blossom parade on Sunday.

Few know of the sacrifice Hmong soldiers made to help the United States during the war. As the war escalated, the United States recruited Hmong soldiers as informants. Many of these soldiers played an integral role in cutting the Communist supply flow along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. They fought in the guerilla war to help America and rescued fallen U.S. soldiers.

When the United States left Vietnam in 1975, the Hmong who worked for the CIA no longer were welcome in their own country. Roughly 40,000 families of soldiers were admitted to the United States. Nearly 16,000 reside in Wisconsin. Central Wisconsin is home to many Lao veterans who traveled to the United States with their families seeking political asylum.

The Moving Wall is a tribute to all veterans and the sacrifices they made during that time. Local Lao Veterans of America will join the U.S. veterans on Thursday during the opening ceremony, walking with them in a show of solidarity. The Moving Wall truly does bring people together.

The Moving Wall is brought to Wisconsin Rapids, thanks in part to unrestricted and other funds that support causes like this and are held at the Community Foundation of Greater South Wood County.

Contributed by Liz Everson and Lee Pao Thao, Diversity Committee members.

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Moua: Gang of One

The first-ever Hmong state legislator reflects on her decade at the Capitol

In 2002, Mee Moua became the first person of Hmong descent in the United States to be elected a state legislator. She survived a five-candidate DFL primary and won special election to a state Senate seat representing the East Side of St. Paul. The native of Laos then won re-election twice in the heavily Democratic district. But in the waning hours of this year’s legislative session, she unexpectedly announced that this would be her final term at the Capitol.

Moua was at the center of one of this year’s most contentious legislative debates. In the wake of revelations about misdeeds by cops assigned to the (since disbanded) Metro Gang Strike Force, she introduced legislation that would have prohibited police departments from maintaining databases of alleged gang members. Moua defended the proposal as a necessary check against unfair targeting of minority populations by officers.

But the legislation (and Moua) received fierce criticism from law enforcement interests and was ultimately scuttled. Instead the Legislature opted to set up a working group to further study the issue.

Capitol Report sat down with Moua at her office last Friday. What follows is an edited transcript of the conversation.

Capitol Report: You became the first person of Hmong descent in the country to be elected to a state legislature. Looking back, what’s the significance of that?

Mee Moua: To have the result as a historical marker is significant and it’s pretty cool. Hmong-American children, in the last 10 years, who grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, and really all across this country, grew up under a different reality. They grew up under a reality of having Sen. Mee Moua and Rep. Cy Thao at the state Capitol. It’s kind of like my children experiencing the election of Barack Obama. They’re going to grow up with that reality as part of their lives.

For the external community, I think the presence of myself, as well as Rep. Cy Thao and other Hmong elected officials, has offered a more complete picture. Previously there was a much more narrow view of the Hmong community — more ethnic, more marginalized. Our full participation in the electoral process has broadened the perceptions [to be] closer to the reality of what the Hmong American community represents.

Capitol Report: Was there any moment or event in particular that crystallized for you that it was time to go?

Moua: I came into this life through a very opportune moment. I didn’t design my career to become an elected official. It was just the right opportunity at the right time and it happened to me. When I got elected and I came here, I made a commitment to myself and to my husband that at the most I would be here 10 to 12 years. This year we kind of hit that decade mark.

One of the triggers for us, that reminded us about our 10-year, 12-year time table, was my mother-in-law’s passing last summer. She was very much the anchor in our family life. She was the stable force that was there for my children. Not that I was an absent mom, but during the legislative sessions those are some tough hours. The life that we lead, you easily could be doing fundraising events, every evening, Monday through Friday. And the weekends get even busier. When Mom was living with us, we could go to an event in the evening for an hour and a half and we know that Mom is taking care of the kids.

My husband and I just had a conversation. We said, we were always committed to the idea at the most of 10 to 12 years. We should dust that off and think about whether it’s time. Then when we started to really think about it and do the math, we just concluded that we have a 10-year-old. If we wanted maximum flexibility to re-orient our future, transitioning a fourth grader is a lot easier than transitioning a sixth grader, and that made the decision for us. We just think that it’s a really exciting time in our lives. We could end up staying here in Minnesota and being part of this community and that would be awesome. But we could end up in another state somewhere, or we could end up doing an international stint.

Capitol Report: Turning back to the legislative session, do you regret putting forward the bill that would have put in place a prohibition on criminal gang databases?

Moua: I don’t regret it at all. I think that the conversation had to take place. I think that it was a very productive conversation. At times I think we all could have been more grown up about the conversation. Because the whole intent of putting the bill out there was to test whether or not there was sufficient trust among the communities and the law enforcement agencies to talk about how to repair the relationship that is symbolically represented by these profiling databases.

The end product that came out of the conference committee, which is very different from my proposal, may not be the solution that I put on the table. But what I got out of the conference committee is that law enforcement made a commitment to be at the table for the conversation and that the communities of color, particularly the African American community, are comfortable and in fact like the idea of being part of a working group to shape that conversation.

Capitol Report: But there’s a long history, when people don’t want to deal with an issue at the Capitol, of forming a working group and creating a report that starts collecting dust the day it’s done. Why do you think this will be something other than that?

Moua: It could turn out to be that way. But I also think that because of the tenor and the tone of the conversation as we moved from my initial proposal to where we ended, I’m confident that the participants in this conversation are at the table with the best intentions and are at the table having been informed by the very crisp and clear conversations that led to that compromise.

Capitol Report: Some of the rhetoric during that debate was very heated and personal. You were accused of basically being on the side of the gang bangers. What do you think about that?

Moua: I think law enforcement did what law enforcement usually does, which is to overreact. I think it created a public backlash. Their behavior reaffirmed for the public the reason why there’s this mistrust of law enforcement. I thought that it was short-sighted on their part. My children’s reaction to it was interesting. My seven-year-old said, ‘Mommy, I don’t know what you’re doing at the Capitol, but there’s some name-calling going on, and that’s mean.’ For me that boiled down what that exchange really was about.

Capitol Report: What role do you think race played in that conversation?

Moua: My viewpoint is tainted by the fact that I’m a woman of color, interpreting the things that happen around me through that as one of the lenses. The way that I’m able to feel at peace with the issue is that the whole gang database conversation is more than just about the database. It is about a conversation that needs to continue. We can’t just, on an episode-by-episode basis, have these conversations because of a headline or because of an incident. There is a real tension [between] law enforcement and the communities. Whether that tension is because of good or bad behavior by the police, the reality is that that tension is there.

In my experience here at the Legislature, I’ve always found it to be amazingly short-sighted that law enforcement has consistently insisted that racial profiling — disproportionate application of law enforcement on communities of color — has all been pure perception and fabrication on the part of communities of color. At some point, when that is the stance that you take all the time, then it leads someone like me to say, ‘Isn’t there a single ounce of doubt in your mind that race might play some contributing factor?’ It’s that seed of doubt that builds trust. The experience I’ve had up here around this issue with law enforcement has always been, ‘Nope, we do our job. We do what we need to do. We protect the safety of the public. Whatever the community thinks about this is purely misperception on their part.’

Capitol Report: When your bill did finally come to the Senate floor, there were Republicans who were opposed to it. But there were also quite a few Democrats who spoke against it, and spoke against it in ways that didn’t necessarily reflect what was in the bill. What do you think about that?

Moua: I think the Republicans and the Democrats who were speaking out against specific provisions of that bill had reasons other than policy reasons for being opposed to it. That’s the reality sometimes of how the work gets done around here. If it all were always about good public policy, then there wouldn’t be so many opportunities for things to go wrong. But that entire debate was not about good public policy. That debate was about who was a better friend to law enforcement and who was going to come out of the legislative session and be able to go out and campaign with the full blessing and endorsement of the chiefs and the sheriffs associations. Because of that kind of dynamic and that kind of political context, the conversation wasn’t about good public policy.

Capitol Report: Are you going to back anyone for the SD 67 seat? Or play any role?

Moua: No. I’m blissfully unaware of all the things that are going on with regards to that race.

Capitol Report: Do you see yourself as having a political future in St. Paul?

Moua: If you had asked me that question in February of 2001, I would have said no. And yet, in November of 2001, I had a political future. Right now, I would say no. But I don’t know. If I continue to live here, I think there will always be that chance that there might be an opportunity that would pop up that I would consider. On the other hand, right now my plans are in such flux. I don’t know if I’m going to stay here and live here in Minnesota.

Capitol Report: Do you have any immediate plans at this time?

Moua: I’ve taken the last couple of months just to recover from the last legislative session, really enjoying some stress-free time with my kids. I feel like I have a little time yet before I really dig down and start the process of finding another job. I’m confident that something will surface. I just don’t know what that is.

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Color of Justice program gives students peek at bench

Ger Moua, 16, a student at East High in Anchorage, lives with seven sisters, one brother, her parents, who are Hmong refugees, and her grandmother. Her mother works two jobs and her father is disabled by heart problems. She wants to be the first person in her family to earn a college degree. And maybe that means a career in the law.

"My family depends a lot on me and my sisters," she said Thursday evening. "My parents will get older and need help with money, other situations."

Moua and 80 other high school and college students from across the state gathered last week to participate in Anchorage's eighth annual Color of Justice program, which aims to introduce students, particularly those from minorities, to careers in the legal field.

Wednesday evening at the Snow City Café, 30 students met lawyers, judges and other law professionals from all over the country for the "Speed Mentoring Experience." Students met one-on-one with lawyers and judges to discuss and ask personal questions regarding different careers. Alaska Supreme Court Justice Dana Fabe gave the opening remarks.

The judiciary system should be as diverse as the pool of defendants, she said.

"The vision of diversity is the vision of equality," she told the crowd.

High school students in the program toured the University of Alaska Anchorage and heard from law professors from the Pacific Northwest in presentations that looked at specific cases and various outcomes. They also participated in a mock trial on Friday afternoon.

Earlier Friday, students filled the seats in the Supreme Court courtroom at the Boney Courthouse downtown. Fabe and Superior Court Judge Stephanie Joannides handed out robes for the mock trial.

High school students Christopher Hawk, 16, an East High junior, and Daniela Martinez, 17, a West High senior, said they hoped careers in law could be shaped to fit their individual interests.

For example, Hawk hopes to combine his love for music and law, he said.

"No one in my immediate family has earned a college degree," he said. "It would be cool to be one of the first."

Martinez looks back at her first few years of high school with regret because she did not push herself academically. But the event inspired her to work harder.

"I tried but it seemed like I was going nowhere. But now I have to do something about it," she said.

Martinez eventually plans on attending Cal-Poly University in San Luis Obispo, Calif., and focus on her greatest interest -- psychology -- in order to pursue civil family law cases one day.

Joannides looked out across the courtroom right before the students put on their robes. 

"Hope to see you all on the bench soon," she said.

Read more: http://www.adn.com/2010/06/19/1331821/color-of-justice-program-gives.html#ixzz0rQHhxGW1

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Valedictorian Mai Zong Her

Duncan Polytechnical High School said goodbye Wednesday to 205 graduating seniors at Fresno's Saroyan Theatre. Here are some of the highlights:

The school: Duncan Polytechnical

The ceremony: 6 p.m. Wednesday at Saroyan Theatre

School mascot: Stallion

School colors: Orange and blue

Number of graduates: 205

Time to complete graduation procession: About 10 minutes

Number of valedictorians: 10

Number of salutatorians: 1

Total number of scholarships: 26

Total value of scholarships: $329,705

Some colleges graduates will attend: UC Berkeley, UC Merced, UC Riverside, Cal Poly, Fresno State, Fresno Pacific, La Sierra University, Fresno City College

Attendance at graduation ceremony: About 2,000

Principal: Carol Gaab Hansen

What she said to the Class of 2010: "Don't feel entitled to anything you don't sweat and struggle for. Don't assume a door is closed, and if it is closed today, don't assume it will be closed tomorrow. Be decent and fair and insist that others be so in your presence. There are three traits that come to mind for you as a class: hard-working, initiative and persistence. It is these traits that will lead to your success."

Class speaker: Valedictorian Mai Zong Her

Most surprising moment: Mai Zong Her gave an introduction to her speech in three languages -- English, Hmong and Spanish.

Best quote from class speaker: "With time cascading like a waterfall, we allowed our aspirations to be our guide. ... Everyone can accomplish their dreams, but it is the expedition that is unique to each one of us."

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Shoua Vang, Hmong leader and helper

He rescued downed American pilots in Vietnam and later helped make St. Paul one of the largest immigrant centers for Hmong refugees fleeing southeast Asia.

After helping rescue downed American pilots during the Vietnam War, Shoua Vang brought his family to St. Paul and was instrumental in helping thousands of fellow Hmong settle in Minnesota.

Vang worked for more than 20 years as an interpreter and caseworker at the International Institute of Minnesota, helping settle more than 10,000 Hmong, said executive director John Borden, who worked with him.

Vang, 65, died Friday at his Hugo farm from a recent stroke and other ailments.

"He was an extraordinary connection for the Hmong community and the host community of St. Paul and Minnesota, because we learned so much from him," said George Latimer, who was St. Paul's mayor during the heavy Hmong migration of the 1980s. He said Vang played a major role in helping St. Paul gain one of the nation's largest Hmong populations.

"He had a wonderful ability to communicate, with limited language facility, with the host community -- so people had great trust in him," Latimer added. "He was a real bridge builder for the incoming community."

Borden started at the institute about a month after Vang was hired in 1978, and together they developed the Hmong resettlement program.

"He had a key role in resettlement. He did a lot of outreach to the Hmong community," Borden said. He said Vang worked tirelessly to make sure that Hmong refugees found housing, jobs and social services, and sometimes delivered 40-pound bags of rice to feed them. Vang also told Hmong how to file papers to bring family members here from Laos.

"He had a real charming personality," Borden said. "He was about 4-foot-10 and had a huge smile. Kids were drawn to him. He was a very kindly person." As a former major in the Royal Laotian Army, Vang had connections to Gen. Pao Vang, a revered Hmong leader, and that contact made Shoua Vang "a magnet for other Hmong in the Twin Cities," Borden said.

In fact, when the institute wanted to disperse the concentration of Hmong in St. Paul, it opened an office in north Minneapolis and stationed Vang there several days a week. Hmong immigrants began settling near that office, Borden said.

According to Borden, one of his sayings was: "Americans always want to push paper, not people. My job is to push people."

Youa Her said her father bought a Hugo farm in the 1980s for use by members of his clan. He continued to raise chickens and crops on the 70-plus-acre farm after he retired because of diabetes and health problems around 2001. She said he regretted having spent so little time with his six children when they were growing up but spent lots of time with his grandchildren, who loved going to his farm.

Her father was a charismatic person who liked helping people and who inspired her to move from a business job into one serving people, including working on a nursing degree, said Her, of Woodbury.

She added: "His legacy to me was one of endurance. It was about overcoming obstacles and hardships and becoming a better person during the process. It was also about helping others and raising them up so that they could have a chance at a better life."

In addition to his daughter Youa Her, Vang is survived by his wife, Mee Xiong, two sons, Nhia of Hugo and Kou of St. Paul, three other daughters, Jou Xiong of Dacula, Ga.; Mae Kirby of St. Paul and Plua Vang of Hugo; two brothers, Peng and Kou, both of St. Paul; a sister, Mao of St. Paul, and seven grandchildren.

A traditional Hmong funeral, open to all, will be held from July 2 through the morning of July 5 at Legacy Funeral Home, 255 Eaton St., St. Paul.

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World Refugee Day in Minnesota

Minneapolis, MN - The weather didn't dampen a big gathering of international refugees in Minneapolis on Saturday. Minnesota is home to about 100,000 refugees.

They bring as much diversity as they do culture to this state.

Dozens of refugees gathered near 7th and Hennepin in downtown Minneapolis to share their culture through song, dance, and storytelling. The Twin Cities refugee community is resilient, and it's why many people say the events went on as planned despite the rain Saturday afternoon.

It was an extremely personal celebration for the refugees who gathered.

Twin Cities World Refugee Day celebrates the thousands of refugees living in Minnesota. The state is home to the largest Somali commmunity in North America, and one of the largest Hmong populations in the U.S.

Many of the refugees have overcome extreme obstacles in their lives. Others have lived through war and famine. And on Saturday, they were celebrating their survival.

"They can learn a lot from each other within the community," says Marian Hassan, the World Refugee Day organizer. "But the larger community can also understand their stories and what brings them to come to Minnesota."

For the first time this year, the Twin Cities World Refugee Day festival joined with the Mosaic Festival to celebrate cultural diversity. Both festivals share a common goal of uniting the community.



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Appleton high school grads win McCain scholarships

Three of the five 2010 McCain Group Scholarship recipients from the United States attend high schools in Appleton.

The graduating seniors are Mai Bao Thao of Appleton North High School and Pa Der Lee and Choua Xiong, both of Appleton East High School.

Each recipient who attends a university will receive $16,000, or $4,000 a year, over the next four years. Students who enroll in a two-year technical or nursing program will receive $9,500, which will be split over the next two years.

Scholarship winners are selected based on their scholastic achievement, extracurricular activities, financial need, an essay and a personal interview.

Mai Bao Thao plans to pursue a bachelor's degree in sociology at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Mai attended the Appleton Career Academy, a charter school within Appleton North. She belonged to the Design Club and the Hmong Club and is a recipient of the Academic Excellence Award. She hopes to combine the fields of sociology and design to make a difference in her community.

When she gets her associate degree in accounting from the University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley, Pa Der Lee plans to start her own company. She wants to travel the world to learn different cultural traditions and values that would allow her to build a nonprofit organization that would help the global community. She has received academic awards including the National Honor Society and the Golden Bridges Award and is on the honor roll.

Choua Xiong is a member of East's National Honor Society, the Hmong Club and the Courier staff, among other activities, and is the recipient of the Academic Award. She has not decided where she will attend college in the fall or what her major will be.

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Hmong: Refugee Situation Discussed at Meeting

In December, more than 3,500 Hmong refugees were forcibly deported from Thailand to Laos.

Seven months later, Caitlin Lee, board president of the Eau Claire Area Hmong Mutual Assistance Association, said there still are concerns for the returnees, including the immigration process, safety and living conditions. Then there is the matter of how to help them as they resettle.
"When are they (the Lao government) going to start allowing international organizations and nongovernmental organizations in to help monitor this whole process?" she asked.

These concerns played major roles in a meeting Wednesday at UW-Eau Claire hosted by U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, for members of the local Hmong community. Joining Kind at the meeting was Ravic Huso, the U.S. ambassador to Laos, who visited the southeast Asian nation earlier this year. Huso attended a similar session with U.S. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., on Tuesday night in the Twin Cities.

Most Hmong people made the move from Laos to Thailand in the 1970s after the U.S. withdrew from Vietnam and Laos became a communist nation, according to the Hmong International Human Rights Watch website. At the time, they became targets of retaliation and persecution, and while some remained to live under the new government, thousands immigrated to Thailand.

Kind said he considers the issue a high priority, especially the security, treatment and conditions the Hmong returnees are facing. He said he has discussed the situation with other members of Congress and the Lao embassy in Washington, D.C.

"I felt it was important for them, the Lao government, to hear from us, not only the administration but members of Congress, that we are concerned about this," he said.

Cha Lor, interim director of the Hmong Mutual Assistance Association, said he wonders how long returnees will stay in resettlement camps, adding he thinks the camps are not a good place.

"We wonder and are kind of concerned about people over there," he said.
Lee said questions asked during the meeting focused on the conditions of the resettlement camps. Huso said the camps are very basic with shelter, water and electricity. He added that there is little in terms of infrastructure, such as schools, clinics and agricultural land.

"So, what people really need is they need some assistance, some integrated development assistance to get themselves a new start in their lives," he said.

Huso said assistance offered by the U.S. would not be direct, but rather through a developmental agency or international organization. The aid could take many forms, with the main purpose being for returnees to generate income.

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Kind, Franken host meetings to discuss conditions for Hmong refugees

In December, more than 3,500 Hmong refugees were forcibly deported from Thailand to Laos.

Seven months later, Caitlin Lee, board president of the Eau Claire Area Hmong Mutual Assistance Association, said there still are concerns for the returnees, including the immigration process, safety and living conditions. Then there is the matter of how to help them as they resettle.

"When are they (the Lao government) going to start allowing international organizations and nongovernmental organizations in to help monitor this whole process?" she asked.

These concerns played major roles in a meeting Wednesday at UW-Eau Claire hosted by U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, for members of the local Hmong community. Joining Kind at the meeting was Ravic Huso, the U.S. ambassador to Laos, who visited the southeast Asian nation earlier this year. Huso attended a similar session with U.S. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., on Tuesday night in the Twin Cities.

Most Hmong people made the move from Laos to Thailand in the 1970s after the U.S. withdrew from Vietnam and Laos became a communist nation, according to the Hmong International Human Rights Watch website. At the time, they became targets of retaliation and persecution, and while some remained to live under the new government, thousands immigrated to Thailand.

Kind said he considers the issue a high priority, especially the security, treatment and conditions the Hmong returnees are facing. He said he has discussed the situation with other members of Congress and the Lao embassy in Washington, D.C.
"I felt it was important for them, the Lao government, to hear from us, not only the administration but members of Congress, that we are concerned about this," he said.

Cha Lor, interim director of the Hmong Mutual Assistance Association, said he wonders how long returnees will stay in resettlement camps, adding he thinks the camps are not a good place.

"We wonder and are kind of concerned about people over there," he said.

Lee said questions asked during the meeting focused on the conditions of the resettlement camps. Huso said the camps are very basic with shelter, water and electricity. He added that there is little in terms of infrastructure, such as schools, clinics and agricultural land.

"So, what people really need is they need some assistance, some integrated development assistance to get themselves a new start in their lives," he said.

Huso said assistance offered by the U.S. would not be direct, but rather through a developmental agency or international organization. The aid could take many forms, with the main purpose being for returnees to generate income.

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Area Hmong concerned about Hmong refugees in Laos

Eau Claire (WQOW) - There are local concerns about Hmong refugees oversees and how they're being treated. Thousands of Hmong are being held in camps in Laos after fleeing more than 30 years ago.

They fled because of political unrest during the Vietnamese and Indo-Chinese wars. The ambassador to Laos was in Eau Claire today to talk with the area Hmong community about what's being done to help.

Late last year, the Thai government sent Hmong refugees back to their home country of Laos. Those refugees are now in camps.

"My concerns are the treatment of Hmong people there, the discrimination they go through," says Xong Xiong.

She's worried the United States isn't doing enough to help her family members and her fellow people. On Wednesday, the U.S. Ambassador to Laos spoke to many Hmong community members about what the U.S. is doing to help out.

"I've been out there, I've seen the conditions, they're very basic, there's shelter, there's water, there's electricity," says Ravik Huso, the U.S. Ambassador to Laos.

Some aren't buying what the ambassador is telling them.

"He wasn't very clear about the numbers that have returned, he wasn't very clear about what the goals were, the objectives were, and what they were trying to accomplish there," says Xiong.

And many are just hoping the U.S. can take care of those that fled.

"Making sure that the people who have gotten resettled back are really taken care of, because I know what it's like over there in those countries under the communist rule," says Bee Lo.

The ambassador says the U.S. is trying to build schools, roads, and hospitals for the refugees.

"What people really need is they need some assistance, some development assistance to get themselves a new start in their lives," says Ambassador Huso.

Many aren't sure how the U.S. is going to accomplish that.

"Well, ok, so what have we done about it? What are the steps that you have taken to make sure these things are happening? He didn't tell us anything," says Lo.

A visit that some felt left many questions unanswered.

The ambassador says the U.S. is doing all it can to help out Hmong refugees in Laos. Many Hmong community members are hoping that someday their family members in Laos can come to the United States.

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Random rant about Hmong people living in Vietnam vs Thailand/Laos

While my Hmong people are hiding and running for their lives in Laos and Thailand, I am so amazed with the Hmong people’s lives in Vietnam. Many Hmong people are tourist guides for visitors in Sapa, Vietnam. I am greatly astonished since I usually hear negative news from the media about how Hmong people are tortured and living that way in Southeast Asia.

Here is a wonderful article about Hmong in Vietnam

http://trekking-in-sapa.com/northern-mountains-of-vietnam/

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Police: Search turns up head of slain Calif. man

LOS ANGELES — Authorities searching a Long Beach park found the final missing body part — a severed head — believed to belong to a community college student killed and dismembered in a double murder-for-profit plot in Orange County, police said Sunday.

FBI agents and police from Costa Mesa and Long Beach searched El Dorado Park with cadaver dogs for two days before finding the head thought to be Samuel Herr, 26, on Saturday, Costa Mesa police Sgt. Patrick Wessel said.

An arm and hand were found at the park Friday, and authorities had said the head was the only body part still missing. A coroner will officially determine whether the remains were Herr, Wessel said.

Herr's Costa Mesa neighbor Daniel Wozniak, 26, is accused of killing and dismembering Herr and killing Herr's friend Juri Kibuishi for money.

Wozniak was charged with two counts of murder Friday, just hours before he was scheduled to get married in another Long Beach park.

He was being held without bail Sunday at Orange County Jail. He was scheduled to be arraigned by videoconference Tuesday.

Investigators believe Herr was shot and killed in a theater at the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base. His torso was found in the theater's attic May 21.

Authorities have not said why the two were at the base. However, Herr was an Army veteran who had served in Afghanistan, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday. He and Kibuishi were both students at Orange Coast College.

Authorities allege Wozniak shot Herr, then cut off his head, left arm and right hand. Investigators said Wozniak told them where to find the torso.

Wozniak also is accused of shooting Kibuishi after summoning her with a text message on Herr's phone. Authorities believe Wozniak removed Kibuishi's clothes to fake a sexual assault. Herr's father found her body in Herr's apartment May 22.

Wozniak, a stage actor, had recently appeared in the leading role in the musical "Nine" at the Hunger Artists Theater Company in Fullerton. He had money problems, and police believe the motive was financial.

Wozniak had been scheduled to marry Rachel Buffet, one of his "Nine" co-stars, on Saturday.

Police detained a 17-year-old boy Wednesday after he withdrew nearly $2,000 from Herr's bank account, money the boy said was for Wozniak, Costa Mesa police said. Detective Sgt. Ed Everett said the boy was not considered an accessory to the murders but may be charged with other crimes. His name was withheld because he is a minor.

Wozniak's father, Daryl Wozniak, said his son tried to commit suicide after his Wednesday arrest and was treated at Western Medical Center.

Daryl Wozniak said his son never showed any violent tendencies or psychological problems but stopped accepting his phone calls six months ago.

Two other people, Daniel Wozniak's brother Timothy Wozniak and Buffet's brother Noah Buffet, were arrested for investigation of being accessories after the fact. However, Everett said Sunday authorities have since determined neither was involved with the case, and he said neither is expected to be charged.

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Cha Yang Running for Mee Moua’s Seat in Minnesota Senate

Veterans affairs rep wants more jobs for East Side

Updated: Tuesday, 01 Jun 2010, 10:29 AM CDT
Published : Tuesday, 01 Jun 2010, 10:29 AM CDT

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Cha Yang, a representative with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, announced his candidacy Tuesday for the Minnesota State Senate. Yang is seeking the District 67 seat vacated by Sen. Mee Moua.

The District 67 seat is the highest political office held by any Hmong-American.

“Serving in the Minnesota Senate has given me the opportunity to have experiences and break down barriers that I never could have imagined,” Moua said last month, when she announced she wouldn’t seek re-election.

Cha Yang, a Democrat, said jobs, jobs and more jobs will be the focus of his campaign.

“The people of the East Side and the people of this great state of Minnesota have spoken and we say: Jobs, jobs and more jobs,” Yang said.

Yang also lists K-12 education, health care, high education funding, parks improvement and public safety as his priorities.

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The "Secret War"

Memorial Day is a time to honor all United States veterans who served in the military. But there's a group of Vietnam vets living in America who do not always receive the honor they deserve.

In the early 1960's the United States involvement in the Vietnam War was escalating and Communism was spreading throughout Southeast Asia.

If the Communists siezed control of Laos, the U.S. government feared they could take over the entire region.

President John F. Kennedy asked the CIA to quietly recruit and train thousands of Hmong people living in the mountains of Laos to help fight the Communist organization, known as the Pathet Lao.

It was known as the "Secret War" because Laos was a neutral country and it would be considered an act of war if the U.S. put troops on the ground there.

The Hmong soldiers, led by General Vang Pao, already resisted the Pathet Lao but did not have the means to fight back.

But armed with American weapons and training the Hmong people became a formiddable fighting force who greatly helped the United States by fighting the Communists on an infamous military supply route.

"The American CIA wanted to stop spread of Communism around the world and the United States President John F. Kennedy asked the King of Laos for help in blocking the Ho Chi Minh Trail", said Laos veteran Nao Shoua Xiong.

When the U.S. pulled out of the war in 1975, the Hmong people were targeted by the Pathet Lao because they helped the United States. The Hmong had to flee their own country or likely face death. Many of them went to Thailand and lived in refugee camps.

In the late 1970's the U.S. military brought many of them to America to have a chance at a better life. And their contributions in the Vietnam War are something many people don't know about.

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Consumer electronics do not cure poverty

THE advent of low-cost electronic goods has been a boon for the world's poor. You can ride hours down a dusty road in Togo past mud-brick medieval farmhouses and find an internet cafe where locals keep in touch with their relatives in Europe. You can hike up into the mountains of northwest Vietnam and find Hmong villagers playing music on a Casio keyboard, powered by a flywheel spun by rivulets of water flowing down the mountainside. In Burma and Nepal, cheap Chinese solar cells plugged into car batteries let villagers watch TV when the unreliable national power grid fails. But none of this means these people aren't poor anymore. Those Togolese may be eating nothing but yams for months at a time. The Hmong may be illiterate and stunted. The Burmese and Nepalese may be driven by indigence to sell their daughters.

Yesterday Jamelle Bouie dinged Robert Samuelson for engaging in the consumer-electronics poverty dodge. "Although many poor live hand-to-mouth," Mr Samuelson wrote, "they’ve participated in rising living standards. In 2005, 91 percent had microwaves, 79 percent air conditioning and 48 percent cellphones." Let's put this as succinctly as possible: 30% of Haitians have mobile phones. And in fact, if you're a Haitian with an income in the upper quartile and have a mobile phone, you may not consider yourself poor, in your social context. But if you were an American who was abruptly required to live on an upper-quartile Haitian income, cell phone and all, I'm fairly confident you'd feel pretty poor.

Addendum: Luke Kelly in comments raises a valid issue, so let me make the Haitian point clearer. Last week "This American Life" aired a terrific report on NGOs in Haiti. Reporters Adam Davidson and Chana Joffe-Walt of "Planet Money" talked to a farmer named Gelene Germeus who earns about $600 a year. She can only afford to send one of her daughters to school. She owns the following: a shack; a hard dirt field; two mango trees, the source of her income; and a mobile phone.

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