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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