|
I'll add my own two cents here as I live about 30 miles south of Wausau in a town called Stevens Point, where we also have a large Hmong population. Many people here do not realize that Hmongs were a stone-age culture until a very short time ago. Many of them lived in what we (Americnas) would consider abject poverty. To be transplanted to one of the most affluent countries in the world has been and continues to be a mjaor shock to these people. One things that upsets many residents is the number of people they tend to fit in a household. Hmong culture, like many other Asian cultures, reveres relatives and genealogy, so logically parents, children, aunts, uncles, and grandparents all live together in what many of them consider spacious accomodations (3-4 bedroom house) whereas locals see it as overcrowding. It also affords them the luxury of combining many small incomes from sources such as welfare. I must admit that systematic racism does exist in this area and it is hard for Hmong to get jobs. Many Hmong have already adapted to American ways of living, but others choose to stick to their culture. There is a great lack of understanding of that in this area. Only time will allow these people to integrate into our society, which they will do just like the millions of people who have come here from the rest of the world.
Just to add some facts, yes, the Hmong were given refugee status in the US thanks to their participation in the Vietnam war and our dealings in Cambodia and yes, Wisconsin was picked (along with Minnesota and Iowa) because of sparse population and low population growth.
I agree with what our country did for these people and further believe that it will eventually benefit our area.
|