In refugee camps, Hmong women hand-sewn story cloths as a source of income for their families. "They'll come back and they'll tell me, 'Hey, I've been working on this job that you guys have placed me at and I'm still here.' Just hearing those types of stories makes me really value the heritage and the community members that I work with," said Cha, who has been at FIRM for 15 years. Cha and her parents came to the United States in the late 70s before there were organizations like FIRM that provided resources to new immigrants and refugees. Paula Cha is a program manager at the Fresno Interdenominational Refugee Ministries, or FIRM. We just say, 'OK, come to America.' Then we come here. "We don't know what to do, we don't know where to go. Lee and his family escaped to a Thai refugee camp for a year before resettling in Santa Ana, California. We had to wait for someone to give us food to eat. You cannot go outside, you cannot play around. Thousands died and thousands fled to refugee camps in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. pulled out of Laos, communist forces retaliated against those who sided with the Americans. Today, the Fresno area has the second-largest Hmong population in the country behind Minneapolis, with about 33,000 people living in the region.ĭuring the Vietnam War, Hmong boys and men were recruited to fight in the CIA-sponsored operation known as the Secret War to prevent communism from spreading deeper into Southeast Asia. It's been 46 years since Hmong people first began migrating to the U.S. Hmong Americans share stories of trauma from fleeing their homeland decades ago and how they're keeping traditions and culture alive.įRESNO, Calif.
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