Shu Blong Her Shu Blong Her lived in the Xieng Khouang Province in Laos. He was a student and was also involved in the post secret-wa rebellion. He left in 1978. Shu Blong is employed at the Wausau Area Hmong Mutual Association as a school liaison worker, What was your homeland like while you were living there? The goverment economy, and living conditions? My homeland... when I was still I think it was a very good country, a neutral country. Although, ‘economically itis not like the way many people in the country think. Otherwise my country is a very beautiful country. How old were you when you left your homeland? When I left my homeland, I was 14 years old. Why did you and your family eave your homeland? Lleft my homeland because when the Vietnam War ended, officers or soldiers returned to America. Because my parents, my brothers, and sisters, and other people of the Hmong background had been fighting the Vietnam Wat, the Vietnamese people, or the communist regime's government didn’t like us, so they prosecuted many people, especially the Hmong who fought with the American camp. And then we had to seek refuge somewhere else, Was it difficult for you ana your family to move the ULS., and why? It was very difficult, although it depended on where and how youi get to go to America like for myself and my family, we escaped to Thailand through the jungle. I guess it made my trip to freedom or to Thailand very difficult. We had to quickly cross thick grasses and jungles and forests, climb mountains, and valleys. I myself swam across the Mekong River with two pieces of bamboo tuees, bamboo underneath my arms to help me float and so that made things very, very difficult. In addition to that, my parents didn’t have a chance (o escape because we were starving in the jungle, and they had to go back to surrender to the communist regime just for survival. So considering the escape thing, itis very difficult. Did you come directly to the United States? Tcame to Thailand, and stayed in a refugee camp first. After that, did you come straight to Wisconsin? Yes, I stayed in the Thai refugee camp for a year. Then Tcame to America through my cousin's sponsorship. And when I came to America, I came to Wausau directly. What were some of the difficult parts of the journey to the ULS. ? Yes, the joumey to the US. for me was not that difficult. In term of just the transportation and so on, it was not difficult. But the difficult part for myself was that I came to America without English. T couldn’t speak English at all. That made communication around the world extremely difficult. The flight attendants virtually put a sign on my chest, and telling another attendant where on this boys isheading right to Wisconsin to Wausau. So I earried a sign $0 I wouldn't... Un. what swere your first impressions of the ULS. or Central Wisconsin's airport when you first reached there? 34 a ee ee |ak dt we be bb be de dt dae ee eS a ee Me ke EE thought Wausau was great because I came during the summer when everything is blossoming. ‘The trees are green and the weather is just like in Laos. It’s even cooler than in Thailand, which was very hot, so Teame to Wausau and it felt great. The country, the nature, the way the people see you then is very fulfilling. Did you and your family experience any discrimination upon your arrival? When I came to America, for myself, I didn’t have the concept of discrimination or prejudice. We didn’t have that terminology. And so whatever people did to us, whether it was bad or good, we couldn't tell anyway, because we couldn’t speak English. And the gestures with their hands and the facial gestures, whether it was negative or positive, I couldn't identify them. But afterwards, I began to lear the English language, noticed that some of those languages are not quite postive. T began to leam about the terminology of people hating other people, especially of a different race, And although I didn’t face that much, and the person who respects strangers, and so when somebody of the strangers gesture me a thing, I turn the other way, so I don’t notice much of the discrimination, I think because I turn the other way instead. Did you know a lot of people before moving to Central Wisconsin? You mean people in the US? Yes Ididn’t know many people at all, only my cousin, my first cousin who was my sponsor. And then when he when he brought me here, I realized that we had a few other cousins who lived in Wausau, so I was welcome living here with part of my so called extended family. Were you financially assisted by relatives or other people, agencies, upon your arrival? When I arrived over here, I was assisted a little bit by my sponsor, a local church, and later, since I ‘was underage, Iwas also supported by the public assistance, that is welfare, and medical assistance. ‘Then everything was cut out when I turned 18. Then I had to become a self-supporter, the person or student. How did you learn how to ride the bus and go grocery shopping. To go to grocery shopping, because I came here when I was still a teenager, I depended a lot on my cousin because I lived with them, so whenever they go to the store, I went with them. But about transportation for places that I wanted to go, especially school, one of my teachers showed me how to 0 ride and wait for the bus and how to get transferred to the place you want to go, so Ileamed that from I would say I learned from my American friends, especially my teacher. What were some of the greatest challenges when you first came to central Wisconsin? ‘The greatest challenge for myself as an individual is that I came here without my parents, so U had tohave a lot of self-discipline. And I think that was the most challenging thing for me. Ire what ways did you and your family change after arriving in Central Wisconsin? Now, as we go into a new country, we see people do things differently, whether itis transportation, traveling, just basic communication, like using the telephone, knowing who to call when you are in trouble, ike knowing the social system, the police. And knowing where resources are when you are ina needy situation. So those are some of the things that myself, as a person, without parents then faced. Hans ae the members your tne group diferent in Central Wisconsin than they would have been in your homeland? Not that much of a difference, the only difference in addition to the ethnic background and my homeland is that my homeland, we just had the Laotian and the Hmong people, and a few other ethnic groups, but we are still being called Laotian because we are from Laos. Now over here, we 35have other people like Vietnamese, Cambodians. We have the Thai people, and so I think those three groups make an addition to the ethnic difference comparing to when I was still in Laos. What customs do you still maintain from your cultures, such as foods, habits, kinds of clothes you wear, language, and phrases? So far as Tkept on those are the food, we are still consuming the same types of food. How we cook, and the rest, like you mentioned, we are, Ihave to adjust to what is out there alittle bit that is in my country. ‘Are most of your fiends from the same ethnic background? My friends are varied. Ihave Hmong friends, Laotian friends, and Ihave many American friends, and they call them Caucasians. How do other people view your ethnic group? I guess in the Wausau area, I think that we are fortunate enough that many people are very accepting of us or respective of us. There are from time to time business people who say negative things about the Hmong people, but I have seen positive people more than negative people....treat the Flmong people as an ethnic group. What language do you speak at home with your family and friends? Athome, I speak Hmong with my friends, mostly, and I speak Hmong with my wife. Ido speak half Hmong with my children, and half English with my children. So that is different. What are parts of your culture you would like to be preserved for the future? Part of my culture that I would like to preserve for the future is that clothing that we have. Even though we only wear them on very special occasions, we would like to continue to wear things and the practice that we have such as respect the elders, respect the parents, and respect even strangers ~ ~ Tthink that part, [would really want my children lear and to cherish that part of my culture. What do you think Central Wisconsin will be like 20 years from: now in regard to your ethnic group. 20 years from now, I envision that there will be more people in this area. More people can mean that perhaps they will be moving from other states to Wausau or central Wisconsin. And more people think that the people living here will have their own new family and they'll have young children, and they will increase the Hmong ethnic population in the Wausau area and around, Central Wisconsin. What do you think it means to be an American? think, for myself it means a lot to me...freedom, it means to be proud of yourselt...and that is the way I see America is to be liberated from the things that will try to hold you down or look you down and I think that is how I see being an American, If you had a choice right now would you want fo go back to your homeland? If [have a choice I would go back to my homeland, but otherwise I would maintain my homeland as my vacation home instead{laughter). Because my children are growing up here and the people 1 know are here. Their lifestyle that I'm getting used to and learning to is over here. Do you think it’s better for children to grow up in your homeland than here in the United States? Right now I think it's half and half, In my country. see that my children would be safer in terms of society norm {police siren can be heard in the background of tape] gangs and other things that try to break the family down so I think in Laos it would be safer to preserve the family, but over here itis also good because we have opportunities for education, for pursuing our success in the future and that has balance so in a way it's balancing out half and half... over there for one reason and over 36 ‘coonnnnnvuyrruwayuTrd8gt.,Eb Eb Eb EE cE here for another reason, but they both are good, Do you think that it’s important for the Hmong children of today to remember their background? ‘Yes, think it's extremely important for Hmong children to know their roots, know where they come from and to be able to answer to anybody, who are you... and then be able to answer — Iam a Hmong, and then to be able to answer again, what is Hmong? ..and that my children will be able to tel them exactly what Fimong is. I really want my children to do that. Could you tell me what you think a Hmong is? ‘The Hmong is someone who has a culture. They have a unique history of their background - they have a language. They have a religion that they practice. Someone who has their own unique ‘educational system so far as survival goes. For example, Hmong people teach legends to their children orally and I hope that can be passed on. I think that Himong is a people that have a culture, have a unique history for a thousand years, have their own language, their own religion, their own custom and culture, and I think these are some of the main things that become what a people are...ike the Hmong. While you were in the refugee camp, what did you do fo stay alive? In the refugee camp we didn't have anything so far as our possessions goes because we have left everything that we had in Laos. So you came to a country were you worked day by day and depended on other people like you stayed in the camp and you worked for the United Nation to distribute food, clothing...you can’t go outside the camp to work. This is my experience in Thailand and especially in the camp. Were you the only one in your family that came over, or did you come with other people? ‘When I came to Thailand, I came with a group of other young people. And young people I said that because we were a group of young men who were still fighting the war in the jungle as the ‘Americans were gone. We had about nine young men with a group leader, a gentleman, and we ‘escaped to Thailand Did you get any education while in the refugee camp? In the refugee camp I didn't get any education academically, but I tried to learn to speak English in the camp. Why did you have to go to the refugee camp before you came to the US? [think that is how the United Nations worked on helping the refugee. The camp is to hold refugees for whatever reason. Maybe for safety or maybe just for a place that is temporary to keep refugees together for further direction. I think that’s were most everybody who comes to America goes to the camp. What are some ofthe Hmong foods that you brought over with you that you still make today? One of the very special foods that Hmong people consume, or special kind of cooking the Hmong people have for long I never know but it what you call "taub tsuag"? where we just have a very young pumpkin and pumpkin shoot or another kind we call "bitter® vegetable “zaub iab” those a we fare stil eating over here and those are very very good and healthy food I think. Is there a certain food you eat a every single meal? A food that we eat a every single meal is rice. Rice, myself and Hmong people still consume as a staple diet in the family. (On certain holidays is there a certain dish that you cook? ‘Yes. The Hmong people usually cook certain dishes especially they can cook a ham, or pork, and 7beef, and chicken with vegetable and so on but over here special occasion has changed Hmong the way Hmong consume food because we added the turkey. And other American dish that (2) and now my wife is baking cake that we do have addition to our dishes. Is there a holiday that all Hmong celebrate? Yes. Also we don't, since we don't have a word like “holiday” for it but we do have a day a very special event that I think is the only special event for Hmong people and that is the New Year. But we don’t celebrate for just one day or two days - we celebrate for a whole month. And not everybody celebrates at the same time or the same day - they celebrate on a different day and communities can celebrate at the same day but it happens all over and each day throughout the month of December an event will happen and so I will say “holiday” but maybe I will say "holimonth” (laughing) something like that. What's a typical thing that happens at a Hmong New Year? A typical thing that happen at a Hmong New Year is the ball tossing game that happens between boys and girls. Another thing is another game call "ballo’..a top spins ..playing with men and those are two types of games that young people play and ball tossing, is played by the young people who are single. Now the "tuaj lub" or hitting on those top spin is played by the men. Tt can be young boys.. young men or adult elderly. Thank you. Ee Ht bt tb b