I'm trying to put the finishing touches and edit my story on my dad and came across this.
You know when I went in to try to sign up for a language test they gave me a list. I didn't see Laotian on there but I saw Hmong. Hmong?! but not Laotian? WTH?
I get really irritated when people ask me if Laotian is the same thing as Hmong. I've actually been asked that several times by professors when I tell them that I'm Laotian. They ask me, is that like Hmong? @#$%^&!
I have nothing against Hmongs but geez, how come they get recognition but it's as if Laotians don't even exist.
Is anyone else a little irked by the fact that they only mention Hmongs? What about the Lao people that fought and died as well?Under pressure from American conservatives, twenty two years following the end of the Laotian War, on May 15, 1997, the U.S. officially acknowledged its role in the Secret War, erecting a memorial in honor of American and Hmong contributions to U.S. air and ground combat efforts during the conflict. The Laos Memorial is located on the grounds of the Arlington National Cemetery between the John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Several years later, following several years of pressure from U.S. conservatives and human rights activists, the U.S. government reversed a long-standing policy of denying immigration rights to Hmong refugees, who had fled Laos for refugee camps in Thailand. In a major victory for the Hmong, tens of thousands of Hmong later were afforded expedited U.S. immigration rights by the U.S. government.[10]
In 2000, however, several films were released showing the Secret Army soldiers with their families still running for their life from the Lao government in the jungles of Laos. The films document ongoing human rights abuses by the Laotian government.
You know when I went in to try to sign up for a language test they gave me a list. I didn't see Laotian on there but I saw Hmong. Hmong?! but not Laotian? WTH?
I get really irritated when people ask me if Laotian is the same thing as Hmong. I've actually been asked that several times by professors when I tell them that I'm Laotian. They ask me, is that like Hmong? @#$%^&!
I have nothing against Hmongs but geez, how come they get recognition but it's as if Laotians don't even exist.