MPR’s Lorna Benson interviews Bo Thao, who proposed a new oral history project documenting the lives of Hmong women in the Twin Cities. Thao says she hopes the stories will empower younger women with the knowledge that Hmong women have always been leaders in their communities, especially in times of war.
The project includes the voices of three generations of women from six different families. Bo Thao is a participant, and interviewed her mother and grandmother about their experiences in Laos and the United States. The project is a response to a number of acts of violence against Hmong women in recent years by Hmong men.
Transcripts
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SPEAKER 1: They weren't part of the strategic planning of going to war, but they picked up instincts like when to take their children into the jungle. They knew when it was dangerous, so they would go-- for example, my mother talked about going to the jungle and hiding food first because she knew she was going to take her children there.
And then even when to go and steal food and how to hide your children so that they wouldn't be found and those kinds of things. And then encouraging their husbands to move them either to the refugee camps, or when they were in the refugee camps in Thailand, really kind of having a vision for a better future to say, maybe we should go to France or America or those kinds of decisions.
SPEAKER 2: How did these interviews affect the way that you now view your mother and your grandmother?
SPEAKER 1: Well, I think-- I mean, I knew they were courageous and brave people before, but even hearing some of the stories kind of firsthand and-- I mean, at some point, you're amazed at what their life has been like and what they've gone through.
SPEAKER 2: What amazed you specifically?
SPEAKER 1: Just the bravery and courage and the will that they had to really do all that they can. And their concerns have always been to keep their families safe because they are often the ones that took care of the children and things like that. And even being here today, I mean, I feel really fortunate because being a person in my 20s, during the war, we were the group that was most at risk of dying because we couldn't take care of ourselves.
We were totally dependent on those who took care of us. And that meant-- and I'd say in most Hmong families, it was our mothers. So I think just hearing those stories, it's just amazing. I mean, I tell it to some of my friends. And people I know are like, gosh, that should be a movie, because it takes extreme courage for the Hmong women.
It's never been about trying to become a general in the Army, or trying to be this hero for the Hmong community, or trying to be a leader that everyone would look up to. It's always been about taking care of the family, making sure everyone's safe. And because they had that role of really taking care of those children, to hear those stories, it's pretty amazing.
SPEAKER 2: It sounds like they made a lot of sacrifices for their family members.
SPEAKER 1: Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER 2: Did you get an opportunity to ask them if there was anything that they wanted to do in their life that they had kind of been dreaming about?
SPEAKER 1: Yeah, that was one of the questions. And it's interesting too because the word "aspirations" or "dreams" doesn't quite translate. So we found that hard because for many of them, they-- I mean, you have to understand that some of these practices about women's roles were practiced for centuries. And so for us to go and ask, well, did you have aspirations for yourself as a child? I think it was hard. They were like, what?
And they would say, no, because our roles were these. We were supposed to grow up and then have these skills so that we would get married. And then you just tried to be as good as your neighbors or the people who are next to you. But that was an interesting question because we asked, and my mother and grandmother were like, what are you talking about? Like, hopes and dreams. These were our roles. We did these things.
SPEAKER 2: How has this project affected the way you feel about your life?
SPEAKER 1: I think it's, again, it's made it OK that our voices should be heard. I think in-- I mean, we still struggle with it, this struggle as Hmong women, and I think as minority women, because oftentimes, if we say something that seems negative to men, then they say, oh, you're just-- you don't understand culture. You don't respect culture. You don't respect family, those kinds of things.
And I think for me, I've come to the point of knowing that if I disagree with something in the culture, it has nothing to do with whether I respect men or that culture or family. I mean, of course, growing up in a Hmong family and always being taught those values, I respect it very, very much. But I think I also know that it's OK to say that something's not right. And that doesn't make me a bad person or a bad woman. It's not about that.