Pakou Hang was just days old when her family immigrated to the United States in 1976. They were part of the first wave of Hmong refugees to come to the United States. Now, the family has lived here far longer than they lived in Laos, and Pakou Hang fits in quite well in her community. She recently ran for a seat on the St. Paul City Council, but challenges still remain as an immigrant living in America, as demonstrated through this interview with her mother, Phoua Hang.
SPEAKER 1: Mom, you've lived in Laos, in Georgia, in Rhode Island, in Wisconsin, in Minnesota. Which places have you been the most happy in? And which places do you think that they have been the most accepting of you?
SPEAKER 2: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
SPEAKER 3: I feel that I am most at home here because I can go and participate in elections every year. I felt most at home this fall when I was able to go to the polling because my daughter was running for city council. And to me, that was the best representation that I truly belong here. It's my house. It's my home. It's my country.
SPEAKER 2: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
SPEAKER 1: When they lived in Georgia, they were like the only Hmong people there. Minnesota had the most Hmong people. And so I think it's very interesting for her to say that this is the best place and the place that she feels like she belongs the most when you juxtapose that with the fact that the Hmong community is the strongest here and are the most economically stable, that have the most inroads to political life. So I think that that shapes, then, a person's sense of belonging.
Mom, do you remember when we lived in the house on Hall Street, and there was that family, the German family next door, and how they circulated a petition to have us move from that neighborhood? What were you thinking when that happened?
SPEAKER 2: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
SPEAKER 3: When we were living in Hall, we were probably one of the very few, if not the only immigrant and Hmong family that's moved into the neighborhood. And so it was clear that they have not seen a whole lot of diversity and was very hostile to us. I felt as if I was betrayed because here I was thinking that America was a dream, it was a land of opportunity, and that everyone would be welcome. We felt that we weren't safe even with our neighbors next door. And so at that time, I felt sad.
SPEAKER 2: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
SPEAKER 1: When you think about belonging, I think there's definitely this kind of external element. You belong to your church, or you belong to your reading group. You belong to groups that are outside of you. And this was such an incident where it was very clear that the group or that neighborhood didn't want us to be a part of them.
And so I thought her answer was really interesting because I didn't feel betrayed. I felt a sense of injustice. But I could see where she would feel betrayed, then, especially being an immigrant and really believing that idea of America as the land of opportunities.
Mom, you've lived in this country for over 30 years now. How does that change your sense of identity or your sense of yourself?
SPEAKER 2: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
SPEAKER 3: Genetically, and in my DNA, I know that I'm Hmong. But I've lived here for more than the time that I've spent in Laos. And so I feel more Americanized. I feel that my skin looks different, but in every way, I'm very much an American. I'm a Minnesotan. And for that, I'm very proud.
SPEAKER 2: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
SPEAKER 1: So in the early 1970s, the United States and the Hmong community in Laos allied, and many Hmong soldiers were asked then to patrol parts of the Ho Chi Minh Trail and to help rescue fallen American soldiers. When the Vietnam War ended, many Hmong families and the Hmong community were targeted in Laos. My father had been a captain in the Royal Lao Army, and so my parents fled in the middle of the night.
SPEAKER 2: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
SPEAKER 3: I miss Laos, of course, because that was where I was born. But I also understand that the circumstances in which I now call America my home is such that it was in a time of war. And it wasn't as if I had a choice to move. I was forced to move. And so, of course, while I embrace America, I still very much miss my home.
SPEAKER 2: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
SPEAKER 1: I will be totally honest. I think that my mom and my dad really don't have the luxury of reflecting and feeling like they belong because they had very young children, and they had to take care of their family. They didn't have a choice whether they belonged or not, whether a certain place wanted them or not. They had to forge a life for their kids.
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