Page 8 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
U.S.A. / COMMUNITY
May 1, 2017
Hmong elders in Eau
Claire still searching
By Lauren French
Leader-Telegram
AU CLAIRE, Wis. (AP) —
When Ka Yang first came to
Eau Claire in 1994, the
57-year-old
from
Laos
was
accustomed to trauma.
Yang’s young adult and adult life
was permeated with war, accidents,
and illnesses, the Leader-Telegram
reported. Her first husband, a
soldier in the CIA’s “Secret War”
against communist forces in Laos
that lasted from the early ’60s to mid
’70s, died in a bomb explosion. Her
next husband died in a lumber acci-
dent, the next two of illness. Four of
her seven children died of illness
and lack of access to medical care.
Since arriving in Eau Claire,
another of her children has died,
again from illness.
“She’s very sad and depressed,”
Yang said through translator Hao
Pay Lee as they sat in the entrance
area of the Hmong Mutual
Assistance Association. “She feels
like her life is very sorrowful. Last
year when her daughter passed
away, she cried a lot.”
Yang spent that morning and
afternoon at the association for its
twice monthly Kaj Siab Days —
meaning “peaceful heart” or “happy
days” — which is a program geared
toward Eau Claire’s population of
Hmong elders. Lee, who coordinates
the program with fellow association
worker Chai Moua, said the
program aims to give elders with a
past of domestic or historical trauma
a chance to socialize, relax in a
familiar environment, and learn
more about Eau Claire.
Yang, now 80, isn’t alone.
She’s one of about 15 elders who
attend Kaj Siab Days regularly,
although that number fluctuates
week to week, Lee said.
The elders are a subsection of the
Hmong community that makes up
the largest ethnic and minority
group in the Chippewa Valley.
According to the association’s
website, the Hmong population has
grown to over 3,000 in Eau Claire,
Chippewa, and Dunn counties, and
to about three percent of the total
population in the city of Eau Claire.
Within the Hmong community,
elders face their own unique set of
problems, Lee and Moua said.
“Our elders, they share that
sometimes
when
they
hear
fireworks they still get scared,” Lee
said. “Their heart starts pumping
and their blood rushes because it
sounds like gunshots. I don’t think it
will ever go away, but this is a place
for them to process it.”
“Many of our elders became
orphaned at a young age,” Moua
added, “or they were forced to marry
other people at a young age. Many of
them are either widows or divorced.
Those traumas still haunt them.”
Violent pasts aside, Lee and Moua
E
DANCER & ACTIVIST. Tiffany Nguyen (top photo, forefront) reacts during the announcement she will represent David
Douglas High School as its 2017 Rose Festival princess and poses with her mother, Hao Le (bottom photo), after being crowned
homecoming queen in the fall. The Portland Rose Festival’s Queen’s Coronation takes place Saturday, June 10 at Portland’s Vet-
erans Memorial Coliseum. (Photos courtesy of Tiffany Nguyen)
David Douglas princess
committed to serving others
By Maileen Hamto
The Asian Reporter
or Tiffany Nguyen, one of the accom-
plished and confident slate of young
women named to the 2017 Portland Rose
Festival Court, representing David Douglas
High School as its princess is among the
highlights of her illustrious high school career.
And Tiffany’s list of accolades is far from
modest. She has served as a student council vice
president and been on the Honor Roll for four
years. She has led community-based projects
such as Project Breaker, an industry-led
partnership that involves young people solving
community livability issues, and is also involved
in Youth Ending Slavery, a student-led Portland
coalition that raises awareness about
modern-day human trafficking.
“I am looking forward to the whole entire
experience of a Rose Festival princess,” Tiffany
said. “I have a chance to educate and inspire
others throughout the community. I am a voice
for the many things I represent: women of
Asian backgrounds, David Douglas, people who
share the same interests as I do, and individuals
who have experienced similar struggles like I
have.”
Tiffany’s journey to the Rose Festival Court
was far from easy. Starting as a freshman in the
largest high school in Oregon came with its own
set of challenges, especially for a self-described
shy and reserved young woman.
“After my freshman year, I told myself I
needed to make some drastic changes in my life. I
started volunteering, getting involved in clubs,
meeting new people, and more. I broke out of my
shell that hindered me from being who I really
am,” she said.
Hip-hop dance also was one of the ways Tiffany
sought to cultivate confidence. She dances at Hip
Hop Soulsation Academy, Body & Soul Creative
Dance studio, and Vega Dance+Lab. As part of
Soulsation, she performed in last year’s Starlight
Parade.
Despite her dance performances, nothing
could prepare her for being in the spotlight as she
sought to be the representative for David
Douglas. She admits that overcoming her shy
and self-conscious nature continues to be an
ongoing struggle, even while competing to
become the princess for her school.
“Before this experience, I was so hard on
myself. I was so nervous all the time about the
way I spoke or the way I looked. I would often
compare myself to others and how credible and
intellectual they were,” she said. “I realized that
I need to love myself before anyone else can.”
Tiffany credits her family’s unconditional
support and love for her success thus far. The
daughter of immigrants from Vietnam, she is
inspired by the resilience and persistence of her
parents to create stable and productive lives in
their adopted home.
“My parents lived below the poverty line in
Vietnam and endured many struggles through-
out their lives before they moved to the United
States,” she said. “They raised me the way their
parents raised them — to be respectful to
F
everyone, especially your elders. To be selfless,
brave, hardworking, and kind-hearted.”
Lessons in selflessness and serving others
have led Tiffany to envision a career in social
work. She is committed to raising awareness
about human trafficking, with the goal of saving
future generations of women, men, and children
from abuse and trauma.
“Portland is one of the top cities in the country
with the highest rates of human trafficking,” she
said. “It is one of the biggest industries in the
world, and there are millions of men, women, and
children who are forced into this industry for
labor and sexual purposes. Awareness needs to
be spread and changes need to be made in order
for results to be seen.”
Tiffany intends to leverage her platform as a
court princess to advocate for ending human
trafficking and slavery. At the same time, she
also is looking forward to the many activities in
store for the princesses during the weeks leading
up to the Rose Festival Queen’s Coronation and
Grand Floral Parade.
And more importantly, she never forgets to
give credit where credit is due.
“My mom is the main reason why I am a Rose
Festival princess,” Tiffany said. “She wants the
best for me in every aspect of my life. She
encouraged me to work hard for what I want.”
“Mom struggled all of her life, even to this
day,” Tiffany continued, “and she does not want
me to struggle like she did.”
A Rose Festival princess represents her school and acts as
the “face of the Rose Festival” at many events in the commu-
nity, including parades, volunteer activities, luncheons with
community and business leaders, and more. The Portland
Rose Festival Foundation awards each court member a
$3,500 scholarship, courtesy of The Randall Group.
To qualify for the Rose Festival Court, a candidate must
be a full-time junior or senior at a 4A, 5A, or 6A high school
in Multnomah, Washington, or Clackamas county and
have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0.
Potential princesses are evaluated on citizenship, scholastic
achievement, school activities, civic involvement, volunteer
projects, communication skills, and overall impression.
The Portland Rose Festival Queen is chosen from all of the
court members at Portland’s Veterans Memorial Coliseum on
Saturday, June 10 from 8:30am to 9:30am. To learn more,
call (503) 227-2681 or visit <www.rosefestival.org>.
KAJ SIAB DAYS. Mee Lee creates art-
work at the Eau Claire Area Hmong Mutual
Assistance Association at a twice monthly
senior wellness day in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Kaj Siab Days — which means “peaceful
heart” or “happy days” — is a program
geared toward Eau Claire’s population of
Hmong elders. The program aims to give
elders with a past of domestic or historical
trauma a chance to socialize, relax in a famil-
iar environment, and learn more about Eau
Claire. (Steve Kinderman/The Eau Claire
Leader-Telegram via AP)
said a problem common among
elders is feeling isolated. They often
live alone and cannot drive or speak
English, making it hard for them to
communicate with others in Eau
Claire.
Lee and Moua both urged people
who live in Eau Claire to understand
that although many Hmong elders
have lived in the area for a long time,
they’ve still spent half their life
living in a different country with
separate customs and traditions.
When they arrived in the area, Moua
said, many had never been to school.
“It’s harder for them to adapt to
other environments,” Moua said of
the elders. “I want the community to
be aware that this group of people is
really traditional. They like to keep
their own way, because it’s hard. It’s
really hard to go through change.”
When Yang arrived in Eau Claire,
she said it felt comfortable. She had
two children here at the time, and
because her late husband had fought
for the U.S. in the “Secret War,” she
gained citizenship soon after
settling down. She’s even voted a few
times.
Still, Yang said the sorrow from
losing so many people in her life
made it hard to integrate — like
many Hmong elders, she doesn’t
know English or how to read or
write.
“She says that Eau Claire doesn’t
know her,” Yang said through Lee.
“She just feels like she’s invisible.”
After one of the two children Yang
moved to Eau Claire to be with died
last spring, Yang gave up the
religion she grew up practicing and
converted to Christianity. She said
she switched because Shaman
rituals and herbal medications could
not save her daughter, who died
after nine months of hospitalization.
That switch introduced her to a
Continued on page 9
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