Hmong Movement Analysis

Since 1975 the Hmong have experienced and accomplished many milestones in the United States. Previously in Laos there was a secret war which was a part of the Vietnam War and the Cold War. This secret war was the reason that about half of the Hmong of Laos became refugees and resettled in the United States of America. “Many Hmong who had formerly been allies of the Unite States and supporters of the Royal Lao Government become targets of postwar mistrust, retaliation, and retribution by the post-1975 communist government of Laos” (Pfeifer, Chiu, and Yang, p.3, 2013). This lead to the movement of thousands of refugees from Laos to Thailand and later to the United States in 1975. (Pfeifer, Chiu, and Yang, p.4, 2013) The movement of the Hmong …show more content…
Language barriers, culture shock, lack of education, as well as a lack of technological background have hindered them greatly. “…The Hmong American community went from being one of the poorest Asian American groups in the 1980s to a somewhat self-sufficient community at the dawn of the twenty-first century” (Pfeifer, Chiu, and Yang, p.5, 2013). This was a huge milestone for the Hmong because of how far they have come since settling in 1975. By the end of 1976 many thousands of Hmong refugees settled in the United States and peaked around 1980. There continued to be a steady stream of refugees from 1980 to 2000 when the Hmong American population grew to over 200,000. The Hmong population continued to grow at a slower steady rate all the way through 2010 with some estimates between 230,000 and …show more content…
By 1981 the needs of the Hmong families was beyond their capabilities alone leading them to incorporate the association.
“The Hmong American Partnership (HAP) was founded in 1990 by T. Christopher Thao who was the first attorney at law of Hmong descent in the United States” (Pfeifer, Chiu, and Yang, p.11, 2013). “It was the first non-profit community-based organization cofounded by young Hmong American professionals and their American Colleagues” (Pfeifer, Chiu, and Yang, p.11, 2013). The aim of this partnership was to give the Hmong the courage to participate in the community by fully getting involved.
The Hmong National American Development (HAND) which was later renamed Hmong National Development (HND) was incorporated at the end of 1992 and “…Its leaders were democratically elected” (Pfeifer, Chiu, and Yang, p.12, 2013). The organization aimed at helping the Hmong to overcome their acculturation and leadership issues as well as their lack of national voice for advocacy purposes. (Pfeifer, Chiu, and Yang, p.12,