Oral History Project
Introduction: For the oral history project, I chose to interview Chong Vang, my mother. The reason why I chose to interview my mother is because she have the experience of a refugee coming into the United States. This information is relevant to my research because she can provide me both the information of the lifestyle of the Hmong in Laos and Thailand, along with her perspectives on the lifestyle newer generations of Hmong Americans. In general, interviewing my mother is the most efficient and will provide me with the information I need based on her account.
Personal Narrative:
My name is Chong (Ntxhoo) Vang. I was born in Laos, on December 31, 1973 to Zong Thao Vang and Chia Thao. My father and mother owned a small piece of land in Laos and worked in the agricultural fields to make a living. My mother sews Hmong embroidery and clothes on the side to help make some extra money for the family. I have 5 brothers and 4 sisters, making a total of 12 in the family. However, due to the severe conditions living in Laos, two of my sisters passed away at a young age. I was the middle child, two siblings older than me and five younger than me. Both my parents are from the lower-class families, but they were still able to send my siblings and me to grade school in Laos. I was only able to reach third grade before my family decided to flee Laos.
When I was around the age of 11 my family decided to flee Laos and into Thailand. The Vietnam War ended and most Hmong families had left to Thailand. My mother decided that it would be best for the family to leave everything behind in Laos and head for Thailand because at least Thailand would be safer than staying in Laos. We scurried through the jungles of Laos, weeks to months, looking for the Mekong River which was in between Thailand and Laos. We finally reached Thailand and were placed in a refugee camp called Phanat Nikhom, which we stayed there for a year and a half before we were able to come to the United States on June 23, 1989.
We landed in Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), California and were picked up by my cousins who came to the United States roughly 10 years before us, living in a small town called Banning, California. Banning had a small number of Hmong people but everyone knew each other. My family went to Banning to follow my father’s side of the family and lived in a three bedroom, one bathroom home. Two years after our arrival, my mother and father passed their American Citizenship tests and became permanent residents.
My parents did not work but instead went to adult school to learn English. Me and my siblings applied and went to school. I was 13 when we came to the United States and started 9th grade at Banning High School. After graduating high school in 1993, I worked in a library and spent most of my time taking care of my siblings. My two older siblings married and moved away, leaving me as the eldest child. On January 4th, 1994, I married my husband Lao Thao and moved with him to Bakersfield, California. I had my first child on October 27th, 1994 and then moved to Sacramento, California, where I worked at a JC Penny Warehouse in North Sacramento. After 11 years of working there, the warehouse was shut down and I became unemployed. Today I am a stay-at-home mother of four, three daughters and one son.
My name is Chong (Ntxhoo) Vang. I was born in Laos, on December 31, 1973 to Zong Thao Vang and Chia Thao. My father and mother owned a small piece of land in Laos and worked in the agricultural fields to make a living. My mother sews Hmong embroidery and clothes on the side to help make some extra money for the family. I have 5 brothers and 4 sisters, making a total of 12 in the family. However, due to the severe conditions living in Laos, two of my sisters passed away at a young age. I was the middle child, two siblings older than me and five younger than me. Both my parents are from the lower-class families, but they were still able to send my siblings and me to grade school in Laos. I was only able to reach third grade before my family decided to flee Laos.
When I was around the age of 11 my family decided to flee Laos and into Thailand. The Vietnam War ended and most Hmong families had left to Thailand. My mother decided that it would be best for the family to leave everything behind in Laos and head for Thailand because at least Thailand would be safer than staying in Laos. We scurried through the jungles of Laos, weeks to months, looking for the Mekong River which was in between Thailand and Laos. We finally reached Thailand and were placed in a refugee camp called Phanat Nikhom, which we stayed there for a year and a half before we were able to come to the United States on June 23, 1989.
We landed in Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), California and were picked up by my cousins who came to the United States roughly 10 years before us, living in a small town called Banning, California. Banning had a small number of Hmong people but everyone knew each other. My family went to Banning to follow my father’s side of the family and lived in a three bedroom, one bathroom home. Two years after our arrival, my mother and father passed their American Citizenship tests and became permanent residents.
My parents did not work but instead went to adult school to learn English. Me and my siblings applied and went to school. I was 13 when we came to the United States and started 9th grade at Banning High School. After graduating high school in 1993, I worked in a library and spent most of my time taking care of my siblings. My two older siblings married and moved away, leaving me as the eldest child. On January 4th, 1994, I married my husband Lao Thao and moved with him to Bakersfield, California. I had my first child on October 27th, 1994 and then moved to Sacramento, California, where I worked at a JC Penny Warehouse in North Sacramento. After 11 years of working there, the warehouse was shut down and I became unemployed. Today I am a stay-at-home mother of four, three daughters and one son.
Transcription:
Passage 1:
Thao: Do you remember anything from the Vietnam war?
Vang: Umm, it's kind of a blurred vision to me. I don't remember much except the night before we decided to flee to Thailand. We were living in Laos at the time. It is where my parents grew up and where I grew up too.
Thao: How old were you when your family decided to flee to Thailand?
Vang: I am not sure because I don't know exactly, but I think I was around maybe 11 years old.
Thao: Lets go back to the night your family decided to flee Thailand. What was it that made your parents flee?
Vang: Well, you see, my mom was always in control of making the decisions for the family. My dad did not say much. Everyone at the time was fleeing, you know. One night my mom came into my room and quickly whispered some words into my ears. She said, " Shh. We're leaving now, we can't live here anymore. There will be people after us if we don't leave quickly." And that was that. We just left out.
Passage 2:
Thao: How long did you guys travel for until you reached Thailand? And did you guys know the way?
Vang: No we did not know the way. One of my uncles from my mother's side of the family helped us. He knew the way because he was coming back and fourth, from Thailand and Laos, to help people escape. They knew the jungle very well. Hmong people live in the jungle so they knew everything about it.
Thao: How long did you guys travel until your family reached Thailand?
Vang: I don't remember. But I think it must have been weeks to months!
Thao: What did you guys eat being out there in the jungle that long?
Vang: You know, Hmong people live in the jungle. They know everything, from the mountains to the roots of medicine. We ate what we had. When we had nothing, my dad would go kill the animals he could find in the Jungle.
Thao: How about water? Was it hard to find water?
Vang: Water was scarce. If we were lucky, we would find a stream. If not, my dad and uncles would go look for banana trees. They will cut the bottom half of the tree and scoop out some meat of the tree to create a curve like a bowl. The banana tree wil slowly fill up the bowl with juice and that's what we would drink.
Passage 3:
Thao: How do you feel about the second and third generations living in the United States right now?
Vang: They don't know anything. The girls don't even know how to cook anymore! When I was 10, my mom made me cook a full course meal! I never saw my mom cook. The only thing she did was teach, but never actually cook. My older sister cooked most of the time.
Thao: What did the boys do?
Vang: Well my brothers worked on the fields most of the time. They carried the heavy stuff. They just did boy stuff and go hunting with my dad.
Thao: Do you believe in gender equality? It is where the boys and girls are treated exactly the same.
Vang: Everyone has their jobs to do as a boy and a girl in the house. I think a girl should do what they are suppose to do because we are housewives, or going to become housewives. It doesn't matter. We need to tend to our families first. We cook, clean, and take care of the children. If you cannot do all then you are not a good wife. If you cannot do these then no one will want to marry you. They will say that you are too lazy and they will end up divorcing you. That's how Hmong people are. If you can't do anything then they will convince their sons to divorce you or marry someone else.
Analysis:
I specifically chose these three passages to transcribe because I felt that these were the passages that gave me the most information on the person I interviewed. In addition, I felt that Vang was most like herself in these three passages because her tone was different and she seemed more intrigued. The first passage talks about the reasons why her family left and decided to flee Laos. This part stood out to me because I could imagine clearly how it must have been like. The second passage discusses her experiences with her family while fleeing from Laos. I liked this passage the most because I learned of things that I did not even know of, like the idea of drinking the juice of the banana tree. The last and final passage that I chose was the passage on gender equality. Vang specifically showed interest in this topic and it was as if she was lecturing me a little when she voiced her opinion. I can see why she strongly believes that a girl should do the house work and boys should do the heavier work. It has a lot to do with the customs and traditions of the Hmong culture. The Burial of the Placenta is one perfect example of the roles in the Hmong community, where the placenta of boys are buried beneath the house's central post to represent the family's lineage and the placenta of girls are buried underneath the parent's bed to represent fertility and family. The Hmong are more likely to view gender with traditions and practices.
Reflection:
I was excited to do this interview because who knew that I would choose to interview my mom! I was always close with my mom but we never discuss or dove deep into conversations like these because if she doesn't talk about it then I never really ask. I think it's a Hmong kind of thing where the children don't ask or question parents unless otherwise. One passage that I did not mention was the passage discussing my grandmother. My mother stated that my grandmother was always a kind of business women, where she would make embroidery and sell them for money. In addition, she was extremely smart and had was a very talkative kind of person, which is a trait that is quite unusual for Hmong women as they are suppose to be quiet and listen to their husbands. My grandmother always called the shots and never really listened to her husband because she would end up challenging him and the elders. I found it very funny but yet intriguing because she was the opposite of what a 'good wife' should be. Overall I enjoyed the interview and learned so many new things that I did not know about the Hmong and my mother! I also was able to connect with already existing knowledge like the Burial of the Placenta.
Passage 1:
Thao: Do you remember anything from the Vietnam war?
Vang: Umm, it's kind of a blurred vision to me. I don't remember much except the night before we decided to flee to Thailand. We were living in Laos at the time. It is where my parents grew up and where I grew up too.
Thao: How old were you when your family decided to flee to Thailand?
Vang: I am not sure because I don't know exactly, but I think I was around maybe 11 years old.
Thao: Lets go back to the night your family decided to flee Thailand. What was it that made your parents flee?
Vang: Well, you see, my mom was always in control of making the decisions for the family. My dad did not say much. Everyone at the time was fleeing, you know. One night my mom came into my room and quickly whispered some words into my ears. She said, " Shh. We're leaving now, we can't live here anymore. There will be people after us if we don't leave quickly." And that was that. We just left out.
Passage 2:
Thao: How long did you guys travel for until you reached Thailand? And did you guys know the way?
Vang: No we did not know the way. One of my uncles from my mother's side of the family helped us. He knew the way because he was coming back and fourth, from Thailand and Laos, to help people escape. They knew the jungle very well. Hmong people live in the jungle so they knew everything about it.
Thao: How long did you guys travel until your family reached Thailand?
Vang: I don't remember. But I think it must have been weeks to months!
Thao: What did you guys eat being out there in the jungle that long?
Vang: You know, Hmong people live in the jungle. They know everything, from the mountains to the roots of medicine. We ate what we had. When we had nothing, my dad would go kill the animals he could find in the Jungle.
Thao: How about water? Was it hard to find water?
Vang: Water was scarce. If we were lucky, we would find a stream. If not, my dad and uncles would go look for banana trees. They will cut the bottom half of the tree and scoop out some meat of the tree to create a curve like a bowl. The banana tree wil slowly fill up the bowl with juice and that's what we would drink.
Passage 3:
Thao: How do you feel about the second and third generations living in the United States right now?
Vang: They don't know anything. The girls don't even know how to cook anymore! When I was 10, my mom made me cook a full course meal! I never saw my mom cook. The only thing she did was teach, but never actually cook. My older sister cooked most of the time.
Thao: What did the boys do?
Vang: Well my brothers worked on the fields most of the time. They carried the heavy stuff. They just did boy stuff and go hunting with my dad.
Thao: Do you believe in gender equality? It is where the boys and girls are treated exactly the same.
Vang: Everyone has their jobs to do as a boy and a girl in the house. I think a girl should do what they are suppose to do because we are housewives, or going to become housewives. It doesn't matter. We need to tend to our families first. We cook, clean, and take care of the children. If you cannot do all then you are not a good wife. If you cannot do these then no one will want to marry you. They will say that you are too lazy and they will end up divorcing you. That's how Hmong people are. If you can't do anything then they will convince their sons to divorce you or marry someone else.
Analysis:
I specifically chose these three passages to transcribe because I felt that these were the passages that gave me the most information on the person I interviewed. In addition, I felt that Vang was most like herself in these three passages because her tone was different and she seemed more intrigued. The first passage talks about the reasons why her family left and decided to flee Laos. This part stood out to me because I could imagine clearly how it must have been like. The second passage discusses her experiences with her family while fleeing from Laos. I liked this passage the most because I learned of things that I did not even know of, like the idea of drinking the juice of the banana tree. The last and final passage that I chose was the passage on gender equality. Vang specifically showed interest in this topic and it was as if she was lecturing me a little when she voiced her opinion. I can see why she strongly believes that a girl should do the house work and boys should do the heavier work. It has a lot to do with the customs and traditions of the Hmong culture. The Burial of the Placenta is one perfect example of the roles in the Hmong community, where the placenta of boys are buried beneath the house's central post to represent the family's lineage and the placenta of girls are buried underneath the parent's bed to represent fertility and family. The Hmong are more likely to view gender with traditions and practices.
Reflection:
I was excited to do this interview because who knew that I would choose to interview my mom! I was always close with my mom but we never discuss or dove deep into conversations like these because if she doesn't talk about it then I never really ask. I think it's a Hmong kind of thing where the children don't ask or question parents unless otherwise. One passage that I did not mention was the passage discussing my grandmother. My mother stated that my grandmother was always a kind of business women, where she would make embroidery and sell them for money. In addition, she was extremely smart and had was a very talkative kind of person, which is a trait that is quite unusual for Hmong women as they are suppose to be quiet and listen to their husbands. My grandmother always called the shots and never really listened to her husband because she would end up challenging him and the elders. I found it very funny but yet intriguing because she was the opposite of what a 'good wife' should be. Overall I enjoyed the interview and learned so many new things that I did not know about the Hmong and my mother! I also was able to connect with already existing knowledge like the Burial of the Placenta.