The Effect Of The Vietnam War On Hmong People

Introduction
In the 1960s, communist activities in the Southeast Asia had caused intervention from the United States. In particular, the Hmong people were the “secret army” who helped the United States to fight against the communists in Laos. After the fall of Saigon with the communist victory, the Hmong people were targeted as the ally of American. So, the journey of seeking refuge began for the Hmong people. With the U.S. refugee resettlement policy, some Hmong people came to the United States. The refugee resettlement was an act of humanitarianism but also an experience of American discrimination. This is because as America open its door to welcome the refugees, the media portrayed refugees in a stereotypical way. With the influence of the media, American public discriminated and even attacked the refugees. The legacies of war brought to the Hmong people were high causalities, dispersion of families, and identity crisis. The Hmong people had dealt with all these legacies by adapting to the new environment and having a secondary migration.
They had to escape to protect themselves from the communist’s attack. Kao Kalia Yang and family were fortunate enough to seek refuge in the United States. However, their lives were faced with countless challenges as their identity were unknown to the American public. Of the biggest struggle of all was financial and economy. Although Kao Kalia Yang and her sister have excellent academic background, they were in debt during their adulthood (Yang, “40 Years after the War, and the Fight Continues,” (Re) Collecting Vietnam, 44 -