1. Saying goodbye to loved ones and hoping to reunite in America eventually.
2. Buses leaving for Chonburi province hundreds of miles south to the transit camp for all Southeast Asian refugees, from Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam, where they will undergo screening for such medical problems as tuberculosis, and in later years English classes, before eventually boarding one more bus to the Bangkok airport for their flight to the US.
3. “When we arrived in America, we were uneducated and didn’t know any English words so we were just shocked for the reason that we came to their country but didn’t know any words and wondered how were we going to live. We came and our people found us and that made us breathe a bit more because we thought that since they could live here, then maybe we will be able to too. They came to visit and our relatives cared for us so sometimes they would bring things to help us. We managed and lived as each day and year passed by up until this day”
4. “We’ve never lived in a country with snow before so we wondered how we were going to live in this cold weather and we were also scared. We lived for a couple months, for a couple years and saw that maybe we will be able to manage a life here so it made us happy”
5. “We had relatives who came first and helped. When we couldn’t drive, finding ways to earn money and get food and clothes were hard but we had people who came when Vang Pao came that helped us a bit so when we needed some help we called them so wasn’t that hard. We’re happy they helped our family to go buy food to eat and clothes to wear so we weren’t that worried”
6.“We didn’t know but as we watched and saw how all the things in the house are used, we started to know how. The ones that came first taught us so if it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t have known how to do anything.
7. “We were happy. We were happy that there were buses that came to drive us. They drove us to Koos Thej [Bangkok] and we were happy that they were going to take us to America”
8. “When we rode on the airplane we were also happy. We were happy that we got to go to America and were able to ride an airplane. At the time we were uneducated and didn’t even know one word in English so when they talked to us, we didn’t know and when we talked to them, they didn’t know either. We saw the country and just thought that we were going to get to live in America”
9. “Like I said, we didn’t ever think of having the life in the future that we have now. We just thought that we’ll just live as each day goes by and if there was a chance to go then we’ll just take it. We lived and were lucky to have gotten out”
10. “Right now I’m not that worried about anything anymore. I’m old right now so my children are grown and know how to make a living of their own and have their own family. I’m old and have the government that also helps so I’m not that worried”
11. “’I’m happy. I’m happy for myself, for my children, and my family. I’m only upset at the reason that I came to America late so now that I’m old I can’t really do anything. I don’t really mind it because as long as my children are still young and can still live their life and are educated then I’m happy”
12. Hmong practiced polygamy in Laos, which was acceptable, and brought it over to Thailand, but is not allowed in the USA. Families were broken up so they can come to the USA since a man is allowed to bring only one wife and their children. This was tough because family is important to the Hmong people.
13. The resettlement program was dividing families and generations, between the younger generation who wanted to resettle in a third country (USA) and the older generation who wanted to return to the old country (Laos).
Research suggestions:
* How many Hmong resettled in the different countries?