The Hmong Dream

This is an abridged speech, printed with permission, by Hmong PHD Gary Yia Lee concerning the issues the Hmong people face today in a modern world.

Like all minority peoples who have lost their own homelands in Diasporas, the Hmong have always had dreams. Some dreams have become reality; others remain just that - dreams. When we were in southern China many centuries ago, we dreamed about regaining our own lands and our own country, for a more powerful and persistent alien group had taken them away. We dreamed about being left in peace to run our own affairs, to farm and feed our families.

We dreamed of our ancestors, mythical kings and leaders, for we were now left scattered without a father to lead us, without a motherland to protect us and to inspire us. We dreamed about freedom from domination and oppression. Those of us who were forced to flee to Vietnam, Laos and Thailand, in the second half of last century also had dreams. Our great, great grand-parents of this time dreamed of peace, but also of virgin forests to cut down for farming, of rich opium fields that would bring them wealth so that they could feed and clothe their big families.

Pa Noi, Hmong Village in Northern Laos

They dreamed of having many children, many sons, and a large network of relatives. Rich and powerful men dreamed of having many wives to make a name for themselves, to increase their local influence. For most Hmong, however, they certainly dreamed of more new forests and better lands to move to, to cultivate until exhausted, and then to move on. Later after the French came to Laos in the 1890's, our grand-parents and parents probably dreamed of resisting control by local officials, of avoiding French opium tax and labour conscription.

With the Japanese arrival during WW II and the subsequent Vietminh war of independence against the French, the Hmong in Laos dreamed of protecting their families and villages from enemy attacks, of gaining the upper hand in their inter-clan conflicts. Much later, some of them dreamed about sending their children to school or to enlist in the Lao army. A small handful of them did get an education, got into the army or the Lao public service - but always at great expense, for they had to part with their families to go to the city to study. There were no schools in their villages.

Then the civil war in Laos in the 1960's engulfed the Hmong. For a while, we were too busy to try and stay alive to have time for dreaming. Being dreamers, however, some of us soon pursued the Big Hmong Dream and went to the city to study or to live, leaving our families to struggle for survival in a deadly war in the hills of northern Laos. Many of us became teachers, nurses, public servants, and even prominent army officers or politicians in the Lao nation-state.

Members of the CIA's Hmong Secret Arm in Laos, circa 1965

Those left behind were faced with starvation and refugee camps, and with bombs and bullets at the front line in the Special Army. They had their own dream: the dream of peace, peace and peace. A few others (not all Hmong), of course, had a different dream: power, power and more power. These conflicting dreams eventually caused the Hmong of Laos to cross to Thailand, in 1975, and to other friendly countries in the West across vast oceans and land masses - leaving many cherished dreams behind forever.

Hmong Refugees in Laos Waiting for Evacuation in the 70s - Confronting Bigger Dreams Now

Today, the Hmong still dream the same dreams of yesterday and more. Many of us, especially those in America, now dream about having a lot of education, doing businesses, getting well-paid jobs, living the good life, getting off welfare dependency and regaining our self-respect. Some are now actually living this dream. Others still dream about going back to the old subsistence life, to the old country, despite all the odds against the realization of such dreams, despite the fact that they might no longer like it even if these dreams could come true.

These contradictory dreams have made life a painful nightmare: the dreams have become too complex, too hard to realize and to bear. The people have become lost, disoriented, being hit by too many ideas from too many directions in a very complicated, often unseen maze. They were no longer involved in just fighting a war or leading a simple subsistence life in some remote villages in the highlands of Southeast Asia.

We face many dreams today in modern Western countries, some are our own, and others are forced on us. There is no dispute that the most important dream for us is to get an education and a job, to prosper, to be able to take care of our family, our relatives and friends - just like everyone else.

Hmong Teenagers in the US Today Dreaming and Living the Dream of a Shared Collective Identity

Many features of Hmong identity stem from cultural symbols such as their national costumes and religious beliefs, their perceptions of themselves in relation to other groups, and their status allocations into superior or inferior social positions. The Hmong like to see themselves as an in-group called "Peb Hmoob" (Us Hmong) in contrast to outsiders who are seen as "Mab Sua" (Strangers).

This classification puts the Hmong in clear social category in relation to other groups of people: "Mab Sua" stands for all the things which one should not aspire to, things which are not acceptable, things alien to the Hmong.

Thus, "Peb Hmoob" is the inclusive concept used to bring home the fact that there is a collective Hmong identity, a collective Hmong consciousness. This collective image is represented by certain very distinct social values and material objects. The most commonly cited value is that "Hmong have to look after their own" (Hmoob Yuav Tsum Hlub Hmoob). This is like a supreme commandment.

In term of material icons or symbols, the following objects are seen as typically Hmong: the reed Pipe or "Qeej", the long flute or "Raj Nplaim", the mouth harp or "Ncas", and the women's colorful costumes or "Tiab".

Playing the Qeej

The costumes of our women in particular should not be forgotten in the Great Hmong Dream, for their colors are the symbols used to identify the divisions or tribal affiliations of each Hmong group such the White Hmong (with the women's skirt being White), the Green Hmong (with green dye Batik patterns on the women's skirts), the Striped or Arm-band Hmong (with the sleeves of the women's shirt having black and blue bands), and so on. These are the important cultural symbols of the Hmong: both at the abstract and material level.

The White Hmong

While most Hmong have sought to live simply and peacefully as subsistence farmers in the old homeland or as income-earners in their new countries, others have actively promoted certain ideal modes of behaviour through participation in messianic movements and activities to generate what they see as desirable group qualities.

But mythical aspirations aside, we will truly be able to realize the Hmong Dream if we can weave together a mixed common Hmong image by using our old traditions and ideas, by borrowing from other sources to shape this new group image to fit the demands of the modern world.

Integrating into Modern Society and Hmong Unity

As a minority living among other people, we have certain images of ourselves which we present in every day life to other people based on our expectations of them, and which others give to us based on what they expect of us. These expectations are readjusted all the time, to suit the needs of the moment and the roles we play. In order to meet these changing expectations, we need also to change, to negotiate, to improve and shift our positions. This requires us to learn from other groups as well as from our own people so that these images of ourselves can be used for our own advantages.

For this reason, the Hmong need to learn to mix with other people more effectively, so that we can present positive images to each other for our mutual benefit. To do this, we have to become competent people through: (1) being self-confident, flexible, tolerant and understanding; (2) being genuinely dependable, responsible; (3) acting on the basis of evidence, firmly held values and beliefs; (4) feeling that one's own life is important and worthwhile; (5) being open to new experiences and ready to learn; and (6) being in control of one's emotions and life situations.

We cannot accomplish this by staying inside our houses and say there is nothing we can do because we are not educated enough, or that there is no need to discover new things because we are already the best. We have to learn from all sources. I do not mean that we have to go to colleges and get degrees - this too, but mostly we need to learn informally from books, from discussions, get to know and try out all the fascinating ideas about life from other people.

Adapting to Life in a Strange New World

The Hmong Dream will be really lived when Hmong people know and understand other Hmong in other lands. We are not one single homogenous group located in one single geographical area, but a multi-ethnic and multilingual nation living with many people in many countries. We are a community numbering more than seven millions, but without any geographical boundaries.

We have to accept these facts and to meet their many challenges without fear and without shame. We need to recognize that despite all the differences in languages, in dialects, life styles, religion, customs and economic status, we are but one people. We are challenged by the need to adopt a common Hmong writing for all and not the many scripts we now use. We are challenged by the need for a common history book incorporating all the local histories of the Hmong in whatever countries they now live.

In order to keep the Hmong Dream alive, we need to look after our big house, represented by our leaders, our ancestors, our culture, all those who have fought valiantly and died for our survival through our long history. They are the foundation and the posts holding the house together. The posts need to support each other, and other parts used for the house need to stay together or else the house will fall down.

We need to remember that no matter what clans we belong to, our clan system should only be used to define whom we can or cannot marry, and not as something to divide us in other areas of life. Our clan differences should not be used to over-ride our unity of purpose, our common identity. Hmong of one tribe or clan should not distrust or betray those of another clan. If we avoid clan favoritism by treating each other as equals, we will be able to stay together to support the house of many rooms, many tribes and many clans.

Children Dancing in Yunnan

The Hmong, no matter where they are, need to know that the total sum is always bigger than its parts: the overall global Hmong identity is greater than its many local variations. To stay Hmong, we have to accept that we are a people with other identities as well as our own. We are Hmong but also American, Chinese, Lao, Thai, Vietnamese, French, Argentinean, Australian or Canadian. We need to fulfill our responsibilities as citizens of our respective countries of adoption, but we need to appreciate our "Hmongness" in order to fulfill these responsibilities.

Red Hmong Woman in Northern Viet Nam

For us, there is only one road ahead if we want to avoid eventual extinction. That road is the road to progress and redemption, redemption from a past of isolation and distrust, poverty and ignorance, submission and dependence. We need to build this road and to travel on it now. Only then will we come out of our own darkness into a new life of prosperity and a life of hope.

Gary Yia Lee is of Hmong origin. He was born in Laos, but emigrated to Australia in 1965 to finish high school. He then studied social work at the University of New South Wales, and was the first Hmong to have gained a Doctorate of Philosophy degree in anthropology from the University of Sydney in 1981. He can be considered the foremost expert on Hmong history and affairs today. His primary goal is to bring better understanding of the Hmong and to support studies on Hmong people around the world, encouraging young students and scholars in this field to share their ideas and to make their findings more widely available to all.

For the full text of this speech and other of Gary's writings on Hmong history and social affairs, please visit the Hmong Homepage website: www.hmongnet.org.