My Wonderful Life in the United States

Today, we learned about The Hmong people in the United States, especially in Wisconsin. Majority of Hmong is staying in Wisconsin. For more information about the Hmong people, please visit here.

We are given a Peom, titled "Journey to America", by Tou Lee Vue, a new generation of Hmong people in the United States. It is a meaningful poem which conveys the importance of the Hmong history.

In the first stanza, the writer is questioning himself regarding his differences as compared to Americans in the United States. For instance, hair color, skin, and appearance. The writer found the answers from his father. Their ancestors were from Laos. This stanza shows that the importance of the Hmong history, especially for the new generation to know their identity.

In the second stanza, the writer introduces the Vietnam War which emphasis their sorrow and their agonizing flashback. The Hmong had been trained by the United States Elite soldiers to oppose the Vietnamese and the Pathet Lao communists of Laos. The Hmong lost the war and they fled due to the subsequent genocidal actions. A lot of sorrow stories had been occured. In order to keep their children from crying and to hide them from murderous soldiers, the desperate parents overdosed their babies with drugs and consequently their babies died. They survived everyday in panic and fear.

The third stanza emphasis the Hmong's desires. They were lived in fear for the past time. Their dreams come true when they are in the United States of America. They are no longer living in fear as refugee.

The writer expresses his perseverance in the last stanza. Although their homeland had been conquered, their freedom still be with them. They are free people who desire for freedom. They are the Hmong!!