The myth of the archetypal minority is often obscured from Hmong Americans. Why does a Sony win mean so much to me?

[ad_1]

The family of Olympic gymnast Sunisa Lee, an American Hmong, exploded in hugs and cheers Thursday the moment she won gold in the women’s individual gymnastics final, a reaction that reverberated throughout the Hmong community, a mostly refugee group.

Experts say the struggles and achievements of the Hmong community, an ethnic group with Southeast Asian origins, have long been shrouded in decades of stereotypical minority stereotypes associated with the large Asian American diaspora. So Lee’s win is much more than just another addition to the nation’s medal count.

Sunisa Lee’s parents, Yv Thuge, left, John Lee and other friends interact as they watch Sunisa Lee win the gold medal in women’s Olympic gymnastics at the Tokyo Olympics on July 29, 2021 in Oakdale, Minnesota. / Star Tribune via AP

For many Hmong people, “there is no country other than the United States,” Kham Moa, director of national policy at the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, told NBC Asian America.

We no longer have any significant connections, at least the population here, with any other country. This is really our country. said Moa, who gets up before dawn every day to watch Lee compete. “My Facebook has just been filled with posts about Suni from Hmong people across the country. It’s very exciting.”

In the past, Lee flocked to her tight-knit community in Minnesota, which boasts a Hmong population of about 66,000, many of whom have ended up in the area due to refugee resettlement. Although the group’s origins in the United States began nearly half a century ago, fleeing war and genocide, experts say its story has been obscured by metaphors and images of wealthy Asian Americans who enjoy a much higher degree of privilege than that of society.

About 60 percent of Hmong Americans are on low incomes and about a quarter live in poverty, according to a 2020 SEARAC report. Compared to all other racial groups, Hmong Americans fare worse on nearly all income measures. When it comes to educational attainment, nearly 30 percent of Southeast Asian Americans have not completed high school or passed GED exams, compared to 13 percent of the general population who have gone through the same experience, the report said.

Zoa Fang, an assistant professor of sociology at McGill University in Canada, said many of these structural disparities can be traced back to the United States’ treatment of refugees in the wake of what became known as the “Secret War” in the 1960s. The United States recruited many members of the Hmong community in Laos to fight on their behalf. Although the goal was to fend off communist control in the country, Laos fell to the Pathet Lao, the communist nationalist forces, in 1975. When the American forces withdrew, many Hmong fled to Thailand and various refugee camps before being resettled across America .

Sunisa Lee of Team USA poses with her gold medal after winning the women’s all-around final on Day 6 of the Tokyo Olympics at Ariake Gymnastics Center on July 29, 2021. Jimmy Squire/Getty Images

“Certainly many people feel, and I consider myself in this camp, that the government has failed us in terms of its obligations to help Americans, Hmong immigrants in general, resettle and prosper in America,” Fang said. “The United States government has basically, as it does with most immigrants once they are here, has discontinued its responsibility to help these immigrants integrate into society.”

Fang said Hmong veterans continue to struggle with a lack of recognition and equal benefits for their sacrifice compared to American veterinarians, which has become a “prolonged battle and struggle for people of this generation.”

With little government support, Fang said, the responsibility falls to private organizations and religious institutions to help refugees. Many Hmong Americans have been forced to seek refuge or create their own support networks.

“Sonny is very different from all of those novels because, sure, there are echoes of war and trauma in her family’s narrative. Her novel is not a war story. It’s a story about success,” Moa said. Exactly what we saw. It’s a positive story, too.”

However, experts stress that while Lee’s story is one of accomplishment and grit, it is important that her telling does not perpetuate the idea that such extraordinary accomplishments are inevitable once you “stretch yourself through the boot”. They said Lee’s success is not a great indication of opportunity or merit in the United States but more reflective of the resilience of its community.

Family and friends react after Team USA’s Sunisa Lee wins gold in the women’s all-around final on Day 6 of the Tokyo Olympics at an observation gala July 29, 2021 in Oakdale, Minnesota Stephen Maturin/Getty Images

While the Lee family couldn’t afford a balance beam, her father built one himself, and installed it in the backyard where it sits to this day, she told NBC’s “TODAY.” Every year, the society held a fundraiser for the gymnast, as she was able to compete competitively in the sport.

“Society has always been completely behind her,” Lee’s father told the Star Tribune. “Without it, Sunizza would not be here. They are very supportive of her.”

Moua said that having so many people of color on Team USA is a testament to those same communities, like Hmong. Government documents from the Secret War era interpreted the Hmong language, an oral culture, as “pre-learned,” “meaning they cannot learn, cannot acclimatize, and cannot get used to the United States,” he explained. Fast forward to Lee’s victory, and a much different picture is projected onto the Olympic podium.

“I think it’s amazing that the Hmong community, just 45 years ago, was considered too ‘advanced’ to be accepted in the United States, however, here we are today, with a Hmong American representing our country on the international stage winning the gold medal,” He said. “I think it speaks more about the strength of our community to love and support one another.”

Of course, Fang said, amid the conversations about the Li community, you shouldn’t forget the gymnast’s strength.

“It would be a mistake to not only mention Sony’s resilience itself, certainly an integral part of her family and then the larger community, but it takes a lot to get to where she is,” Fang said. “This is the personal resilience, as well as community resources that you may have leveraged, to get to where they are.”

Fang said she hopes when people see Lee’s story, they will be asked to pour more resources and invest in communities like the Hmong.

“If we put in investments and resources, what amazing diversity can we see on the global stage that represents America, and how many untapped talents are untapped in communities of color and the Hmong community,” Fang said.

[ad_2]