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Hmong And Immigrants In America

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"I have nothing with which to start a family. I am all alone in this life and land." The common thoughts of Hmong refugees as they began to settle in refugee camps and America are that of deep alienation and uncertainty. When the Hmong first entered the U.S., they were strategically dispersed across the country to promote faster assimilation. However, the stark contrast between the Hmong and America's cultures has made this move backfire. The integration of the Hmong has been especially difficult when compared with other immigrants, leading some Americans to believe that it is the fault of the Hmong. In reality, the problem was that their culture was unlike any of the other immigrants that the America has been exposed to. In order to examine any transition that the Hmong have undergone in America, we first must define, what it means to be Hmong and what it means to be American. Several texts have attempted to answer these questions and I will use them to correct the prevailing misconceptions of the Hmong. It is common belief that Hmong's culture is one of primitivity, dependency, and close-mindedness; I will show that these beliefs are not only false but also propagated by cultural oppression and ineffective resettlement policies. Before we go into greater detail as to why these misconceptions are false we should address their source. Some people believe that underlying reason behind the Hmong's slow assimilation is that the they are inherently primitive. It is often

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