Dearest Hmong Friends,

Greetings! How are we doing? I hope and wish that all of us are hype up because this life is too short, and there is not room for grief and remorse. Please stand beside as I pour my heart out to you. I'm trying to influence you all to stand on your feet and keep driving on in life. This couple of days have been a great blessing in my life and I would like to share my thoughts with you.

We, the Hmong people, have been a nomadic tribal group for hundreds and even thousands of years. There is no historical evidence showing that we ever have a country of our own. Our forefathers originally lived in China and had migrated down on a trail of tears and spreaded across Indochina and now all over the world.

This all began when the Chinese wanted us to adopt their way of life but at the same time degraded our people to the lowest level. We were a very peaceful people with our unique culture and language. When the Chinese started to penetrate into the heart of Hmong society and forcefully bribing to marry our most beautiful women in the worst of manners, discontent stirred between the two ethnic groups.

A majority of the Hmong people complied the Chinese demand due to the fear of putting their families in danger; however, our forefathers retaliated. They were the heroes of their days. Many were killed with their heads chopped off, some line up to be shot, the wives and daughters of many honorable men were raped and then killed. As a result, our forefathers migrated south and spreaded across Vietnam, Thailand and Laos. Those that complied to the Chinese are still remain in China (nowadays over 2 millions). They were forced to inhabit lands with the least fertile land where cultivation of crops is almost impossible.

In the 1940s and 1950s, French missionaries spreaded Christianity throughout Laos. In the highlands, they found the Hmong people unique in their own culture and language. Hunting and farming were their main ways of life. To widen the Hmong's horizon of life, the missionaries helped get churches and schools built to educate the Hmong in western ways. Few of the top students were selected to attend colleges and universities in France. This include Yang Dao and a few others.

Yang Dao was the first Hmong scholar to earn a doctorate degree (History). He was also the first Hmong ever to play the guitar. He conducted the very first Hmong songs in the mid-70s. Nowadays, Doctor Yang Dao is a faculty member at the University of Minnesota teaching history and a few related courses.

Another prestigious Hmong pioneer is General Vang Pao. He was the highest military ranked official who got involved with the CIA in the late '60s and early '70s during the Secret War of Vietnam. Led by the general, the Hmong play a great role in the fight to stop Communism. In the end, this paved the way for us to get to the country we're at now.

Hmong soldiers were great freedom fighters who spied on enemy warfare activities, hid U.S. soldiers from the Viet Congs, guided them across the hostile territories of Laos and Vietnam. Tens of thousands of Hmong soldiers died during the war leaving their wives as widows and children as orphans. Does this remind you of the terrifying stories of Hmong orphans? Much tears had shed due to the war.

The sudden withdrawal of U.S. troops from the war pretty much left the Hmong in the dark. They quickly became the prime target of Communist Vietnamese threat for siding with the Americans. Instantanously, many Hmong family were tortured to death. To relieve this problem, the Geneva Convention passed a proposition to allow the Hmong migrate to the United States, France, Guyana (French colony in South America), and Germany.

In the mid '70s, the Vietnamese took control and Hmong people fled by the thousands to the refugee camps of Thailand. They were maintained there by fundings made possible through the Geneva Convention until they get transported to the country of their choice. That is the how we are scattered all over the globe today.

The bottom line is the fact that the Hmong have fought for hundreds of years to preserve their unique heritage. They did this without a country and had survived. Hmong friends and love ones, we must continue to fight and maintain our unique heritage onward to the future. We must be strong and not be afraid to admit that we are Hmong. Our younger generations should be taught the rich Hmong culture, and we must not forget our language. There is an old saying: if you do not know where you came from, you are going back. Take my advice and preserve what our forefathers had fought and lost their lives to preserve.

As we head toward the 21st century, we must continue to work hard and spread our excellence throughout all professions. We have gone a long way, and this is not the time to blend in with the so-called 'Melting Pot.' We must continue to be unique. Here is my advice: if you are walking through hell, don't stop. In life, there will be hard times and good times. We must persevere through the hard times in order to get to the good times.

I want to leave you all with a warm feeling. Many of you had witnessed that Hmong students are among the smartest even surpassing a number of other Asian/Pacific ethnic groups. This is a good sign of where we are heading. Now that we are established here in America, it is the time to shine. It is the time to let the world know who we really are. Till next time, God bless the Hmong people.