From Detention Camps of Thailand to Freedom in the Foothills of North Carolina: One Family’s Remarkable Story

Abstract

In the 1980s, a number of Hmong families relocated from Thailand detention camps to the United States. This research explores one such family. The family became the key informant in snowball sampling for a larger, ongoing study. Following a series of interviews, qualitative narrative life stories were created and themes of family preservation, survival, and perpetuation of Hmong culture began to emerge. Importantly, parental concerns about how to keep the family intact despite different levels of acculturation surfaced during the process. The purpose of this research was to examine one family’s attempts to preserve the oral history of the Hmong culture and to promote understanding across generations and community members from different cultural backgrounds. The interviews gave the family a forum to expose and discuss their secret journey along with their sacrifices and triumphs. Significantly, the sense of urgency to blend the Hmong and American cultures was profound.