Her Vang

Last summer of 2004, Hmong people made history when Zhong Khang Yang and others walked over 1,200 miles from the Minnesota state capitol in St. Paul to the National Capitol in Washington, D.C.—probably the longest walk for freedom ever carried out in the history of the United States. Dressed in Hmong costumes, these walkers for freedom made no effort to hide their identity. Committed to the ideals of freedom, peace, and democracy, these brave individuals flamboyantly showed the world that they were Hmong people. In a true sense, their walk was both historic and historical; it was symbolic of their determination to go to any length, to win liberation for their people, even if that means to suffer the pain of walking an arduous, long, and difficult journey.

Just last month (May of 2005), Hmong people made yet another chapter in Hmong people’s historical struggles for peace, freedom, and democracy when fifty-two Hmong entered the United Nations to participate in the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. These Hmong men, women, and young individuals, including Zhong Khang Yang, leader of the Long Walk for Freedom, and Laura Xiong Executive Director of Hmong International Human Rights Watch, Inc., rode the subway and walked to the UN dressed in Hmong costumes. For the first time, Hmong were not embarrassed to dress in our costumes in such a celebrated place as the United Nations. For the first time, Hmong were proud of who they are, unabashed of our name--Hmong. For the first time, Hmong did not have to wear suit and tie to enter the UN. Most of all, for the first time, Hmong were welcomed as Hmong people at the UN.

On June 21, 2005, Hmong people made yet another giant step toward their goal of winning peace, freedom, and democracy for their people. On this beautiful day in Washington, D.C., and on this timely occasion, a group of seventy Hmong people joined with over six hundred members of the Montagnards, Khmer Krom, and Tai Dam communities to demonstrate their commitment to the liberation of their peoples in their homelands from the Vietnamese regime’s jaws of death and dungeons of starvation. Gathering at the Freedom Plaza, a few blocks from the White House, from 11:30 A.M. to 2:30 PM, during which the Prime Minister of Vietnam, Phan Van Khai, was meeting with George W. Bush at the White House, these demonstrators chanted, sang, danced, and marched, peacefully calling for more humane treatment of their peoples in their homelands.

Despite the little funds they had received as donations from members of the Hmong community, these Hmong marchers for freedom were determined to fulfill their promise to their constituents and to their Montagnards, Khmer Krom, and Tai Dam allies. Driving for nearly twenty two hours from St. Paul to Washington, D.C. to participate in this momentous demonstration, these Hmong marchers—some dressed in Hmong costumes—demonstrated once again that their commitment to freedom is real. Their love for the poor and suffering is undying. Their devotion to truth is uncontested! So here, again, at the Freedom Plaza, we witnessed yet another demonstration of the Hmong people’s yearning to be free as they marched and danced to the drumbeat of the Montagnards and carried a banner that read, “Vietnam Must Get Out of Laos.”

At the demonstration, one after another, representatives from each of the four organizations representing four distinct indigenous peoples came up and spoke to the crowd. Each of their messages was clear and simple. They all want “the right to own our ancestral lands, the right to religious freedom, freedom of assembly and the right to democracy in order to be able to run the affairs of our communities in accordance with the freely expressed will of our people.” The Vietnamese communist regime, for members of the Tai Solidarity, International Montagnard Foundation Inc., World Hmong People’s Congress, and Khmer Kampuchea Krom Federation, is the core and common adversary to their freedom. It is the one opponent that continues to perpetuate a policy of persecution and genocide towards members of the Hmong, Khmer Krom, Montagnard Degar and Tai Dam peoples.

For the Montagnards, Vietnamese communist regime confiscated their ancestral lands in the Central Highlands and had since stripped them of their rights to their lands. For the Tai Dam, Vietnam must restore “land and liberty back” to their people and “abandon the Son La Dam project.” For the Khmer Krom, Vietnam represents the epitome of human rights violator. Not only is Vietnam a communist regime that confiscates farmlands and property from the Khmer Krom, but it is also spreading a contagious and deadly disease epidemic in the provinces of Soc-Trang and Bac-Lieu to decimate Khmer Krom residents in these provinces. For the Hmong, Vietnam is the backbone of all acts of military aggression against Hmong people in Xaisomboun Special Zone, Houaphan province, and other restricted areas in Laos. Most of all, for the few religious leaders present at the demonstration, Vietnam represents the worst violator of religious freedom as its government officials continue to order the arrest, imprisonment, and persecution of Christian religious leaders in the country.

At the end of the demonstration, these Hmong marchers were both exhausted and exhilarated. They were exhausted of the long drive from St. Paul, during which many of the drivers did not sleep but simply drove through the night. Yet, they were exhilarated and grateful to be able to participate in such an important demonstration. They were excited and eager to show yet another piece of their commitment to freedom in future gatherings. As they walked away from the demonstration, they recalled what one of the memorials that they visited the day before the demonstration says, and they then realized that “Freedom is not free.” Freedom must be fought for; it must be gained. Freedom is gained through the hard work and dedication of people such as themselves. Then came that quiet and serene voice to each and every one of these marchers’ heart—a voice that quite peacefully tells them: “You have joined in the struggle to pave the road for the freedom of your Hmong people today. What you’ve done here at the Freedom Plaza is yet another step toward freedom and democracy for your Hmong people.”

Published in Hmong Times (July 1, 2005).