Darkness

 Written by : Chue Neng Thao            12/29/04

At times I feel actual happiness and nothing more

At times I feel as if  I was being loved and cared for

At times I feel like a king sitting on my royal thrown

At times I feel like greatness is all that I’ve ever known

At times I feel lonesome and sad without a soul in mind

At times I feel lost and mystified about this life of mine

At times I feel absurdity and resentment that I must repent

At times I feel nothing, but yet I am and remain content

At times I find myself laughing and smiling with everyone

At times I find these little life battles are being fought and won

At times I find that everything is going the way it should be

At times I find that I am able to be myself with you next to me

At times I find myself unable to sleep one restful night

At times I find myself pondering about my substandard life

At times I find nothing but the bad and the worst in everything

At times I find myself anxiously waiting for the phone to ring

At times I do spend time with my family, friends, and everybody

At times I do discover peace within in my mind, soul, and body

At times I do all the things in my bravura life that are worth wild

At times I do the things everyone else does but with my own style

At times I do stroll unaccompanied on this dark and lonely road

At times I do carry all of this grief in one burdensome load

At times I do have to choose between the people that I love

At times I do pray every night to the heavenly lord above

At times I see only a dark cloud lingering over my head

At times I see that the person I love is being mislead

At times I see the things I do brings to all nothing but sadness

At times I see the good but it is engulfed by the darkness

Second Chance for Hmong Refugees to come to US

By:  Shoua Vang

According to the California Refugee Program, more than 16,000 Hmong refugee from Wat Tham Krabok camp, Thailand will be expected to come to the United States sometime in the near future.  Of the 16,000; about 6,000 are expected to come to California; 3, 600 to Wisconsin; and the rest are to go the Minnesota and else where. 

During the Vietnam war, the Hmong people were called upon by the United States CIA to support the US in the struggle against the communism in Laos and Vietnam.  The Hmong were promised that if the US lose the war, they would take the Hmong people with them back to America.  When the war ended in 1975, the US did not keep their promise and left the Hmong in Laos to deal with the communists on their own.  As a result, the Hmong people were forced out of their villages and homes and into the jungle where they became prey for the communist forces to hunt down. 

According to William Vang at the Sacramento city Unified School District, more than 200,000 Hmong fled to Thailand.  Thirty thousand Hmong died on the way to Thailand. 

After the Vietnam War, Thailand opened refugee camps for the Hmong people to temporarily settle; but it began closing its camps in the 1990s.  As a result, those that did not want to be resettled and those that wished to go back to a free Laos did not want to leave Thailand, so they decided to move to Wat Tham Krabok, a Buddhist temple 90 miles northeast of Bangkok.  Approximately 16,000 Hmong refugees remained in Wat Tham Krabok, while another 15,000 to 25,000 remained dispersed throughout northern Thailand. 

When the Buddhist Abbot of the temple was still alive, he allowed the Hmong refugees to remain in Wat Tham Krabbot.  But early in 2003, the abbot pasted away leaving the control of the camp to the Thai government.  According to Refugees International, Thai government did not want the Hmong refugees to remain in Thailand.  The government wanted to close the camp, and force the Hmong refugees to resettle in a remote military base in Korat Province.  But in December of 2003, the US had agreed to Thailand’s request to resettle the refugees at Wat Tham Krabot in America.  So in February of 2004, registration of the Hmong refugees for the US began. 

On June 22, 2004, Secretary Tommy Thompson announced that the US Department of Health and Human Services will contribute at least $23 million dollars to aid the resettlement of the Hmong refugees.  The $23 million dollars will be divided among the primary states to receive the Hmong refugees, which are Minnesota, Wisconsin, and California (according to the American city Business Journals Inc., 2004). 

It is expected that the 16,000 Hmong refugees in Wat Tham Krabot will be able to resettle in the US in the near future.  As of June 2004, some of the Hmong refugees have already arrived in the US.  While the Hmong refugees at Wat Tham Krabot were allowed to come to the US, it is yet to determine whether those that are dispersed in northern Thailand would be able to resettle in the US as well. 

Heritage

I would like to leave my children a sense of sacrifice for the potential obstacles they may encounter in life.

I would like to leave my children spiritual wealth, so they know what is only temporary and what is eternal.

I would like to leave my children a longing for the continuing to educate their minds, no matter the cost.

I would like to leave my children the capacity to love a stranger not knowing them.

I would like to leave my children love and wisdom to give and receive.

Young One

That gaze that forces a blush

Every time your eyes light on mine..

Need to embrace the passion within

Do you love me or will you leave?

Consummate in your mind with vows what I need to confine

I know you are my soul mate

Even if mine is older than yours

Let me be the one to open your heart

I see the colors, let them show

Embrace the truth –Be mine!

My light will shine indefinitely

Because I understand and accept what love is…

And I am it…so come away with me…

Raindrops

I love rain.

The rhythmic circadian patterns speak to my soul.

My heart beats along with the syncopated rhythm.

The center is evident.

Balance, clarity, crystal clear perception cleanses

the muck—the darkness that sometimes over shadows the good.

When it rains, I am complete

Everything in the world is right.

I feel no spite, no bitter, no regret

Only Love…

Even for you though you do not requite.

What I offer—my heart, your sanctuary..

You cannot deny.

Listen to the rain, it is me

Listen to your heart as I speak to your soul

Listen to what I offer you

Do not interfere with the spring