Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Friday, July 28, 2006
Hmong family of 13 arrives in La Crosse
As a family of 13 Hmong sat in a plane Wednesday night, Deacon Richard Sage drove his minivan to the La Crosse Municipal Airport and talked about moving across the earth.
“There’s an inherent right to migrate to where we will prosper,” said Sage, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of La Crosse. “The earth is God’s, and he has placed us in this world. ... I don’t necessarily think that God intended you and I, that we have sole ownership to land here in the United States, or that Mai Doua has an inherent right to own land in Laos. God made us stewards of all the earth.”
Mai Doua Yang, a Hmong who came to the U.S. in 1989 from Thailand, is a refugee resettlement case manager at Catholic Charities. Together, the two — along with a support network that stretches from local food pantries to government agencies to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops — will help the refugee family settle in La Crosse.
Having done the same for 54 families and 234 Hmong since 2004, Yang knows the challenges facing the family in the coming months.
They will have to find housing and, as Yang said, “Landlords don’t want big families.”
They’ll need transportation, jobs and food. The children, who will begin school this fall, eventually will have to learn English.
And there will be the challenge of adjusting from more than 10 years in a refugee camp to life in the U.S.
“Imagine the first time they walk into Festival (grocery store) or a hospital or a clinic,” Sage said. “The busy-ness, people just rushing around, consuming things.”
About 10:45 p.m., 12 local Hmong arrived at the airport. They were brothers, cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews of the family in the plane. Some have been in the area for 20 years. Some arrived five months ago.
Sang Moua, 53, has two brothers in the area and was awaiting the arrival of another brother. His will be an anchor family for the newcomers.
At 10:55 p.m., Yang arrived and handed a basket of gifts to Sage. He set it next to his own basket, which included a pile of stuffed animals, tooth brushes, Oreos and Hershey bars.
Anchor families, Sage and Yang explained, sign an agreement with Catholic Charities to provide transportation and other general help for a designated length of time. Catholic Charities then provides the refugees with $425 per member, plus regular assistance in navigating life in the U.S.
Yang said she’ll meet weekly with a job developer from the La Crosse Area Hmong Mutual Assistance Association and a La Crosse County case worker to discuss the family’s situation.
“There’s a lot of resources coming together here,” Sage said.
At about 11:20 p.m., the family — with children ages 6 months and 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14 and 15 years — arrived. More than 20 Hmong stood reunited. They cried. They hugged. After 15 minutes or so, they walked outside.
Moua said that night, his families would rest.
Joe Orso can be reached at (608) 791-8429 or jorso@lacrossetribune.com.
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