Smithsonian magazine has an article this month about the Hmong refugees from Laos. The 2 primary groups are in Compton, CA and St Paul, MN, which were chosen for their large social services budgets.
The CA group, for the most part, hasn’t learned English and survives on welfare checks. Their children have learned English in school and do most of the interfacing with the rest of the world for the family. This power shift has proved to be disastrous for the family structure and now crime, drugs, truancy and unemployment are rampant.
The MN group learned English immediately and is very prosperous. They have a Hmong state legislator, and recently a Hmong state social services worker. Their kids are doing well in school and going on to college. Their story is more typical of the other Asian groups that have emigrated here.
