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Hmong Globe Newspaper
Hmong Globe
P.O. Box 293Menasha, WI54952
(920) 840-4805
hmongglobe2014@gmail.com
http://hmongglobe.com/
Editor: Snyu W. Yang
Marketing & Advertising: Xee V. Yang
Hmong Globe is a free, hard copy (paper, not electronic) newspaper published in Wisconsin that covers worldwide news related to the Hmong. Each edition includes articles written in Hmong and English, depending on freelance writers’ preferred language. (Hmong-to-English and English-to-Hmong translations are not provided.) Articles range from coverage of local events to explanations of international politics.
Hmong Globe‘s website includes the same content as hard copy editions but also offers stories on a host of other topics that span travel, business, and community as well as lifestyle, entertainment, opinion, and classifieds. In addition, the site provides links to classifieds and opinions sections. Readers can subscribe to the site free of charge.
“Hmong Officials Say FBI Warning of Homeland Scam”
Melo, Frederick. “Hmong Officials Say FBI Warning of Homeland Scam.” St. Paul Pioneer Press. Twincities.com. 5 Oct. 2015. Web. 8 Oct. 2015. http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_28924882/hmong-officials-say-fbi-warning-homeland-scam?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_term=Autofeed#link_time=1444115789
The FBI began meeting with the leaders of the Lao Family Foundation (St. Paul) in early October 2015 as part of an investigation into a financial scam aimed at the Hmong community, especially elders hoping to return to Laos and/or resettle in an official Hmong homeland. The scam plays on elders’ memories of previous efforts by an organization named Neo Hom and affiliated with General Vang Pao, which sought to take back Laos from communist forces so the Hmong to resettle there.
This new scam “claims that the United Nations will soon partition land in Southeast Asia for a new Hmong nation” (Melo). Under the name “Tebchaws,” which means “Hmong Country,” scammers convince members of the Hmong community to deposit funds into an established bank account. Those who contribute, the scammers say, will receive a parcel of land once the new nation is established.
Tebchaws promotes its scam on a website created for the purpose, HmongTebchaws.net. Tebchaws leaders, as listed on the site, include “chair Thong Lee, vice chair La Pao Her, and communications director Steve Moua” (Melo). Seng Xiong is also involved in the organization and was interviewed recently by Suab Hmong News, which then titled the interview “What Is Hmong Country? It Is Scam or Real?” when it posted the interview to youtube. The title seems to indicate Suab Hmong News interviewers had doubts about the legitimacy of Tebchaws’ claims and intent.
Because this is an ongoing investigation, no other details are available currently. Once the investigation wraps up, more information will be released to the public.
“Hmong Farmers Work to Get Twin Cities-Area Produce in Stores, Schools”
Beckstrom, Maja. “Hmong Farmers Work to Get Twin Cities-Area Produce in Stores, Schools.” St. Paul Pioneer Press. Twincities.com. 2 Oct. 2015. Web. 2 Oct. 2015. http://www.twincities.com/business/ci_28913659/hmong-farmers-work-get-local-produce-stores-schools?utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook
This article explains how the Hmong American Farmers Association (HAFA), a local nonprofit organization founded by Twin Cities resident Pakou Hang, helps Hmong farmers sell produce to a wider variety of customers instead of relying solely on income generated from farmers’ markets. HAFA has arranged for Hmong farmers to “sell leeks to Lunds & Byerlys, sweet potatoes to Mississippi Market Natural Foods Co-ops in St. Paul, and broccoli to public schools in Hopkins” as well as other produce to Lancer Catering, South Washington County Schools, and Ramsey and Washington County Head Start programs (Beckstrom). HAFA also provides its farmers with access to loans and grants for purchasing equipment.
In 2014, an anonymous investor purchased 155 acres of land in Dakota County and agreed to lease it to HAFA for 10 years. After making improvements that included adding irrigation, HAFA rented portions of the land to Hmong farmers, giving them a place to grow, harvest, clean, and prepare their produce for market. According to Teng Thao, a HAFA farmer interviewed for the article, the leased land allows farmers not only to grow produce in larger quantities but also to get it to consumers more efficiently.
To work with HAFA, farmers must farm at least three acres of land, have liability insurance, sell at farmers’ markets, and demonstrate three years of experience farming.
So far, the program has been a success, helping Hmong farmers earn more for their produce than they make selling at farmers’ markets alone. It has also benefited those who purchase produce. More and more consumers want to know where their food comes from and how it was grown; HAFA farmers offer consumers the peace of mind that comes with having that knowledge.
HAFA hopes to expand its program in the future but hasn’t yet offered specifics as to when or how.
Controversies Surrounding Lao Family Community Organization in St. Paul
Melo, Frederick. “Lao Family Community Headquarters Saved from Auction Block.” Twincities.com. St. Paul Pioneer Press. 4 Mar. 2015. Web. 3 Aug. 2015. < http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_27643620/hmong-associations-headquarters-saved-from-auction-block>
Melo, Frederick. “St. Paul: Lao Family Community Leadership Dispute Reignites.” Twincities.com. St. Paul Pioneer Press. 14 Mar. 2015. Web. 3 Aug. 2015. <http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_25346535/st-paul-lao-family-community-leadership-dispute-reignites>
These articles provide useful background information about the Lao Family Community (LFC), an organization founded by General Vang Pao and a handful of other Hmong leaders in 1977. LFC offers financial and social support services for Hmong refugees in America. The word “controversial” often precedes LFC’s name in books, articles, and videos because some in the Hmong community allege Vang Pao used it to extort funds from new refugees. They claim he threatened the refugees’ safety and/or the stability of their lives in the U.S. if they did not provide monthly contributions to LFC. Vang Pao said the funds were necessary to support fighters in Laos, who would defeat communist forces so all Hmong people could to return to the place they considered their homeland. In 1997, Vang Pao and several others were charged with misappropriating funds, though the charges were later dropped.
Other controversies followed. One included lack of financial transparency. Only recently have tax returns for the nonprofit LFC been released to the public. They reveal that the organization has been in the red (up to as much as approximately $200,000) at the end of all but one fiscal year since 2010.
Board member elections are a second area of controversy. Election results in 2010 were contested, so LFC held a second election. Since the second election was open only to dues-paying members of LFC and included fewer than 100 voters, a court judge declared the results invalid. Disputes between past, present, and would-be board members remain unsettled.
A third point of contention among LFC board members as well as between LFC and other groups that provide services to Hmong people in the U.S. was concern that hosting the annual Hmong New Year and Hmong Freedom Festival events had begun to take precedence over providing services. The other groups claimed the two events drained time, attention, and funds from the services LFC was established to provide. In 2010, Lao Family Community spun off a separate organization, Lao Family Development, which now plans and hosts these two events.
Board member disputes came to a head in March 2015, when the Lao Family Community’s headquarters building at 320 West University Avenue in St. Paul, Minnesota, fell into foreclosure. It was scheduled for auction on March 30. Approximately 50 protestors lined University Avenue in front of the building, claiming that LFC’s new board president, “Neng Wa Vang, had sold the building to his cousin, Leng Wong Vang, in a ‘closed-door sale.” Protestors, community members, and the rest of the board claimed any sale should be public rather than “closed-door”; they feared the new owner would sell the building for profit, leaving LFC without a headquarters building. Neng Wa Vang denied selling the building. Whomever owned the building (it isn’t clear from the article) fell behind on payments, which led to the foreclosure proceedings. Approximately three weeks before the auction, an unnamed donor provided the amount needed to purchase the building for LFC. LFC now owns the building outright.
“St. Paul’s East Side ‘Eggroll Queen’ Is Prolific Fundraiser”
Bartenstein, Ben. “St. Paul’s East Side ‘Eggroll Queen’ Is Prolific Fundraiser.” Twincities.com. Pioneer Press. 21 Jun. 2015. Web. 22 Jun. 2015. http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_28357016/st-pauls-east-side-eggroll-queen-is-prolific.v6
Mai Vang is a resident of St. Paul’s East Side neighborhood. Despite having to flee her home in Laos and spend eight years in a Thai refugee camp, she now hosts fundraisers in St. Paul, Minnesota, for people who need help, such as a family who lost a daughter in a house fire and couldn’t afford funeral costs.
Vang also lost her hearing abruptly in August 2013. It improves intermittently, but she has not been able to regain full hearing. Still, she has cooked over 14,000 eggrolls in her home kitchen—after working 14- to 16-hour days at a company she founded—to give away or sell to fundraise for those in her community. Her efforts are gaining attention and raising awareness of Hmong contributions to U.S. society. She was recently voted “Most Famous Eastsider” in a Facebook poll and has become a fixture in the East Side community.
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