Shamed into silence

Article by: Pam Louwagie and Dan Browning , Star Tribune
Updated: March 23, 2012 - 5:05 PM

Editor's note: This story contains graphic descriptions that may not be suitable for children and might be disturbing for some readers.

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chouliaMar. 25, 1212:44 PM

I hope someone reads my comment and hear what I am saying. I am a 40 year old Hmong woman living, by my own choice, outside of the Hmong culture and away from my own people. My life has a happy ending, but I doubt these girls I read about will ever truly know acceptance or experience like I have now. I implore you to look to the parents for being the root cause of the problem. It's easy to say it's a "cultural thing" But do you really know how the Hmong culture treat and view women? Understand that and you'll begin to understand the situation. How traditional Hmong people view and treat women is little different from how Muslims view and treat their women. Start by asking yourself why these girls feel the need to run away? Why do these young men join gangs? It all goes back to the parents. The basic tenet of being Hmong is to not bring shame to the family. These parent's strict and controlling parenting methods forces these children to rebel and actually achieve what they set out to avert....shame. Look to your uneducated, welfare receiving, farming Hmong families. Don't be surprised if these girls and gang members come from those social-economic households. Children need love, support, encouragement and nurturing to grow and attain their full potential. In these Hmong housholds all they get is guilt, condemnation, reproach and absolute overt control of their daily lives. That's when running away seems like the answer and when you join a gang you give your parents and culture the finger. Until Hmong people become better parents. You will always have runaways and gangs.