CULTURE CLASH: The Hmong People in the United States

Culture Clash: The Hmong People in the United States

The Hmong people are a small ethnic group, presently native in many countries, and are believed to have originated from the river basin of Yangtze region in the southern part of present china. In China, the Hmong people are known as Miao, which is a designation that embraces many other diverse ethnic groupings. Although the Hmong who still presently live in China call themselves by the name Miao, other groups, especially those living in the west find the name derogatory and this, for several years has sparked endless debates. In the entire documented history, the Hmong people have continued to be distinguished as Hmong simply because they have preserved their customs, language, and lifestyles while still being able to adapt to the ways of life of the country they have inhabited (Tatman, 2004). This paper therefore seeks to find out social problems, such as in the medical field, that the Hmong people face in the United States as a result of cultural clash.

For the middle-aged and older generations of this group, living in the United States can be a rather lonely and terrible journey. Actually, they are thousands of miles away from their agrarian life in the hills of Laos.  Besides, they have been subjected to constant suffering due to ravages of loss and war, and now they are forced to permanently live in a completely strange nation with strange language, values and cultures. The agony and pain has continued to be bolder and more audacious. A good number of them always stare outside through the windows and recall their sorrowful past, and break in tears for their irreparable losses, and for their lonely separation from their motherland (Tatman, 2004).

On the other hand, some are making efforts to adapt, teach themselves the new ways and also deal with the new language and culture. However, they still have to stick to their culture and not allow it erode, since it is what gives them their identity that spells out several steps for them in life. As a matter of fact, most Americans who do not have respect for the Hmong people and their culture usually find it very primitive and unusual, though it is not any more unusual compared to the American culture. For example, it is perfectly fine to open carry of firearm in the US while it is prohibited in many other countries (Willis, 2014) Nonetheless, there are still some few components of the Hmong culture which sharply clash with the American lifestyle, and also with the American laws. It is, therefore, very crucial to understand the differences in cultures of the two groups in order to ensure harmonious coexistence.

In the Hmong culture, family is considered to be the most important thing, which many, fortunately, find to be absolutely healthy. Most Americans get amazed whenever they see how the extensive ties work amongst the Hmong people, with extensive networks of cousins as well as other relatives constantly in communication and able to work as a team. Every unique surname amongst the Hmong people is has its roots in a certain clan. The Vang clan, the Lee clan, and the Moua clan are just but a few of the clans. The clans are able to work together in order to propagate the needs of the clan members, and also build a strong network that ensures the family members stay together. Marriage within the same clan is strictly prohibited so one must marry outside his clan and find someone with a different surname. However, marriage is used as a bond between several groups outside the clan setup. Members of the extended family, such as uncles, aunts, cousins and uncles, are basic part and parcel of the Hmong lifestyle. Actually, the Hmong people usually feel sad whenever they see the Americans struggle and scatter all over the United States with no support or family ties with members of their extended families. The Hmong people are very protective of all their family members, both immediate and extended and they tend to stay together under the same roof. They tend to care for their own and even go ahead to show affection and dedication to their family members irrespective of age, which to me is a very healthy aspect of their culture. The difference in how the two groups go about treating their family members remains one of the factors that makes the Hmong people very different from the Americans. The Americans often wonder how one can have so many cousins and uncles, and even hold big gatherings during weddings, funerals, or other family events.

In respect to the healthcare sector, the Hmong people always present a rather uncommon set of hurdles to the American healthcare professionals. As a group, the way they blend in to the western culture and delivery model for the modern healthcare has been quite slow, mainly because of their limited English language proficiency, culturally-based communication patterns, strong traditional beliefs, and strong distrusts in governments. Besides, they have grown to be insular people mainly because of their sordid history of marginalized group that were fleeing prosecution as war refugees. Actually, it is history that has taught them never to trust large impersonal institutions such as hospitals, and also outsiders. According to historical records, the Hmong supported the efforts by CIA during the Vietnam War in Lao. After the United States military pulled out of the war, there was retribution immediately after the communists ascended to power in the country, and this is what led to migration of the Hmong people. In the early 1980s the Hmong were given preferential status as refugees in the United States by the US government.

Their Family Dynamics and Healthcare

In their ancient families, the father headed the household, and whenever healthcare professionals came across a rather highly acculturated Hmong family in the United States, they would more likely experience more power balance between father and mother (Angelii, 2007). The mothers were responsible for the household and took care of the children and also natured them. It was the women who talk with healthcare professionals while men made critical decisions that were related to healthcare. Though they could be absent during healthcare visits, the elderly made crucial decisions concerning how to manage illnesses within the family. Each clan also had a leader who was responsible for making critical decisions whenever a problem arose, for example illness, death, or divorce in the family. The clan leader had to decide on whether the healthcare professionals could proceed with a surgery or to resuscitate a patient. Normally, the clan leader calls people together in order to discuss and deliberate more on an issue before informing the members of his clan about his decisions, which makes them very powerful. The shaman, a title for the religious leader, always assisted the clan leader in arriving at critical decisions. In some clans, the shamans are very powerful since they make important decisions that touch on spiritual healing (Sricharoean et al, 2008).

The Hmong people rarely express their dissatisfaction in regard to the quality of health service offered to them directly. In most cases, they seldom feel comfortable airing their grievances or asking questions. They, instead, most of the time, choose not to care and opt to seek for medical services somewhere else. The elderly Hmong are instead used to communicating in metaphors, telling stories in a bid to answer questions. The healthcare professional, therefore has to listen to the story very carefully and ask for the clarifications in regards to the intended meaning of the story. The Hmong people always listen very carefully to healthcare professionals but will never maintain an eye contact during communication, just because their culture considers it rude. Those of them who do not speak fluent English will attentively listen and interpret what is said based on the body language and tone of the speaker, therefore making the speaker’s non-verbal cues very important.

Traditionally, the Hmong people view ailments from a holistic angle. According to them, perfect health is balance between the body and the spirit. Illnesses are viewed as having either physical or spiritual causes. The classic physical causes are unsustainable dietary practices such as cold or hot food imbalances, and exposure to environmental factors. Spiritual illnesses on the other hand can be caused by evil spirits that are offended with the victim, loss of an individual’s spirits, unhappy ancestors, or a curse upon a family by an individual. Whereas physical illnesses are treated using traditional curatives or western medical healthcare, spiritual illnesses are treated by rituals, which are usually carried out in hospitals or even homes. Spiritual healing includes getting back the lost soul from a different plane of existence. The shaman is responsible for the soul calling practice during ritualistic ceremonies (Yang. 2001).

The Hmong people only believe in treating ailments when they occur. They do not have even the slightest understanding of chronic diseases that need daily treatments or preventive medicines. They even have no ideas of diseases-causing germs. Most of them continue to use traditional treatments while others use herbal treatments to complement western treatments. Furthermore, these people do not accept immunization or organ donation since they culture does not allow putting a foreign thing into their bodies. Finally, the Hmong culture prohibits surgery. They argue that opening the body may allow the soul to escape and the soul loss still remains one of their greatest concern in health matters (Belliard & Ramírez-Johnson, 2007). Based on the aforementioned practices, it has been an uphill task for the United States healthcare professionals to fully take care of the Hmong people whenever they fall sick and also to keep their health in check. Similarly, the culture of the Hmong people has been a hurdle in their efforts to blend in to the western culture and especially embrace their health practices and lifestyle.

Work Cited

Angelelli, C. V. (2007). Assessing medical interpreters: The language and interpreting testing project. The Translator, 13(1), 63-82.

Belliard, J. C., & Ramírez-Johnson, J. (2005). Medical pluralism in the life of a Mexican immigrant woman. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences,27(3), 267-285.

Sricharoen, T., Buchenrieder, G., & Dufhues, T. (2008). Universal health-care demands in rural Northern Thailand: Gender and ethnicity. Asia-Pacific Development Journal, 15(1), 65.

Tatman, A. W. (2004). Hmong history, culture, and acculturation: Implications for counseling the Hmong. Journal of multicultural counseling and development, 32(4), 222.

Yang, K. (2001). Research note: The Hmong in America: Twenty-five years after the US secret war in Laos. Journal of Asian American Studies, 4(2), 165-174.

Willis, Tiffany. (2014) "93 Weird Things About The U.S. That Americans Don't Realize Are Weird." Www.liberalamerica.org.