the hmong are an ethnic group from southeast asia. mainly in the laos/vietnam area. they were very rural and kept to themselves in the hills. during the vietnam war, they were enlisted by the cia to fight on the us side against the communists. they fought bravely against the communists and thousands of us servicemen owe their lives to the sacrifices of the hmong.
when the us pulled out, they were pretty much abandoned by the us government. the victorious communist regimes decided to get back at the hmong for helping the americans and destroyed where they lived and chased them through the jungles. many ended up living in refugee camps in thailand. the lucky ones were able to get to the us.
church groups were responsible for helping many hmong escape to the us after the war and they settled mainly in minnesota and central california. because of the huge culture shock of going from primative rural life to life in the us, there have been issues with hmong adapting to life here.
history lesson for the day, i suppose.