The Americans

Youa Vang Lee was at her home in Minneapolis, When her son showed her the video of George Floyd die under a Police Officer in the knee. Lee, a 59-year-old Laotian immigrant puts medical care in a factory, listening to Floyd yells to His Mother . It triggered a deep and painful familiar.

"Fong was probably feeling the same way," She Said in Hmong, Her Eyes filled with tears. "He was probably asking for me. "

In 2006, Lee's 19-year-old son, Fong - born in a refugee camp in Thailand eight times, was shot by Minneapolis Police Officer Jason Andersen. The Officer remains on The Force to This Day , a fact That the Lees were not aware, until told by The Bbc . The Officer was terminated twice, but has apparently since then.

Although security-video footage showed Lee on the run at The Time , Andersen, the teenager claimed had a gun. A Grand Jury refused to indict him, and The Police ruled justified in The Shooting . The Family sued, the claim in civil court, Excessive Force , and brought evidence That The Gun found next to Fong's body was planted. An all-white jury against you.

Youa had not, since The Family came to The End of their legal road with nothing for you to show the public about their son for over a decade. But, according to Lee Floyd's saw death, she began to ask if someone knew of the marches, you could visit.

"I must be," She Said .

Although not directly, some of the members of your Community discouraged to question the decision. The "Twin Cities " Like Minneapolis and St. Paul are known, are home to the largest urban population of Hmong in the United States , many of whom came to the area as refugees in the 1980s and 90s.

The Hmong are an Ethnic Group from South-East Asia, with their own language, primarily from southern China, Vietnam, and Laos.

Within this Community There is a fierce debate about How To respond to The Black matter and justice for George Floyd movements, calling for change of system for The Police working Lives .

For youa Lee, however, There was no debate. She wanted to get involved for a Reason - if Fong died in the year 2006 to demonstrate The First people up in the support of your family came from The Black activist Community .

"you were the loudest voices for us," says Shoua Lee, Fong's Older Sister . "Even before we asked for help from other communities, they had come to us and offered their help. "

Although the four police officers were charged with the murder of George Floyd, on 25 may, the viral video of The Incident recorded only two of them - former officer Derek Chauvin, who was kneeling on Floyd's neck, the almost nine minutes, and the former officer Tou Thao, who held back The Crowd , to Floyd instead of' s help.

"don't do drugs, guys," Thao said at one point, in emergency, and spectators.

Thao, an 11-year veteran of The Department , was indicted for aiding and abetting second-degree murder. He is also the Hmong.

as soon as Boonmee Yang, a saw in the fourth grade of the public School Teacher in St Paul, in the video, he knew, were things to be complicated in the Hmong Community .

"Often, it is always black, the victims in The Hands of white officers. But now That Someone Else who looked Like Me was involved in it also, it has me really worried," He Said .

As a Hmong activist Yang said That it is not always easy to publicly show solidarity with The Black Community . He Said something to suffer, what he calls, "the protected Asian syndrome", which means That they rarely interact with others outside of the Hmong Community , and your knee-jerk reaction was to defend Thao-actions.

It is also a story of the conflict between the two communities, especially in the early days of the resettlement, according to the rapper, artist and activist Tou SaiKo Lee. Refugee Families often wound up in the Frogtown area of St. Paul and East St Paul areas, in The Past a large African American population.

"It is the conflict between youth. Fights between new immigrants, refugees and those currently living in The Neighborhood - I was a part of it," he recalls. "There are some That still hold There voltage. "

in contrast to the broader definition of "Asian American" demographic change, the Hmong Community has a much shorter history in the United States . Almost half of the Lao Hmong fled their country in 1975, after The Fall of Saigon in the Vietnam War . For 15 years, the CIA, thousands of Hmong soldiers to fight the so-called "Secret War " against The North Vietnamese, but after the US pulled out, without an evacuation plan in place for your allies, the ones That have The Most in common with The Americans , or were perceived, fled recruited. Some were killed by the Communists, thousands of Liquidation in Thai refugee camps.

tens of thousands were resettled in Minnesota, a predominantly white state with few resources for the new immigrant population. Without The Ability to speak the language, many could not find work. Today, the Hmong population in the United States are actually has a lot in common with the African-American population in relation to the socio-economic and other quality of life factors.

According to the figures of the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, a limit in four Hmong Americans live below the poverty line. While 50% of the larger category of "Asian Americans " have graduated from the University, but only 17% of Hmong-Americans have a college degree. And while 72% of white Families own a house do, less than half of the Hmong-Americans and African-Americans.

The Hmong Community has long struggled with interactions with The Police . Initially, There were no Hmong representation in their ranks. Officers struggled to understand and to serve the new population. In a notorious 1989 case, shot and killed a Police Officer , two sixth-grade Hmong boys in the back as they ran away from a stolen car. The Officer was never charged.

Tou SaiKo said, he was often racially profiled by the Minneapolis police a teenager, who at one point two nights in prison after an officer found a fishing knife in his suitcase. He Said he was never accused of, but he remembered, always pulled over many times and asked: "What do you do affiliate with?"

"I would say, 'I'm a College Student ,'" he recalled.

Still, these common fights between The Black and Hmong communities did not prevent the old tensions of jump to the fore in The Aftermath of Floyd's death, particularly as the looting and property damage on-hit Asian owned businesses in the middle of The Neighborhood of St. Paul.

"Tou Thao" is a very common Hmong name, and many parts of it face to face with the accused officer, online threats and harassment.

And as a young Hmong-activists - in particular women and members of the LGBTQ Community - is trying to express support of Black Lives matter, they faced condemnation and vitriol From Within their own Community , and also threats.

Annie Moua, a recent High School graduate, saw a lot of comments online in your Asian American political groups, which it calls "anti-to say black", things Like "all Lives matter" and asks, "you helped us never our Protest - why we need to help you?"

"During this week, I lost a lot of friends," She Said .

It was during the worst of the online battle, the Yang got a Facebook invite from a friend, a member of a group called "Hmong 4 Black life. "There are only three members were at The Time . "I was," He Said .

He saw That a large Black Lives matter demonstration was planned at the Minnesota State Capitol The Next day, and created an event page for the young group. Until the morning There were 300 members of the Hmong-4 Black Lives (as of this writing, There are now over 2,000).

on the afternoon of the following day, a group of about 100 Hmong activists in the capital with signs That read, "I'm Thao and I stood in the matter of Black Lives " and "I Am Hmong and for BLM - time".

the 18-year-old Moua, it was their first Protest , and according to the height of the turmoil, the online had frightened experienced she was. "I was very, very nervous," She Said . "I didn't know what was going to go. "

Among the protesters, a small, elegant woman in a face mask and a baseball-Cap - Fong Lee's mother Youa.

After fleeing their farm in Laos, and Four Years later, the camp in Thailand , Youa and Her Husband wait in a refugee dreaming to give their children a better future in the United States .

should be America, was a refuge. She never dreamed That her middle son would wind up dead in The Hands of a Police Officer .

Source of news: bbc.com