All posts tagged: Southeast Asian History

Upcoming Events: Symposiums on 40 years of Southeast Asian Stories

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For those who remember, passed down family stories, or learned about some of the most forgotten shared histories of our time; 1975 was the most significant year for the people of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. 2015 marks 40 years of the beginning of the dispersal of thousands who sought refuge from a post-war Southeast Asia. There are two upcoming symposiums hosting spaces to reflect, discuss and to commemorate the journeys, experiences, stories and livelihoods of our Southeast Asian communities in America.  Little Laos on the Prairie will be present at both events. We hope you will join us. SEA LEGACIES: COMMEMORATING 40 YEARS OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN DIASPORAS DATE: Friday, March 6th, 2015 LOCATION: California State University, Fullerton, CA DETAILS: The goals of the symposium are to commemorate the formation of Southeast Asian diasporic communities in the US over the past 40 years and to educate CSUF students about Southeast Asian American heritages, experiences, and histories. Scheduled events include presentations, roundtables, performances, film screenings and talks, and exhibitions by students, faculty, artists, community members, and leaders from the Vietnamese American, …

#BeLaod: Saymoukda Vongsay the Baci Baby

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This #ThrowbackThursday, we honor one of our very own Minnesotans for Lao Diaspora of the Week: Saymoukda Vongsay from Saint Paul, Minnesota. Saymoukda submitted a poem along with one of the largest collections of childhood photos LLOTP has ever seen.  “LETTER TO MY UNBORN SELF” Your mother will slap you because out of frustration you’ll yell, “Why can’t you just learn English?” So what. You’re supposed to act as translator at the welfare office. At the grocery stores. At your parent-teacher conferences. This is why they’ll raise you bi-lingual in this strange country. On the fourteenth year of your life, you’ll be blindsided by the fact that you had a second brother. Don’t blame yourself for not knowing. Blame pain and guilt for taking residence in the hearts of your parents the night their second son died in the hospital. Blame their need to forget and their reluctance to heal, to even tell you his name. Be thankful that they didn’t give up on having more children after him because then you wouldn’t be born. …