Tony and Laos

He was born in Fresno, California and his parents and some older siblings were born in Laos.

Tony Xi0ng* is one of ten children, some of whom are gang members, and he tells me he"d like to become a police officer. That's quite a dream for someone who remembers frequent, unannounced visits by police and probation officers to the family's two-bedroom apartment throughout his childhood. LeeSai tells me that not one of the officers was Hmong and not everyone in his family spoke or understood the English the officers spoke.

Now, a college student majoring in Criminal Justice, Xiong wants to go into law enforcement so that he can be of service to his community and help young people make choices on the right side of the law.

His story is one of the most interesting I have heard so far. Resisting gang membership, having some brothers who are in gangs, living in a two-bedroom apartment with 11 other family members, speaking English at school but not at home, hungry for food and for guidance in the American culture, having a father who was a shaman, and on and on it goes. Xiong confesses that he still has trouble "fitting in" with white America and that his friends don't always run in the best of circles, so to speak.

I watched Gran Torino after interviewing Xiong and have done some research on the Hmong culture following the interview. As with all of the stories, I am provoked to learn more about others with whom I share this country and have a greater appreciation of the challenges they have faced and the successes they have earned.

*Tony Xiong is an alias this interviewee requested to protect his identity.