130 "You're On Your Way" by MaiNeng Vang

2025-10-07 18:20:11 UTC

-there is a lot of information about a variety of things and seems very overwhelming

-the text makes some things sound more simple then they would be

-when talking about jobs they underplay how hard it may be to find a job that accepts you if you don’t speak English

2025-10-07 18:20:16 UTC

Did they have different versions of this book? (In Hmong,Thai, etc)

2025-10-07 18:20:19 UTC

This document was full of racist assumptions and lies. An example of this is seen when the document states “in most western countries, the Asian has a good reputation for self-reliance and self-supporting. “You will be free”. It’s up to you to make the best of your freedom. As the document goes on it begins to explain every little thing that has to do with transportation on a plane, American Money, city life, eveything they need to know inside their new homes, and even how to “properly take care of their children” as if they haven’t been raising their children their whole life’s. By the wording it almost seems like we are talking to the Hmong as clueless beings almost “alien” like.

2025-10-07 18:22:25 UTC

This document seems to paint a different picture of life in the U.S. and even on the plane than is accurate, even in the beginning saying how your neighbors will either be accepting or just keep to themselves, not mentioning how there is discrimination which many Americans are likely to act that way

2025-10-07 18:22:54 UTC

There is a lot of information being thrown at the refugees. There are also racist remarks hidden throughout all of the information being provided. It also encourages refugees to minimize their culture and instead learn and embrace American culture.

2025-10-07 18:23:05 UTC

I found it very eye opening, how this book went into explaining how to do everyday things that would come second nature to most Americans, but the Hmong people simply have never seen this stuff before and didn’t know how to use it.

2025-10-07 18:23:07 UTC

It seems like they were trying to be helpful, but just had a terrible execution of doing so. I could see this making someone very overwhelmed, especially if it was only in English. Seems to push the "American Dream"

2025-10-07 18:24:27 UTC

p. 35 "you have a responsibility to find work... so you are not a burden on your sponsor or the country" - emphasis on self-sufficiency and enforcing a sense of "burdening" society.

Whole document paints Americans as "friendly neighbors", not addressing any potential for discrimination or acknowledgement of racial tensions.

"People who came here brough their customs with them, and all these customs are now a part of life in America." not acknowledging that this is simply not true and the inherent and constant erasure of culture, history, language and customs in the united states.

Much of the information is patronizing, using a tone that talks to refugees as children who do not know how to care for their children.

2025-10-07 18:24:32 UTC

This book makes it seem like this will be an easy process to transition and resettling in America. There not much information about resources available as well in the book.

2025-10-07 18:24:39 UTC

I think that it's very interesting how the booklet talks down to the Hmong people in a way that doesn't explicitly say "Your people are lesser," but make it known that "Westerners are better." They emphasize finding community as a way to help them assimilate better into Western culture, and shame specific traditions and ways of life that the Hmong practiced in Laos. They focus on the white viewpoint and tell the Hmong to become accustomed to the Western way of life versus maintain their own.

2025-10-07 18:24:47 UTC

Right away there are stereotypes being mentioned on page 5, with the official booklet stating "the Asian has a good reputation for self-reliance and self respect." I find it interesting that the food on the plane is free and that flyers are allowed to smoke cigarettes on the plane, especially when there are babies and people with potential health complications on board as well. Very much infested with micro and macro aggressions

2025-10-07 18:25:37 UTC

It’s interesting that it was translated “freely” instead of “literally” as the language of the Hmong people must be very different than english
It’s weird to see them immediately emphasizing that they need to learn the facts to expect what is real. It just shows that the US used to be portrayed in stories as way greater than it actually was.
The document is blatant about the possible discrimination you could see in the US
They seem to mention when things do not have a cost (like cups, toilet paper, etc. in a plane), but don’t mention when things do have a cost.

2025-10-07 18:25:51 UTC

Though I believe that This pamphlet was beneficial to get a basic overview, I think that it would have been much more beneficial to have more in person guidance going to super markets or being more available to answer questions. Like in the video we watched where they were unsure about many things like how to clean their carpets.

2025-10-07 18:25:54 UTC

I can see that they’re trying to make the resettlement sound like a nice short journey to America so the people who read it can become comfortable and not afraid of the resettlement. I do understand that they’re trying to paint it in a light that America is a safe and welcoming country, instead of giving out the points that America isn’t all that they wrote. I also find it interesting that this was written by the Ford Foundation which is the Ford’s Motor Company, is this a way for them to capitalize on future customers or have a better reputation placed on them?

2025-10-07 18:26:12 UTC

I was surprised how detailed this document is when it comes to explaining the American life. It goes very in depth when explaining how to use equipment such as refrigerators and ovens as well as other stuff

2025-10-07 18:26:27 UTC

I think it's interesting how the booklet sort of "guides"/"ensures" them on what will or will happen during their transition from the refugee's homeland to the U.S. A lot of the imagery seems to be what is an "ideal American".

In addition to that, there does seem to be a lot of generalization about the refugees, and it stereotypes on how the refugees will be perceived when they get to the U.S.

2025-10-07 18:27:11 UTC

I thought it was a good effort, especially for the 80's. But it definitely missed the mark on a couple of things. There is definitely some condisention in the book. And a few comments that generalize in an unflattering way. I just really hope there was a translated version.

2025-10-07 18:28:26 UTC

It was interesting to learn about what the Hmong refugees had to go through to arrive into the U.S. and with immigration. They didn't receive a warm welcoming either, their culture was frowned upon.

2025-10-07 18:29:24 UTC

The reading goes into great detail about the process of boarding and flying but it can be overwhelming if this is a new process. It also simplifies how their lives will be in America.

2025-10-07 18:30:14 UTC

All of the information was incredibly vague and just ended up saying just ask other people. Also the book was incredibly condescending and made a lot of assumptions and just pushed the American dream and made everything seem easy even though that is very much not the case. It only mentioned the racism they might experience as “some people will not wish to be bothered”.

2025-10-07 18:31:47 UTC

There was also constant pressure to assimilate, which sometimes caused individuals to feel torn between maintaining their cultural identity and fitting into American society. I noticed how generational tensions within families added another layer of stress, as parents held onto traditional values while children tried to navigate new cultural norms. This made the adaption process to be harder for the Hmong community. It makes it seem like it’s so easy to fit in when there’s many factors.

2025-10-07 18:32:52 UTC

I think this is very interesting, the directions are simple, but it’s easier said than done. It was definitely tough for the refugees especially when they are getting downplayed and having to learn how to survive while learning a new language. If there is only a english book then this book isn’t that useful because most of the refugees would not be able to understand any of the new information. I hope there was a better way for refugees to understand what was going on.

2025-10-07 18:33:48 UTC

Some of the instructions are straight forward for explaining how flying works and how to use currency in the USA. This document has plenty of flaws but it could be helpful on some level. People would need to be able to read it and know it's flawed. If people can't read this, it's pointless.

2025-10-07 18:41:47 UTC

reading You’re on your way helped me understand how difficult it was for Hmong refugees to start a new life in United States. The book uses simple instructions about travel, housing and school l, but behind those daily details is a deep story about survival and identity. What touched me most is how the refugees had to learn everything from zero while still trying to keep their own traditions. It made me realize that assimilation is nor just about learning a language, it’s about finding a balance between two world.