2008 Woodie Awards
Three classes compared to life in the jungle
Part two of the three-part saga of Dr. Mai Xiong
Zach Fuller
Issue date: 11/18/05 Section: News
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Recap of last week's installment: Dr Mai Xiong described how he spent his first seven years in the village of Pong-nee in Laos, the son of a village chief. Upon his father's death in 1972, his family was forced to travel from village to village, looking for work they could do in the fields for a little money or food. This continued until 1975, when the North Vietnamese invaded the country of Laos and began persecuting the Hmong people for their cooperation with the United States during the Vietnam War. Xiong, along with thousands of others, was forced to hide in the jungle to evade extermination. Xiong remained in the jungle from July of 1977 to December of 1978, when he swam across the Mekong River into Thailand. After a short period in a refugee camp, Xiong immigrated with his brother's family to the United States, but his mother, sister and brother were still in Thailand, having become separated from Xiong in the jungle. When Xiong arrived in America he was almost 16 years old. He knew no English.
After graduating high school in 1983, Xiong struggled to adjust during his first year of college. He lived with his mother, sister, and brother in an apartment in Spokane, Washington, as he attended Gonzaga University on a scholarship he received because of his excellent high school GPA.
Although life was far better for Xiong in America than it was in the jungles of Laos or the refugee camp in Thailand, he and his family still faced difficulty.
"My first year in college was so hard, I really struggled in school and I really struggled at home, because we had no money, no food and no family," he said.
Xiong's mother received a welfare check of $385 and $150 in food stamps every month. This would barely pay the bills, and with four people to feed, the Xiong household was continually faced with an acute shortage of food.
During this time Xiong's mother was doing yard work every day to bring in some more money while his sister went to high school, and his brothers went to school to learn English as a second language.
After graduating high school in 1983, Xiong struggled to adjust during his first year of college. He lived with his mother, sister, and brother in an apartment in Spokane, Washington, as he attended Gonzaga University on a scholarship he received because of his excellent high school GPA.
Although life was far better for Xiong in America than it was in the jungles of Laos or the refugee camp in Thailand, he and his family still faced difficulty.
"My first year in college was so hard, I really struggled in school and I really struggled at home, because we had no money, no food and no family," he said.
Xiong's mother received a welfare check of $385 and $150 in food stamps every month. This would barely pay the bills, and with four people to feed, the Xiong household was continually faced with an acute shortage of food.
During this time Xiong's mother was doing yard work every day to bring in some more money while his sister went to high school, and his brothers went to school to learn English as a second language.
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