Lao and Proud: Teen activist

For most of us if we were asked to compile a list of the most profound activist we would more than likely list Gandhi, Nelson, Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King and the list goes on. These individuals without a doubt shaped our world with their tireless effort to make a difference. They set the standard for activism as well as show us why and how we should stand up for change.
One individual who is causing a ripple is Lori Phanachone, a Lao student from Iowa. This young lady may not be famous,or have a massive influence yet,  but her fight against what she sees as discrimination and injustice is noteworthy. She is an example of an ordinary person doing extraordinary things. She reminds us that we should fight for what is right.  Sometimes, doing the right thing is not the most popular, but necesary if we want to be the vehicle for change.

Lori is an honor student at Storm Lake High School. It is her senior year and instead of enjoying her last year, she is stressed out with her  fight against her school’s demand that she takes the English Language Development Assessment. This test is given to students who are identified as ELL(English LanguageLearner).  Usually students who are identified as ELL are place in a class specifically geared toward helping them with the acquisition of the English language. However, in Lori’s case, she has been been placed in any type of language class because she can speak and write English rather well.  According to Russ Oechslin, Journal correspondent for the Sioux City Journal, “…school officials have told her she is considered to be illiterate based on her refusal to satisfactorily complete the English Language Development Assessment, a test she says is demeaning and racist”. Lori was identified to take the test based on her response on her registration for school. She had put Lao as her primary language spoken at home instead of English so the school assumed that she was not proficient in English. Lori told the Sioux Journal, “”Someone told me I should have put English as my first language when I registered for school,” “But I refused. I will not deny who I am. And I will not disrespect my culture or my mother.”

I have to agree with Lori that her having to take the test is demeaning and racist because the school had assume that she is illiterate based on her response to that language question. So if all of us put our primary language as something else other than English, are we going to be called out and tested? What the school should have taken into consideration is that Lori is an honor student. If she was struggling with the English language then why did none of her teachers say anything? I know as a teacher, I can identify my students within the first week of my interaction with them. By looking at their writing samples as well as their verbal response, I can tell if they are proficient enough in English to stay in my class or be placed in SEI. I just want to know where were her teachers in the middle of all this?  Why did they not come to her defense and vouch that she does not need to take the test?http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2009/03/05/news/local/754d93a7a005ccb3862575700009cc99.txt or

If you would like to find out how you can show her your support go to the blog: http://www.angryasianman.com

Speaking from an educator’s stand point, I understand that the goal or purpose of the English Profiency Test is to identify the kids who do need help, but it is obvious that Lori is not one of those students. According to the Sioux Journal, “The school district’s curriculum coordinator, Lori Porsche, said taking the test is mandatory because Phanachone indicated on her school registration that English was not the first language spoken in her home. Her parents are Laotian and still speak little English.” Just because her parents speak very little English does not mean she is deficient. Are they saying that just because her parents struggle with the English language that she also has the same problem?  Is that not being a little presumptious? As an educator and immigrant, I see this assumption as very offensive and discrimatory because the implied message behind Ms. Porsche’s statement  is that if you do not speak English primarily at home, you are illiterate or stupid. This may not be her intended message, but her remark does have an negative connotation that only intelligent people speak English. In contrast, I think that being able to communicate in many languages shows that you ARE intelligent because it does take some effort to be able to switch back and forth between languages.

What I find very inappropriate and unprofessional is the remark made by Mr. Ruleaux , the Assistant Principal. In the interview with the Sioux Journal, Lori said, ” Mr. Ruleaux (assistant principal Beau Ruleaux) told me I was ‘no Rosa Parks’ — that I should give up because I would not succeed in my protest,” Phanachone said. I beg to differ because look at the positive ripple effect of Rosa Parks’ defiance and bravery to give up her seat on that bus.  Her action eventually led the Supreme Court to announced that segregation on city buses was against the law.
Lori’s protest and refusal to take the test is as admiral and significant because she is fighting against what she sees as injustice and discrimination. Her refusal to stay in her “seat” and take that test is momentous for all students not just Lao students. Any form of injustice suffered by any race is wrong and should not be accepted. We need to remember Eli Wiesel’s powerful words,” “There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.”

Lori is a role model for all people because she has the courage to stand up and fight against discrimination. She is an ordinary person doing extraordinary things. If you are interested in reading the rest of the story please go to:

Part 3: Death does not discriminate

My siblings ( Khonsavanh, Vorada) and I cross over to Thailand with our grandmother and step-grandfather at the beginning of 1975.  My mom ask an acquaintance of hers’ and my stepfathers’ to bring us across.  She picks that particular man to guide my grandparents across,  because he is an experienced “guide” and he knows the safe route to take to avoid the authorities on both sides. 

Once we cross, we meet my mom and step-dad at the Thai border close to the Mekong River.  It was a bittersweet moment for my mom.  She is beyond relief  that we have made it safely, but overwhelm by an inconsolable grief that there is one missing.  Before my mother can even voice her fear and what she already suspects, I blurt out what everybody already knows: Paramy is dead. 

 I was only four when my sister passed so  I do not remember my mom’s reaction or understand what it means to lose a child. It would not be until years later that my mom finally shared  her grief with me.

My daughter, when she was one month

My mom believes in reincarnation and that belief helps her find a modicum of peace as much as can be experienced by someone who looses a loved one.  When I was nine months pregnant, my mother had a dream about my sister.  In the dream my sister tells my mom that her legs hurt and she ask my mom, “Mom, can I come live with you so you can take care of me?”  My mom looks at her and said sadly , ” Baby, I’m too old for you to be born with me again, but you can come live with your sister instead.” My mom calls me the next day to tell me she knows what sex my unborn child is going to be.  She tells me I was going to have a girl.  I ask her how does she know because my husband and I had tried to go find out months earlier, but the doctor couldn’t tell from the ultrasound. The baby keeps hiding its gender. 

With conviction, my mom said it is going to be a girl because she had a dream about my sister. My mom said since my sister can’t be reborn with her , my sister is going to  reborn as my daughter.   Sure enough, I gave birth to a girl.  In honor of my mother and sister, my daughter’s middle name is Paramy.

When my daughter is  about two  months old, my mom and dad comes to visit me.  She truly believes that my daughter is my sister reborn especially  after she sees the birth mark (mongolian spot) on my daughter’s left ankle.  My sister also had a mongolian spot on her left ankle and she had curly hair.  Just with those two characteristics, my mom is convinced.  Who am I to argue or tell her it is just a coincidence?  If it eases her pain of losing my sister then so be it.

Birthmark on her left ankle like my sister, Paramy

I am Lao

Wow! I can’t believed I used to eat these weird looking insects!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=r1lVReWa8hQ

Recently, I saw this music video, “I am Lao” that reminded me of all the delicious food I ate growing up.  My mom is an exceptional cook.  I would be so bold as to say she is more talented than a mere cook, she is truely amazing  when it comes to food.  Everything she makes is fantastic.  Everybody loves her cooking. I am excited about her upcoming visitation so I can eat some of my favorite Lao food.

My mom has many specialities from pho, to chicken salad to different sauces. One of the things we ate was chail( sauce) cicada.  The only bad part was we, the kids had to go captured the cicada from people’s houses! My siblings and I along with other Laotian teenagers and adults would grab our bags when it was dark, and when we could hear the cicada buzzing. We headed out the door with our flash lights and plastic bags to go in search of our prey. Of course, we would start with our own front yard then head out to the rest of the neighborhood.  Looking back now, I’m surprised we didn’t get arrested for trespassing on people’s properties. I guess it also helped that we knew almost everybody in the neighborhood because all the kids played together. At first I was extremely embarrassed at the start of my cicada hunting career because I was a teenager who still cared what others think. So, when my friends first asked what we were doing with the cicada, I didn’t even know what lie to tell them.  I can’t very well tell them it was for a science experiment because we all went to the only high school in town and they know what exactly goes on in class.  As for saying it was for a bug collection, that wouldn’t work either since we had our bags stuffed with them. In the end, I was forced to tell the truth: we eat them! Strangely, most of our friends in the neighborhood did not freak out as much as I thought they would.  Once they got over the bit of news that we love to eat it, some of the kids even helped us hunt the cicada.

So here is the rough recipe of my mom’s chail cicada.  My memory is a little faulty, but I’m pretty sure this is what she put in it. The first thing is to roost the locus, thai pepper, and a head of yellow onion in the oven. Once all that is cooked, smash the thai pepper in the coke (stone grinder used for papaya salad)  then throw in the cooked locust and some of the yellow onion.  Mashed everything up then throw in some padek, fish sauce, and msg. When it comes to Lao food, we don’t really use measurements like teaspoons or tablespoon as much as in American cooknig because we season our food according to our taste.