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Wednesday, June 16, 2004 |
HMONG WALKER LEADS GROUP ON 1,150-MILE TREK TO THE NATION'S CAPITAL
Dedicating Trek In Honor Of Ronald Reagan,Ten Walkers To Highlight Plight Of The Hmong People In Laos,
By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service
ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA (ANS) -- A North St. Paul, Minnesota man is leading a three-month, 10-person march to the nation's capital to raise awareness of the plight of the Hmong living in Laos.
Zong Khang Yang says his walk from the Minnesota State Capitol to the nation's capital could take months, but he hopes to use the time to bring attention to the plight of Hmong living in Laos, according to a report carried in the Star-Tribune newspaper.
"We cannot forget about the country," Yang told nearly 100 people at the Minnesota State Capitol Tuesday morning. "We cannot forget about our people."
Yang, 42, of North St. Paul, Minnesota, is leading 10 local residents on the 1,150-mile trek to Washington.
He said he hopes the walk will be one step toward ending the killing and harsh treatment of Hmong in Laos, the newspaper's April Bethea reported.
Yang also said he hopes the journey will encourage the United Nations to send peacekeepers into the nation and urge the Laotian government to allow humanitarian aid into the country, the newspaper reported.
"Their suffering motivates me, gives me the energy to go to Washington, D.C.," said Neng Xiong, 29, of St. Paul, who is among those who are walking.
As several speakers stepped onto a podium, more than a dozen people carried signs reading, among other things, "Save the Hmong People" and "Hmong: the forgotten allies" the newspaper said.
Amee Xiong encouraged the crowd to contact local and national politicians to urge them to fight against the treatment of Hmong refugees, the paper reported.
"As Americans our responsibility is to do everything we can to help the people in Laos," said Xiong, 20, a student at Hamline University in St. Paul.
After the rally, Yang led the crowd to the office of U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn. From there, the group planned to walk along Hwy. 61 through Minnesota and Wisconsin, the newspaper reported.
The newspaper said they will continue on to Washington using side roads and other highways. Participants plan to walk several miles each day and stop at cities and towns along the way to educate people about Hmong culture, the paper said.
The entire trip should take 2½ to three months, Yang told the newspaper.
He also said organizers have raised nearly $3,000 and are seeking more donations for their effort.
Chai Fue Xiong, president of the Hmong 18 Council, said he was pleased to see many young Hmong participating in the walk and among the crowd.
"To go in a car is easy and can be done by anyone," Xiong said through an interpreter. "But to go on foot takes a lot of determination and takes the right kind of people to do it."
The Washington walk comes as thousands of Hmong refugees are expected to arrive in the United States -- including the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul) -- beginning next week.
Yang said he is dedicating his walk to Hmong still living in Laos and to the late President Ronald Reagan, who led efforts to end communism while in office.
"I have a really good cause," Yang said before the walk. "I have fire burning inside that will help encourage me to walk all the way to Washington, D.C., and there are many lives I need to save," he told the newspaper.
. 6:08:22 PM 
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BURMA: Poor forced to pay for basic education [Kao Wao News]
- Taramon and Lita Davidson
Where only 40% of the population complete primary education in Burma; students, mostly from poor subsistence based families in Mon State have had to fork over extra fees in the new school term, which started this month, a source from Mudon Township said.
"The entrance fees are 4,000 Kyats, in which students pay for the upkeepof the school which includes repairing it," a township resident from Mudoncity said. "They pay not in cash but by donating materials needed torepair the school, such as cement, logs, and galvanized iron sheets or they cannot attend," he added.
The school entrance fees vary in different areas in Mon State. Some schools in Mudon and Thanbyu Zayat townships charge 2,500 Kyats for primary school, 2,980 Kyats for middle school and 3,600 to 41,000 Kyats
for high school.
But every student in Hnee PaDol village, southern Mudon Township, paysabout 6,700 Kyats which includes repairing the school.
In Pa-An Township, Karen State, the fee is much higher than in Mon State."The Secondary (Middle) school fee is 5,250 Kyats each and I can't afford it. So I've had to pull my children out of school," said Ms. Mi Mya, a mother of four children.
Students at the Thai-Burma border town also pay a higher fee for their basic education. At Three Pagodas Pass border town, opposite Karnchanaburi, the fee for primary school is 180 Thai Baht; middle school 250; and high school 300 Baht. Apart from these entrance fees, parents must buy textbooks and other materials for the schools.
Normally, students at primary schools spend 315 Baht for middle school, 600 and 1,000 Baht for high school, said a student's parent.
Since 1990 the Burmese government's spending on social sector services has steadily declined, one of the lowest levels of public investment in the world (Source: http://www.dfid.gov.uk/).
. 12:04:34 PM
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Chinese censors block access to [zh]Wikipedia. Sumner Lemon, IDG News Service, Taipei Bureau writes: "Chinese censors have blocked access to an online encyclopedia called Chinese Wikipedia that was created as a free and open source of information for Chinese Internet users, according to several contributors to... [China Digital News]
. 1:54:03 AM
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© 2004 Radio Free China
Last Update: 7/1/2004; 9:11:56 AM
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