The indigenous movement in opposition to the presidents new policies opening the way for foreign investors extract natural resources.

On Sunday, My sister and I made our way to Ballenita where my uncle and his family own a house near the beach. Located in the Penisula of Santa Elena, Ballenita is a small town of fishermen-in its beaches touched ground Captain Francisco Pizarro on August 18 of 1527. Its name derives from the cetaceans who are observed in large groups, when on their way to their mating grounds.

 Ballenita has a special magic. With its more than 1.6 km of beach, both locals and visitors are enchanted by its attractions and natural beauty. Surely, some of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen.

My first week in Ecuador has flown by, to the extent that I have not posted an update in 6 days. I have, however, been very busy, reconnecting with people, eating a lot, and visiting places I haven´t seen in many years or ever at all. Throughout the past 8 days I  have walked all over Guayaquil as well as spent some serious time in the gorgeous beaches on and surrounding la Ruta del Sol. I just returned from spending a couple of days in Montañita, where I had a wonderful time and met some really cool people. Tomorrow, I leave for Quito where I will spend the holidays and some change. As of now, the plan beyond that is to head to the Amazon although I am still not sure how that is going to work out. Even though I have not been posting, I have been keeping up with my  notes and taking lots of photographs, hopefully I can catch up with the blogging over the weekend and keep up a little better from then on.

My first full day in Guayaquil was not exactly what I expected. The previous night my sister and I decided that it would be best if we got all the paper work I had to get done out of the way. Since my passport expires in August I needed to get it renewed, otherwise they will not let me back in the U.S. In order to renew my passport I needed an Ecuadorian Identification Card, the one I had was the same my parents got me when I was 18 months old and had expired many years ago. In order to renew my I.D., I needed to get my voter certification card. We were told that these processes were very fast and that it would take no time at all. So we woke up early and went on our way.

The first stop was “El Tribunal Supremo Electoral”.  Once there all I had to do was to pay a small fine for not having voted in the previous elections and they gave me my card. We were very excited because we had completed one third of our tasks in approximately five minutes. At this rate we were going to be done before noon. Our next stop was “el Registro Civil”. Here we were ushered through the process. First, we had to make a line just to reach the information table. Once there, we were told where to go but first we were to stand at the line at the cashiers to pay for the fees of renovation of the i.d. Once we paid the fees we were directed to a big room where we were given a number and told to wait for our turn.

 At last we were called to an office where a woman confirmed my personal information, took my picture and my finger prints. We had so far cruised through the process until the woman helping us explained that there were some complications. For some inexplicable reason, the prints of my right thumb did not match their records. All the other fingers did, but not the right thumb. She said she had to look more into it and to come back in an hour.

My sister and I took this opportunity to walk around “El Centro”. We stopped and grabbed lunch at this restaurant on the Malecon before heading back to the registry. Upon return, the woman informed us that a mistake was made more than 20 years ago and instructed us to go to the rectifications office to begin the process to clear everything out. This meant we had to make the line where we had paid the fees all over again to get our money back, then we had to make yet another line at the rectifications office, only to be told we needed copies of some documents.

When we returned with the copies we were told to wait, only to be told that we need to make the cashiers line again so we could pay for the costs of the process. Because I didn’t have my i.d. card, my sister had to start the process for me. Nevertheless, the security guard at the cashiers´ office refused to let my sister inside with me, regardless of the obvious explanation. After some polite screaming, we forced our way to pay what we needed to pay and begin the process.  

By this time we were sweating, cranky, and in better shape having walked around trying to do everything they needed from us. After returning to the rectifications office, we had to wait for the woman helping us because she was dealing with some ¨extreme¨ cases. After another hour of waiting, she finally called us over, she examined the paper work, and informed us that it would take at least 15 working days before they will be able to fix anything.

 On the one hand I was angered and annoyed by the bureaucracy and inefficiency of the system. On the other hand, I was relieved that I had decided to do all of this on my first day, because this means I MIGHT be able to complete the process in time. At the end of our semi-productive journey, I found myself frustrated, exhausted, and with a killer migraine.  As we walked out my sister looked at me and in somewhat sarcastic, but not really, tone, said, ¨welcome to Ecuador¨.

After a series of flights I finally arrived at the Jose Joaquin de Olmedo airport in Guayaquil at around 10 p.m. local time. While I was waiting for my bags, at a distance, I spotted my sister waving uncontrollably; I had not seen her in more than two years. She was accompanied by one my cousins, I had not seen him since I left 12 years ago. As I pushed my baggage cart closer to them, I realized I had stopped breathing-yes I was a bit nervous. I paused, to warn them I probably smelled bad , but mostly to keep from hyperventilating. Neither mattered, however, as my sister rushed to squeeze the air out of me with a bear hug. I asked her not to cry, because well it could become contagious, but she could not help herself.  After the emotional reunion, and a failure to take a picture of my sister in tears, were on our way.

My cousin took us on a brief tour of the city. As we drove around he would call out the names of the streets, landmarks, etc. most of which sounded familiar but I could not recognize. The reality is that I didn’t remember much of anything, and the few things I did remember have changed significantly. One example is the bus depot. I still have memories of the many instances we drove on the bumpy roads around the terminal. People would sell exotic animals in the streets. My father would bring us every week to replace the birds that continuously fled our house. Today it looks a lot different. The terminal itself was demolished and rebuilt. The  new terminal  looks more like a shopping center with its hundreds of stores selling everything from food to electronics.  My cousin described as a “super mall, that happens to sell bus tickets”. This highlights a common trend throughout Guayaquil. Dozens of malls have popped up all over the city.

The most extreme of the examples is the new City Mall that was built right across the street from La Rotonda- the mall near my house I used to frequent as a child. This new Mega Mall assured the demise of the older shopping center which simply could not compete against the giant next door. What is the most surprising, however, is how busy these places are taking into consideration the economic environment in the country. After all retail is very expensive due to the high tariffs, yet these places seem to be doing quite well. “Everything is about appearance here…the average monthly salary is 180 dollar, but that does not keep the average person from buying $140 pair of shoes” She jokes that most people just go inside the malls to escape the heat.

We also had to drive by my old neighborhood. This was perhaps the most shocking part of the tour. I thought I remembered exactly what this area looked like, after all, these were the streets I used to roam around as a child. The corner pharmacy, La licorera where I would buy Salcedos-arguably the best ice cream in the world. “La Principal”, the busy street my parents urged us never to cross seemed 10 times smaller than it did then. In fact the entire neighborhood did. The condominium in the corner of my street was still there. This is where Maria Fernanda used to live- she was 6 years older, my first crush. When she learned about my secret love she came to look for me. At the age of  7, not  knowing any better, I ran out the back door took part in a 4 hour chase around the neighborhood. Everything seemed so much smaller now, alleys, the trees I used to climb, the streets I used to play soccer on.

We culminated the tour with a stop at “El Capi” where I ordered an egg, cheese and salami burger. I figured if I was to get sick on my trip, it would be better to get it over with. We finished, and we head home. Upon arrival, I said hi to my aunt and uncle. My aunt was upset because my cousin had not informed her we were going to take a while.

I didn’t realize how humid it was until I arrived in my room. After unpacking I decided to take a quick shower before going to bed. As I cleaned myself I thought about my childhood, my old friends and other random things such as how I will probably never drive in this place (because it’s just insane). Before I arrived here I was told many different things by different people and now I had the opportunity to experience them myself. I am about the rest of my trip. For now I am exhausted and I zzzzzzz…

According to my father, it was February 13 of 1999. He might be a little off but I doubt it makes much of a difference. At my nine years of age I could not really comprehend what was happening, all I knew was that mi papi was leaving for U.S.A and hew as going to be away for a bit. No one knew exactly how long he was going to be gone, “he will be back in no time” my mother would tell us. It would be futile to try to explain the joy I felt when my mother yelled for us to come eat lunch that December 19 afternoon. When we got to the dining room, there he was, sitting at the head of the table, his usual place. I fainted. During our meal he explained that he was going to leave right after New Years. He was getting everything ready for us join him, however. This was exciting, there was no time to think about my friends, my dog, the house where I had grown up, the family that stayed behind. I was nine years old and I just wanted to be with my father. On February 9 we landed in Miami’s International Airport, My sister had given birth that morning. My mother was there, she had arrived a couple of days earlier. We were to stay with my sister for a couple of months, while both my parents worked and saved enough for an apartment and a car.

We arrived in Charlotte, North Carolina on April 10, 2000. I remember this because three days later I turned 10 years old. My parents had found a three bedroom apartment in small Ecuadorian enclave. After living in Miami and this neighborhood, I would argue I didn’t really arrive in the U.S. until 2001. We had two roommates living along with myself, my parents, my two brothers and my sister. It was tight, but most definitely cozy. A couple of months later, we were joined by the oldest of my sisters and her daughter. She had a good job back home, but she missed us way too much. We were able to move to a bigger house on November of that year. It was by far the nicest house I had ever lived in. The following year, my other sister and her family moved in with us. They were the last ones of my direct family to leave the Ecuador. We were all here.

 Life has changed so much ever since. I feel like our family has triplicated, I am still not sure where all these babies keep coming from, nevertheless, they have not stopped coming. My oldest sister is back in Ecuador, against her will, but hopefully she will back soon. We all have moved around. My parents live on their own, well for the exception of my sister’s children who visit daily. I moved away for my studies and have remained away ever since. I finally graduated on May of 2012. I plan to go straight back to school for a Masters in Publich Health. I have a life here, family, at least most of it, friends, work, school. I am very involved in my community. When people ask me where I am from I tell them, well, I was born in Ecuador…but I… I have been here a while. The truth is most people don’t ask me anything about my home country, which is a relief, somewhat. After all, I left when I was young, I remember very little, and most of it has changed anyways. Nevertheless, I am Ecuadorian, even if I am not sure what that means.

Do not get me wrong, I do not buy into nationalism.  Yet I feel proud of my Greensboro Community, I love North Carolina, and I have become OK with being in the United States. I can easily justify why I feel this way. On the same hand, I feel proud of my heritage, my roots, my culture, at least what I have maintained of it. However, I cannot explain why. I have not been there in more than 12 years. I am ignorant of the past and the present. I am so removed from what has happened and continues happening over there. When I return, I will be a foreigner in my own country.

On May 15th, 2012. I will be landing in Guayaquil, Ecuador, the city where I was born and lived until February 9, 2000. My sister will hopefully pick me up in time and will we go over to my aunt’s house-this will be my home base. For a little more than a month I intend to travel throughout much of Ecuador visiting the different regions of this beautiful country. I want to admire the landscapes, eat the foods, talk to the people reconnect with all friends and family. Ideally, I would like to learn about the social issues affecting my people and the organizing taking place to combat them. I wish to learn as much as possible and absorb every second while I am there. My hope is to enter the country as a tourist and return home a little bit more of a native. 

I am not sure how much of this I will be able to accomplish in a month. I do know, however, that I am entering this trip with an open mind, a lot of energy, and many questions in need of answers. I plan to maintain, or at least attempt to maintain, a blog/journal of my experiences during my time there. To be honest, I am a bit nervous, but hopefully everything will go down as planned, at least the parts that have not already gone wrong:). Nevertheless, I am excited, and looking forward to this adventure and hopefully you can share it with me through my posts.

sincerely,

Juan Miranda

Just to summarize some quick notes on observations made during the first round of computer based research for Dr. Baleav’s project. Basically the study, which is still at its pilot phase, consists of a network analysis of US Power structures. The researcher is interested collecting data on the professional affiliations of the top personnel in the executive branch of the US Government before and after the governmental position. A potential objective will be to create a concise and easy to manage database from which interested individuals can find information related to the professional affiliations of top officials in the different cabinet level department/offices of the current and past administrations.

For the first round, I focused on the Power Structure of the US Department of Energy. I figured it would be very interesting to see how current and former professional affiliation could potentially have an influence in the policy making/implementing. The Obama administration has constantly professed a commitment to renewable energy sources so I think it would be of great significance to look at the history of the the people in charge of realizing these objectives.

The initial and most important tier of the the Department of Energy (Hereafter referred to as DOE) was the Office of the Secretary. It consisted of the three most prominent officials in the department: The Secretary-Dr. Steven Chu, The Deputy Secretary-Daniel B. Poneman, and the Associate Deputy Secretary- Melvin G Williams. Because of the importance of this tier and the long track record of the officials it was very easy to find information about them. Wikipedia, served as a great tool to begin the research on each individual. With further research needed to find more about their previous jobs and their path to their current governmental positions.

Throughout the research, a variety of issues emerged. For example, in several instances there was a need to clarify and redefine categories. This was especially the case when finding the most appropriate way of describing organization types. At the end it was decided by the research team that it would be a good idea to divide this category into two:

The first one defines the ownership classification; private, public, or non-profit. The Second category defines the economic sector classification; service, manufacturing, agriculture or mining. Because this is just a pilot study, it is expected for many issues to arise and when clear answers were not agreed upon, the assistants were instructed to use their own judgment.

The main objective of this study is to point out previous employment positions held by each government official. The emphasis however is placed on positions in non-governmental jobs. This is because the attention is given to the potential influence that outside of the government jobs can have on the way officials do their job or the agenda they support. Officials who come from other governmental jobs are not as significant, especially when they have held governmental positions continuously for a long time. If information about previous non-governmental jobs were found, they were marked but this was rarely the case.

Because this round of research consisted of the current administration, in case of most officials, the post governmental position section did not apply. Except for One official who had stepped down from her position. This section will naturally play a larger role in the next round when we focus on the previous administration and the jobs that the outgoing members went on after their time expired.

There are more notes that I will continue to add as soon as I have time.

-harder to find info about officials the lower we go down the chain

-other coding issues

-missing data

-sources

-necessary and unnecessary data

As an immigrant I know of the difficulties of adapting and acculturating to a new culture. I cannot even begin to imagine how challenging it must be for a refugee. In a sense as an immigrant, you made the decision, to some extent, of moving to a new country for whatever reason. As a refugee one does not have an alternative. Montagnards have had a very tragic history of marginalization and persecution and leaving their countries was a difficult but necessary “choice”. We sometimes forget of how difficult it is to be in a place, with a language that we don’t know, surrounded by people we don’t know and not really knowing whats going on around you. Sometimes we think that it ok if they are having a hard time because whatever happens is better than what they had in their country. Well this is not always true. Although many of them were persecuted forced to live in the jungle, and excluded from society, etc. Even among all those obstacles, at least they could count with some degree of stability. They knew what to expect, they knew how to survive. They farmed for their food, they knew home and “jungle medicines” they had strong communities and as humble as they might have lived they could have easily been happy and content with their lives. Upon their arrival, they are given enough resources to subsist for as long as six months and then they are expected to become self sufficient. They arrive here, in a new place, with a culture completely different from theirs, a language they are not familiar with, a law system that is unknown to them. In general they are forced to adopt a life of uncertainty and vulnerability. They are expected to become productive members in a system that they have no idea how to work. Besides the obvious consequences, there are other perhaps less direct but not any less important effects. A lot of the families, especially the adults experience a lot of stress. Their constant worry for not having a job and the responsibility to pay rent, electricity, food cause would have a great toll on anybody.This is common in the Montagnard community. As tough as the job market has been the last couple of years only gets worse Montagnards. Many of the people that arrived at an advanced age have struggled to master the host language. Even less likely is for them to attend a community college or get some sort of training. This is something that deserves particular attention because stress can affect the mental health of a person and can even lead to the development of physical medical conditions. During my interviews. Acculturative stress was reported by several families. One of the women interviewed reported having been depressed and cried for several months because she missed Vietnam. They also talk about thinking too much and worrying too much because of “having no job and no money.” These are issues that we should be cautious about because it can eventually develop into other concerns.

The first question on our instrument inquired the meaning of health or to be healthy? It makes sense that before we can ask questions of specific diseases such as Diabetes, its essential that the know the what background or understanding of health the families already had. Once again there were several similarities and differences in the answers by the responders. For most of the Families interviewed, excluding those who had lived and and went to school here for a long time, their responses resembled had very similar responses. The relationship between health and food is very eminent. When asked what to be healthy meant to them. the majority said things such as “eating a little meat, and lots of vegetables” and  “eat a lot of good Montagnard food, lots of rice, lots of vegetables and fruits” Another mentioned that food that was “too spicy was not good”. In general, health, is directly related to the kind of food that you eat. By default, the food they eat is a lot healthier than the one consumed by Americans. Several of them explained how the meat here was not good, one of them explained that “In Vietnam, we kill the animal and eat it that same day, in here you go to store and buy frozen meat”.  Another explained how vegetables are different here too… ” You never know what they put in the food here, maybe pesticides”. Basically, it seems like there is at least a basic understanding of the relationship between health and diet among the Montagnard families we interviewed.

When asked about disease, most of the answers seemed to be focused around physical pain or injury most specifically, a condition that hinders the ability to work. There were also several myths including one of a “monster” that makes people sick. This however was only referenced by only a couple of the participants. It seems like the monster is a myth that existed in Vietnam before Christianity was introduced by the French. Thus a belief that was still held by some elderly and some people that have not been converted.

There is also an understanding of disease as a result of their refugee experience. Seveal of them talked about the stress experienced because” there are no jobs for Montagnards and they don’t sleep because they have to worry how to pay for rent and buy food”. Several understood that stress caused them to have headaches and make them weak and vulnerable to colds and other health issues.

There were even some more advanced responses, some references were made to genetics and heredity of health conditions. This is however limited to a few people that had either been educated or have been exposed to disease via themselves or relatives. In this case, they had gone to a doctor and had learn about their disease in the process.

Once again, this health knowledge or understanding varied among the different families. Several had a better idea because they had been able to attend school where the have learned about health, one of them was even a health worker back home, naturally her understanding was more thorough than someone who had lived in the jungle and had not had a chance to go to school. Exposure to diseases, whether personally or vicariously naturally had an effect on the amount of knowledge that they possessed.

The main concern, raised by these interviews is that the knowledge and understanding of health and disease its still very limited. It is important to ask how through is this knowledge and if perhaps a basic health education program would be more appropriate to begin with. After all, how can we explain someone about diabetes who does not understand basic human anatomy. Maybe they understand that food affects your health, but its important that we make sure they know how is it that food affects their body and why? This way it would be easier for them to adopt it into their culture as it seems like it has been non existent. By default, their are more prone to living more healtheir lives, eating healthier food (fresh vegetables, leaner meat), working in the farms, walking everywhere. What made them healthier in Vietnam might make them more vulnerable to the adaptation process in American culture. Sedentary lifestyles due to different factors such as unemployment, climate, social alienation, fast food culture, driving as opposed of walking, etc.

Its a possibility that health knowledge has not been prominent in the Montagnard culture, at least not to the extent at which it is in America. Most likely because they are culturally prone to a healthier more sustainable lifestyle in which health issues such as diabetes, and high blood pressure do not occur as often.

After the first few interviews with the families I was already able to recognize some patterns in the  responses to the health related questions, however, more obvious was the contrast between them. There is a disparity in the knowledge of health risk factors, vulnerability, and access to health services among the different families. There are several factors that tie into these: Perhaps their length of time living in the U.S. is the most prominent, but the variance can also due to the level education achieved back home, whether they are able to speak Vietnamese and something as specific as how old their children were when they arrived in America.

Naturally, A group of refugees that has been settled for more than 8 years is going to enjoy more stability than a group that has only been present in the states for 2 years. However, it also makes sense the rate at which people are able to adapt and gain stability is affected by their Socioeconomic status in their country of origin. As the the literature explains, there was an already existing social hierarchy within Montagnards before resettlement. This was based on region in which they lived, whether they lived in the city or in the rural region. In a way, this determined whether they received a proper education and whether they were able to learn Vietnamese. Although any sort of status is lost when they arrive in the U.S. is lost, the simple fact that they can speak Vietnamese puts them in a faster and easier path to adaptation and self-dependency.

In my observations, I also noticed that even among the families that have been here about the same time, there were still others that seemed to be doing a little better. I think maybe have to do with the fact that at their time of arrival, their children were of school age, so they were able to get learn English easily and get a good education, and now they were going to college or were already working. At this point, the children are able contribute economically to their home as well as help their parents to communicate and get around.  In contrast, there were other families that when they came here their children were too old to go to school, they struggled to learn the language, and find work. Or in the case that the children were too  small, they were just going to primary or secondary school which would lead to the success of the first example but at a much slower rate.

In general, some families seem to have adapted very well to their host country while others seem to have struggled to gain self dependency. this is something that we should pay a lot of attention to because all refugees population are very vulnerable and they could easily become trapped in the cycle of poverty.

Every family that opened their doors to us were very welcoming and friendly. Even the ones that lived in the most humble conditions always offered at least water to drink. This is a custom of many cultures, to always offer water, tea, and some kind of refreshment and snack to their visitors. In general, they were happy to have people over and were very patient during the interviews.

There were many patterns that I noticed in several of the houses that I visited. the majority of them had a bed in the living room area. This could be a result of large families, but it also made me wonder about the traditional layout of their houses back in Vietnam, whether they are used to having a living room area. In general, the families we visited were of five or more members. In different instances, extend families resided under the same roof, maybe the grandparents or the uncle and aunt lived with the parents and children. This is  a reflection of their family oriented culture and also a subsistence mechanism as it serves to pay cheaper rent.

In general, the families lived in very humble conditions, without much luxury other than a Television. Some lived in houses that would fall under the category of a middle class home in America. Perhaps too small for the number of people living inside but they still were very content, or at least that is the first impression that one gets. The truth of the matter is that in Vietnam, Montagnards were forced into a secondary social status. “Those who received an education and became bilingual in Vietnamese inceased their social standing but they still maintained at  a lower status than the Vietnamese… However, if they are not bilingual in English, they lose that social status since they cannot communicate with the dominant society [in the U.S.]”(Kaleidoscope)

This was pretty evident: several families complained about not having jobs and worrying about not having enough money to pay bills and rent. Some said that this worry was what made them sick. It made their heads hurt and their throats hurt and they had  no money to go to the doctor. Some of the families had Medicaid but it was expired or it was about to expire.

 Finding employment has become very difficult for anybody in the current economic atmosphere. Its not surprising that it is even more challenging for people whom do not speak the native language. Throughout the interviews it was eminent that the families were struggling due to the fact that there was not enough money to sustain themselves. In some families only one parent was able to work and most of the money was occupied to cover rent and food. In other cases both parents were unemployed. One family had been here since the first group arrived and they had older children that had gone to school here and they seemed to be doing pretty well. The parents were older but they still worked while their children either worked or attended college.

The number of men working outside of home is uneven in comparison to the number of women, this can be due to tradition but even in Vietnam women seem to have taken a role working outside the house. This is important to note because, sedentary lives and lack of activity due to the absence of work can result in the development of health conditions. Nonetheless It is important to point out that unemployment had also another indirect health implications.

Some families could not afford to have heating or a/c. Instead they opted to more economic alternatives such as fans in the summer or to wear sweaters indoors during the cold season. Most of the houses were had hardwood flooring and in several instances the houses were very cold. Some of the people were older and already had health conditions that can to some extent be worsened by conditions in which they lived.

Obviously, without enough money, families cannot eat right, fresh vegetables and fruits are expensive so many of them have no choice to preserved foods and frozen meats which are not as nutritious or of the same quality. In one of the houses, I noticed that the kitchen table was covered in empty fast food wrappers and bags.I noticed in several families that the children were eating what seemed to me like a lot of candy and chocolates. Several children seemed somewhat chubby and in two o three cases the children were significantly overweight. In one of the families two boys were playing and one of them jumps on the couch to look out the window and the other boy follows but seemed to had to catch his breath for a bit.
This is important because, health and socio-economics are directly and indirectly related and a lot of attention should be given to this community in particular. Even if we determine that Diabetes is not as prominent as believed in the Montagnard community, there is reason to believe that can in second and later generations.

I had completely underestimated the difficulties I was going to experience communicating with members of the Montagnard Community. It is safe to assume the the majority of people over 18 speak little or no English at all. This is understandable as many of them have had a trouble adapting to the American lifestyle after their experience as refugees. A large portion of them had lived in hiding or in rural areas with little or no access to a formal education and even less like likely to have had a chance to learn English. The younger people that arrived had a chance to attend schools and learn the Language. Older people did not have such opportunity.

  The language is just a fraction of the multidimensional dilemma that refugees experience as they attempt to integrate into their host society. Depending on the resettlement agency, a family is supported for about two to three months, a period in which the family is supposed to become self-sufficient, they are given basic training on things such as how to register their children in schools and how to navigate the public transportation system. After the two months are over, the families are left to figure things out on their own. Community Centers such as the MDA in the case of Montagnards continue to assit the families with as much as they can help them with. One of their services is English for speakers of Other Languages classes. These classes are held at the center and attended by people of different adult age groups and it helps them to learn basic English that is relevant to them. I had the opportunity to attend one of the classes and meet several of the students. The teacher would ask them things such as “what did you do yesterday” and “what will you do today?” The also adapt the classes to teach them about things such as how to eat healthy.

One of the purposes of attending the class was to see if their their English was good enough to communicate and conduct the interviews, but it was virtually impossible, and most of our efforts ended up on us laughing at each other, perhaps at how foolish we looked making signs and waving our arms trying to exchange ideas. Even though I had a great time, this proved once again that it would be more effective to conduct interviews with the assistance of an interpreter.

Some of the interviewees spoke very good English. One of them, whom I think spoke the best would still run into with some words that she didn’t know how to say in English. She would get stuck and get frustrated and would say things like ” sorry, sorry, I dont know how to speak English, next question please”. Besides those moments we had a very good interview.

Having Kwol and Khin by my side was of immense help, they were great at helping me communicate with the families and teaching me about their culture. They also helped me by contacting the families and arranging the appointments for the interviews. It was a lot easier for them because they were known in the community and they had earned the trust of the people. Without them it would have been virtually if not entirely impossible to go on with this project.

It is however critical to point out that even with two interpreters who spoke English as well as Vietnamese, Jerai Mnong and  Koho fluently, we still ran into obstacles throughout our interviews. There are words that lack a literate translation or concepts that simply don’t exist in the vocabulary or culture for that matter. We had difficulties explaining concepts such as health and disease. This is an obstacle not only because it hinders our communication but also brings up another issue. If we asked a responder whether they what Diabetes was or if they knew someone who had it, how do we know whether they truly don’t know or if they simply did not understand. this is an issue that takes a little reliability way from the study and opens up new issues that need further research.

Montagnard Health Project Kickoff Event

As a strategy to promote the community health project and give it some degree legitimacy we planned a Kickoff event that would take at UNCG during Dr. Morrison’s  graduate course. Several Montagnard women were invited to attend. After introductions and a explanation of the project the students proceeded to interview the women asking questions about their culture and their perception and experiences about health and most specifically Diabetes. There was also a variety of fruits and snacks not just to accommodate people but also food is a very good way to connect with others and provoke exchange of dialogue.

This meeting was very productive, we got some very good interviews and learn a lot about the Montagnard culture and their experiences as refugees. It also helped because it exposed some community members to the project and they then could help us by spreading the word. It also learned as a good learning experience; the planning aspect, although the meeting was not that elaborate, a lot of thought still needed to be invested. Since we are working with a specific group of people, we had to think about we were going to interest them into coming to our event and willfully participate. We asked questions such “how do we get people to develop interest into diabetes prevention, something that could or could not be part of their culture” or “why is this important to them and how can we help them understand.” We answered many of these questions or at least gained a better idea of how we can be successful.

It was a very pleasant, fun and informative evening.  The event was very successful, the students got practice doing research field work, the women were very happy to learn of the interest of college students about their culture and it was exciting to learn from each other.

There has been little research done specifically about Montagnard refugees but I tried to learn as much as I could about them, their history and their culture before beginning the field work. Montagnards in Greensboro are a very complex group with a long and tragic history, a very distinct culture, and a different resettlement experience from other groups of refugees. It is even impossible to generalize all Montagnards since within this group members identify themselves with their respective tribes. I also contacted people who had worked with the Montagnard community for advice on how to approach them and on what areas of the city they were concentrated.There was another meeting with Andrew young from the Montagnard Dega Associaton (MDA) and Huaibo Xin and Jigna Dharod who were also doing research with the Montagnard Community. Andrew shared his many years of experience to help us better understand the needs and struggles of the community. We also planned a kickoff event at UNCG to present and promote the community health project in the community. He also afforded me with some contacts and places where I could start the field work.
I decided that it would be a good idea to just dive head first and approach people in the neighborhoods and the markets that I had been recommended with the purpose of “getting my feet wet”. This turned out to be very productive… in a learning experience kind of way. Although I was aware that the language barrier was going to be a factor I was not sure of the extents to which it was going to be an obstacle. I approached people sitting on their porches and when I began introducing myself, they would just point inside and say things like ” No, my son” and they would go inside and bring their children who would speak English but were too young to be interviewed.
In other instances I ran into people that did speak English, but as I started explaining to them what I was doing they would simply laugh or tell me to “go to MDA, they can help”. This made me wonder how effective my method of recruitment was. I realized that it must not be the most comfortable of positions for someone to knock on your door with a clipboard and a recorder, I can understand why that must be sort of intimidating and not the most trustworthy of situations. If I was to be successful in getting people to participate and open up to me I would need to earn their trust but I need some help, someone that the community knew and whom the community knew. This is where Kwol and Khin come in.They will be kind enough to help me arrange interviews with families and interpret for me.
These ladies are the community health workers that will work in this project, they are very intelligent and educated and have been here in the states for many years. Kwol was one of the first Montagnards to arrive in the U.S., she is married to an American and speaks very good English, she also is very familiar with the members of the community. Khin used to be a community Health worker in Vietnam so she has previous experience on this kind of work, they also speak several of the Montagnard languages such as Jerai Rhade, Mnong and Koho. They are simply the most important parts of this project.