Subject: The Disappearance of our Nobles/Elites
From: "Victor N. Xiong" <xiongvn@milwaukee.k12.wi.us> Add
Date: Wed, February 26, 2003 11:03 am
To: neeg@neeg.org
Priority: Normal

February 26, 2003

Dear Webmaster
The Disappearance of the Nobles/Elites

My dear fellow Laotians of all ethnic backgrounds: I am a Hmong who had come across racial hatred in a variety of ways. One example of such racial grade was racism against the Hmong. In
1970, the Samthong middle school was relocated to the Fa Ngum School at Sok Pa Luang due to the war between the Lao descendents of Vietnamese ancestors and those of Lao ancestors. The relocation
brought me to the city of Vientiane for the first time in my life as
a central Laos resident. Probably, it was also the first time that
many people in the city saw young Hmong cross their paths. In my
early days in Vientiane, around Lyccé de Vientiane, especially the
Nahaideo District, I heard all kinds of racial slurs, such as Bak Ha,
Bak soua, Bak Meo, or Meung, in many places I went. As a teenage
Hmong then, I tended to ignore the painful remarks made against many
of my fellow young Hmong and me for the purposes of being Hmong who
are non-violent attitude carriers. Even so, I was so upset that I
wished I could transform myself to a nationality that would allow me
to get the same respects and equal treatments that the people around
me seemed to be so proud of. Today, I still have difficulties
forgetting that kind of hostility and still feel that, even in the
new Millennium, the Laotian Nobles may still look at me the same way,
may still consider me a lower class citizen, a less valuable member
of society, and/or a member who does not deserve to be around the
better people/citizens. They may still set high human standards for
themselves as usual.

Even so, and despite my past grief for being treated unequal, I still
feel very disappointed to see the gradual disappearance of the group
of people known as "Seua Chao" or the Nobles of our society. Although
many of them may still be around, most of them are silent. To date, I
heard no "Chao" this and that, for example, Chao Manivong. During my
young life in Laos, I used to hearing the Nachampasack, The Manivong,
Khampane, and others. Since the Pathet Lao take-over, Prince
Souphanouvong might be the only noble among the Pathet Lao high
officials. Sadly, after his death, his son, Khamsay, was kicked out
of the country to New Zealand in the late 90s. The Royal Family was
eliminated in the middle of the 70s. Nowadays, we very much seem to
be empty-handed.

What does this mean to us? Who is Kaysone actually? Why did he and
his successors eliminate all of these Seua Chao? And after the
elimination of all of these elites, how much better off is Laos? I
will leave the answers to these questions to those of you who are
more familiar with these elites to explain if you don't mind. I am a
Hmong who used to be nothing other than a victim among the most hated members of citizens of Laos, and I think members of such elites can do a much better job by telling us about themselves and by looking at their own gradual disappearances. Beside the disappearance of the
elites, I remember hearing rumors about a snake swallow a young boy
in Vientiane some time in the 90s. That incident might be a historic
symbol to all of us in some ways-in ways that our Seua Chao has been
swallowed by someone, if not by Kaysone and his successors, maybe by Vietnam.

As a child, I had come across so much hatred, and the experiences
have rooted deep down inside me like a victim of sexual molestation
who cannot forget his or her experiences. In relation to my past
racial grade, I do not and cannot actually expect any favor from the
mentioned elites. Even if I show them the respects that society is
required to do, they may never look at my Hmong general public, many
among us, Hmong and Lao alike, and/or me in a meaningful way.
Therefore, the loss of the members of such a class of people means
little or nothing to me, but what means to me the most is that the
disappearance of this class of people represents the elimination of
our country's strength and values. Values mean so much to our
national identity, to the growth and maintenance of our society, and
to our nationalism. Values stand for our nation's pride and unity. A
good example of values is Angkok Wat and the Cambodian riot against
the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh a few weeks ago. Guess what Angkok Wat symbolizes and means to Cambodia? Angkok Wat is a Cambodian National Symbol, and it has to be that way forever. The noble/elites of our country symbolizes Laos in similar ways, and it is the
responsibilities of Laotian of all ethnic background to defend it the
same way the Cambodians defend Angkok Wat.

Thank you.

Victor N. Xiong.