Exhibit tells the 40-year story of Hmong history

Moa Moua was born at a refugee camp in Thailand 29 years ago, lucky that her parents made it through five years in the Laos jungle surviving on plants and bark.

The story of Moua’s family’s journey to the United States from Laos in the 1960s during the so-called Secret War is the fabric of the Hmongstory 40 exhibit, which opened Saturday morning at the Merced County Fairgrounds.

A full room of people listened intently to speakers sharing the history of Hmong people during the Secret War and how many Hmong families settled in California.

Lar Yang, project director of Hmongstory 40, said there was a national rule, the Geneva Accord, that made Laos a neutral country, meaning sending troops or other interference were not allowed. Although the U.S was supposed to have no involvement in the war, the CIA served as consultants or advisers for the Hmong soldiers, keeping it a secret.

The U.S told the Hmong fighters they would help them get to the U.S or to refugee camps if they lost the war, and despite their best efforts to win, the Hmong lost.

U.S authorities managed only to get 3,000 to 5,000 people out. The rest of the Hmong community was on its own, finding ways to survive in the jungle or cross the Mekong River to get to Thailand or any country that would take them.

The exhibit broke down the history of the war into four stages: life in Laos; Laos and the Secret War; Thailand refugee camps; and life in California. The exhibit gave a thorough portrait of statistics, video interviews and photos of what Hmong refugees and fighters endured from the 1960s through 1975 and beyond.

Moua started off being a team leader, but now describes herself as a supporter and advocate for Hmongstory 40. “I put my heart and soul in it,” Moua said.

The Hmongstory 40 exhibit started in Fresno, Moua said, and will be in Merced until May 15. Moua said it was important for the exhibit to be in Merced because the first three Hmong families to settle in California resided in Merced.

Paul Lo, the first judge in the U.S of Hmong descent, said Merced has the fifth-largest Hmong population in the country, making the Hmong history rich in Merced as well as in California.

Moua said the exhibit isn’t just for people of Hmong descent but also for their communities, especially young people who don’t know about the history. She was born in Thailand at a refugee camp but was raised in Merced.

“I asked myself one day ‘Who am I?’ ” Moua said. “I need to find out who I am and where my parents came from.”

Lo stressed the benefit of other cultures learning from each other and giving the younger generations the history of where their parents came from and what they survived.

“Refugee or immigrants – people come to (the U.S. to) better themselves and find opportunities for their children. The specifics might be different, but the themes are the same,” Lo said.

This story was originally published May 8, 2016 at 4:45 PM with the headline "Exhibit tells the 40-year story of Hmong history."