I just finished a book concerning one Hmong family that immigrated (although not from desire) to the United States after the Vietnam War, and the ensuing culture conflicts that came with this move. One of their daughters was severely epilectic, and treating her in the American system was problematic for all parties involved, family and doctors both. The Hmong culture and western medical system have absolutely nothing in common, besides maybe a desire for health.
(Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons/Cristophe Meneboeuf)
While the medical parts were sometimes very clinical and hard to get through, the history of the people and especially their treatment by various groups wanting to control them really got me interested. I've since thought more about my upcoming time in both northern Vietnam and Laos and adjusted some things to spend more time seeing things in person, and hopefully learning as much as I can. I am often times fascinated by groups of people that have such strong heritage but never a country to call their own. For the Hmong in fact, the idea of a country and political system and borders would not even function, and this "ancient" way of thinking is probably what has let them to be the punching bags of the region for some time. It's amazing how they can preserve so much though.
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures, by Anne Fadiman. Recommended.
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