Hmong leaders tailor virus information Building credibility, sharing information
They strategically notify clans, target bilingual, specialty media
Information on the coronavirus changes from one day to the next and getting the right information out to the Hmong community can be difficult.
Dawn Yang and her husband, Thay, are helping to meet that need.
They run a Hmong and English language news show called “Nyob Zoo Milwaukee TV” and have partnered with WMLW-TV (Channel 49) to broadcast their shows on the last Sunday of the month.
Through a partnership with the Hmong American Friendship Association in Milwaukee, the programs have hosted officials from the Hmong community as well as from Milwaukee County and the state Department of Workforce Development to inform the Hmong community about the coronavirus.
The emphasis on getting accurate information out to the Hmong community comes as the community battles ongoing concerns about racism related to the pandemic.
Yang said in the early days of the pandemic there was not a lot of effort to communicate the many changes to the Hmong community.
“There’s not much out there with everything happening so quickly,” Yang said, adding there was some mistrust and misinformation about the virus in the community. “We really need to combat that and say, ‘This is really real.’ ”
Typically, the Yangs’ programming is in Hmong, but to get a larger audience, they began doing shows in English after the pandemic started in hopes that those who are bilingual can help spread the information.
Yang also is concerned that some Hmong businesses haven’t been able to take advantage of resources available to them including the Paycheck Protection Program. Some Hmong businesses such as grocery stores and ones with a sole proprietor may not be able to recover from the pandemic, she worries.
Kajua Lor, a clinical pharmacist with the Medical College of Wisconsin, is also worried about the economic impact and the possibility of people not supporting Asian businesses and restaurants.
“I think that’s been a huge barrier in the Hmong community and with even the Asian American community, just because those types of things are affecting Asian Americans and the personal safety of the Hmong community,” Lor said. “What I would anticipate is we, as a community, come together because there’s a lot of healing that’s needed for this country and for Wisconsin.”
In helping to defuse confrontations and spread useful information, Lo Neng Kiatoukaysy, executive director for the Hmong American Friendship Association, said the organization has used the Hmong clan system.
In the Hmong community, there are 18 different “clans” each with their own leader, sub-leaders and family leaders.
These leaders work closely with families and help them with issues related to employment, health care, housing or anything else.
“I’m glad we have the clan system in place so when the clan leader tells them what’s true and what’s not true, they know what to believe and who to believe,” Kiatoukaysy said.
Lor normally does research for diabetes but has shifted her focus to help answer medical questions and inform members of the Hmong community on best health practices during the pandemic.
“Within the Hmong community, as a clinical pharmacist, I think it’s been crucial to advise on herbs or prescription medications,” Lor said. “There’s a lot of misinformation going around about remedies to prevent COVID-19, as well as which medications can be used for prevention of COVID-19.”
Lor said she has been mainly advising people to maintain a physical distance, to not go out unless they must, wash their hands, disinfect surfaces, maintain a healthy diet and exercise.
She has also been telling them about what symptoms to look for and if they feel like they do have the virus what medications they should and should not take.
“The Hmong community has been pretty receptive in terms of understanding that there are risks and that’s one of the reasons why these medications aren’t readily available to the public and you need a prescription,” Lor said.
Lor said she also works to quell any anxiety experienced in the Hmong community.
“That anxiety is across many different cultures,” Lor said. “But there’s been shortages of not only masks, toilet paper, Lysol, cleaning supplies, but within the Hmong community — rice.”
The Hmong community has taken a “shelter in place with rice” approach, Lor said. “My mom bought a bag of rice for me.”
That urge to stock up on rice, Lor believes, arises from experiences older members of the community had in previous decades.
“I think that is reminiscent of the Vietnam War and the Hmong American experience,” Lor said. “That might be stemming from elderly (people) who know how it feels like to be hungry and they know that it’s important to make sure they have rice.”