L48 Anthro 3283 Chapter Notes - Chapter 6: Child Protective Services, Ban Vinai Refugee Camp, Language Barrier

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16 May 2018
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Fadiman Ch. 6 (60-77)
It was said in refugee camps in Thailand that the Hmong in America could not find work,
were forbidden to practice their religion, and were robbed and beaten by gangs; It was
also said that the Hmong women were forced into slavery, forced to have sex with the
American men, and forced to have sex with animals
Dinosaurs, ogres, giants lived in America
Then why did 15,000 Hmong who gathered at the Ban Vinai soccer field to voice their
deepest fears about life in the United States, chose to fixate on doctors?
Hmong view of Healthcare was opposite of American one, which was separated into
smaller and smaller subspecialties; Hmong carried holism; Hmong preoccupation with
medical issues was nothing less than a preoccupation with life
Hmong man would come in with a stomachache saying that the entire universe was out of
balance; doctors frequently failed to satisfy their Hmong patients
Doctors could hardly respect their patient’s system of health beliefs, since the medical
schools never informed them that diseases are caused by fugitive souls and cured by
jugulated chickens
o None of them had a single hour of instruction in cross-cultural medicine
o To most of them, Hmong taboos of modern medicine, seemed like ignorance
o What the doctors viewed as clinical efficiency, the Hmong viewed as arrogance
Some Hmong, thought doctors favored, the rich, that they only wanted to study their
bodies not the problem, would ignore you, thinks that they know nothing because they
are a refugee
o All of these people speak English, and thus belong to the most educated and most
Americanized Hmong in Merced the people most likely to understand and value
Western medical care
Hmong view the hospital as a dreaded last resort to be hazarded only when all else fails
In the early 1980s, when they were admitted to the hospital, they brought their own food
and medicines; sometimes wanted to slaughter live animals in the hospital
Neil and Peggy called Child Protective Services for child abuse; before the case was
prosecuted the learned that the lesions on the child were the result of dermal treatments
rubbing the skin with coins or igniting alcohol-soaked cotton under a tiny cut to create a
vacuum traditional healing art among Asian ethnic groups
High stakes if doctors made a tactical error in dealing with the Hmong
Doctors would appear disrespectful if attended to a young girl rather than an old man;
also disrespectful if tried to maintain friendly eye contact, touched the head of an adult
without permission, or beckoned with a crooked finger; would also lose respect if didn’t
act like authority figures
Doctors could get in trouble if didn’t take Hmong’s religious beliefs into account; don’t
put someone in psych ward just because they have weird religious beliefs
Compared to other patients, the Hmong were not only trickier, but sicker
Before receiving clearance to enter the U.S., they need to be free of 8 contagious diseases
and 8 mental conditions; the exams are easy to do; no screening for mental conditions
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