HOME: Conversations with Ourselves

Paul Vang (Milwaukee, WI) in conversation with May June Paw (Milwaukee, WI) on June 11, 2020

Part 1: June 11, 2020, [length of segment: 10 minutes] The interview is divided in two parts for easier viewing. To learn more about HOME: https://www.home-at-lynden.org/ As part of our virtual HOME 2020 work, we are interviewing refugees that have resettled to the United States, including both friends and family that are based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as well as those that remain overseas. These interviews are reflections of relationships and conversations that we continue to have long after resettlement; they explore issues that our refugee friends and family members continue to face as they remain in their country of origin or interim country. About Paul Vang Paul Vang serves as the Civic Engagement Director at HAWA, the Hmong American Women’s Association. He is a former science educator and is passionate about helping to build power within the Southeast Asian community by engaging in conversations with people at their doors, hosting educational events that are open to the public, and educating elected officials on the Southeast Asian population here in Milwaukee. About May June Paw May June Paw is a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, majoring in Elementary Education. Her active involvement in the Karen refugee community led her to volunteer at SEA Literacy, at her local church, and with the Karen American Association of Milwaukee. Leading up to HOME and World Refugee Day 2020, and for Lynden’s 10th Annual Winter Carnival, May June organized a Karen-Thai table serving savory snacks and desserts while engaging with the public on the Karen diaspora in Milwaukee and forced displacement faced by Karen refugees.

Part 2: June 11, 2020, [7 minutes, 52 seconds] The interview is divided in two parts for easier viewing. To learn more about HOME: https://www.home-at-lynden.org/ As part of our virtual HOME 2020 work, we are interviewing refugees that have resettled to the United States, including both friends and family that are based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as well as those that remain overseas. These interviews are reflections of relationships and conversations that we continue to have long after resettlement; they explore issues that our refugee friends and family members continue to face as they remain in their country of origin or interim country. About Paul Vang Paul Vang serves as the Civic Engagement Director at HAWA, the Hmong American Women’s Association. He is a former science educator and is passionate about helping to build power within the Southeast Asian community by engaging in conversations with people at their doors, hosting educational events that are open to the public, and educating elected officials on the Southeast Asian population here in Milwaukee. About May June Paw May June Paw is a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, majoring in Elementary Education. Her active involvement in the Karen refugee community led her to volunteer at SEA Literacy, at her local church, and with the Karen American Association of Milwaukee. Leading up to HOME and World Refugee Day 2020, and for Lynden’s 10th Annual Winter Carnival, May June organized a Karen-Thai table serving savory snacks and desserts while engaging with the public on the Karen diaspora in Milwaukee and forced displacement faced by Karen refugees.

As part of our virtual HOME 2020 work, we are interviewing refugees that have resettled to the United States, including both friends and family that are based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as well as those that remain overseas. These interviews are reflections of relationships and conversations that we continue to have long after resettlement; they explore issues that our refugee friends and family members continue to face as they remain in their country of origin or interim country.

About Paul Vang
Paul Vang serves as the Civic Engagement Director at HAWA, the Hmong American Women’s Association. He is a former science educator and is passionate about helping to build power within the Southeast Asian community by engaging in conversations with people at their doors, hosting educational events that are open to the public, and educating elected officials on the Southeast Asian population here in Milwaukee. He is also a member of the HOME Refugee Steering Committee at Lynden, and the moderator for HOME: Conversations on Black Lives Matter.

About May June Paw
May June Paw is a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, majoring in Elementary Education. She is a volunteer for Aurora Walker's Point Community Clinic and in her free time, May likes to help children with their homework and others with interpretation and translations. As a member of the Refugee Steering Committee at Lynden, she organized a Karen-Thai table serving savory snacks and desserts for Lynden’s 10th Annual Winter Carnival. She used this opportunity to engage with the public on the Karen diaspora in Milwaukee and the forced displacement that has made so many Karen people refugees.

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