Blia Yao Moua Character Analysis

A Hmong community leader in Merced, and the director of an organization—Lao Family Community—that helps Hmong people apply for job training, navigate the bureaucratic difficulties of receiving public assistance, and stay up-to-date with news from Laos and Thailand. Like Jonas Vangay, he earned a master’s degree from a French university before moving to California. Blia’s father, the “administrative leader” of a Laotian city, was assassinated by the Pathet Lao—a communist army—when Blia was only nine years old. He tells Fadiman, whom he introduces to the Lee family, that he dreams of creating Hmongtown, a section of Merced devoted to Hmong culture and living. Unfortunately, Fadiman eventually discovers that Blia has tired of his stressful work in Merced; not long after resigning from Lao Family Community, he moves to Minnesota.