Some of the first Montagnard immigrants, people from a mountain region of Southeast Asia, to came to North Carolina in 1986 and 1987. They were granted refugee status in recognition of their support to the U.S. Special Forces during the Vietnam War. But since then, the newest immigrants have made their way to America because they were fleeing religious and political prosecution. TheMontagnard families live in two worlds: one that is still close to the traditions and ways of their homeland and the other in modern American society. Host Frank Stasio talks with film producer and curator of education at the Greensboro Historical Museum, Dean MacLeod, about his upcoming film, This Is My Home Now, which profiles four Montagnard students living in Greensboro, North Carolina; and one of the students featured in the film, H De Nie.
Interested watching This Is My Home Now? View the trailer below:
This is My Home Now explores the lives of four youths from three Montagnard immigrant families who have fled their homelands in Southeast Asia to forge a new future in North Carolina. There are up to 20,000 Montagnards in America from many different tribes. They live among us, but are often not understood or recognized for their place in U.S. history. The subjects of the film, Mai Butrang, Philip Krongkon and sisters H De and H Lysa Nie, grapple with questions about self-identity, about losing their cultural heritage and about the role of faith. Experiences of hardship and of remarkable support on their journey make for a compelling story whose themes are universal.
