I am a Hmong woman who was born and raised here in the United States. I can relate to this woman in so many ways as I too married young at the age of 14 and had experienced some domestic violence as well. I have experienced going through the clan system in solving my problems with my husband and to this day, it has worked for us in some ways. I found that mothers are effective mediators in conflicts and more understanding with the wife's situation. I also found that communication is key in our relationship. Before my husband will voice his concerns over the housework and meals but I find that if I am assertive in telling him about why I have been so busy, we usually work something out like cooking together or going out to eat. We currently have a 9 year old daughter and I have been able to finish high school, get an associate's degree, and pursue college. I have one year left until I get my BA in social work. I consider myself very fortunate to have come all this way from very similar socioeconomic situations like the Hmong woman in this broadcast. Thank you so much for doing a story on our community where speaking out is shamed and women's rights are not upheld by a patriarchal clan system. I believe that education is the key to understanding root causes of our community's domestic violence issues and I believe that when more Hmong get educated about domestic violence being as being a social problem, we can become more supportive of the victims.
The main character in this Wisconsin Public Radio documentary is a Hmong woman in a bad marriage. She marries young (age 13), her family doesn't teach her how to cook and her new husband beats her. "They told me to cook a certain meal and I didn't know how so they said, 'How come I'm such a stupid wife. That I was useless.'" In the Hmong language, Tsim Txom means suffering. There's plenty of that in this in-depth documentary produced by Brian Bull. It's a well-reported piece, but it doesn't have the emotional impact one might expect with such a topic. The problem is partly one of style. The storytelling is traditional. The voice of the subject is heard complaining about her husband (who she ultimately leaves) and then we hear the reporter's voice. This might have been more moving if the subject narrated the story (such as in several David Isay and Dan Collison/Elizabeth Meister documentaries) or the reporter created richer scenes, perhaps by leaving in his questions or interactions with the subject. Another idea might be to use music to serve as a bridge between the subject's recollections. Of course, it's incredibly difficult to do all this and share information with the listener about Hmong culture and domestic violence. The quality of reporting on these subjects make this a documentary worth licensing.
This is overall a wonderful story about the problems of a community that's not too well known to outsiders. Domestic abuse no matter which community its occurring in is a topic that's still laden with taboos and needs to be dragged out into the public sphere a lot more than is currently happening, so kudos to the producers for bringing the subject out to air - especially in the context of this mysterious and (to outsiders) unknown community of the Hmong in the US.
As a European broadcaster however I feel that there's just too much (needless) narration in there. Why US stations feel that the American narrator needs to tell a story that the interviewees are doing perfectly well is something that continues to perplex me. In this case the speakers were good, their English fine and clear, their stories powerful. The male narrator's storyline just got in the way and sucked out quite a lot of emotion from what is in the end an appalling human rights story. An abused wife finally leaves her husband, we're told as some unnecessary music elbows its way in. Then we move onto another speaker. My response as a listener, as a woman, as a mother is "hang on - did she take her kids with her? Where did she go? How did she survive?" I wanted to know the answers but only get some information of her fate at the end of the programme, though not nearly as much as I would have liked.
However it's an easy listen and the time flies by - there are great stories in here and lots of interesting information about a traditional community coping with integration.
Comments for Tsim Txom: Domestic Violence in Hmong Society
Produced by Brian Bull
Other pieces by Wisconsin Public Radio
Rating Summary
3 comments
Pang Yang
Posted on November 12, 2011 at 11:56 AM | Permalink
Review of Tsim Txom: Domestic Violence in Hmong Society
I am a Hmong woman who was born and raised here in the United States. I can relate to this woman in so many ways as I too married young at the age of 14 and had experienced some domestic violence as well. I have experienced going through the clan system in solving my problems with my husband and to this day, it has worked for us in some ways. I found that mothers are effective mediators in conflicts and more understanding with the wife's situation. I also found that communication is key in our relationship. Before my husband will voice his concerns over the housework and meals but I find that if I am assertive in telling him about why I have been so busy, we usually work something out like cooking together or going out to eat. We currently have a 9 year old daughter and I have been able to finish high school, get an associate's degree, and pursue college. I have one year left until I get my BA in social work. I consider myself very fortunate to have come all this way from very similar socioeconomic situations like the Hmong woman in this broadcast. Thank you so much for doing a story on our community where speaking out is shamed and women's rights are not upheld by a patriarchal clan system. I believe that education is the key to understanding root causes of our community's domestic violence issues and I believe that when more Hmong get educated about domestic violence being as being a social problem, we can become more supportive of the victims.
Todd Melby
Posted on November 02, 2006 at 12:47 PM | Permalink
Review of Tsim Txom: Domestic Violence in Hmong Society
The main character in this Wisconsin Public Radio documentary is a Hmong woman in a bad marriage. She marries young (age 13), her family doesn't teach her how to cook and her new husband beats her. "They told me to cook a certain meal and I didn't know how so they said, 'How come I'm such a stupid wife. That I was useless.'" In the Hmong language, Tsim Txom means suffering. There's plenty of that in this in-depth documentary produced by Brian Bull. It's a well-reported piece, but it doesn't have the emotional impact one might expect with such a topic. The problem is partly one of style. The storytelling is traditional. The voice of the subject is heard complaining about her husband (who she ultimately leaves) and then we hear the reporter's voice. This might have been more moving if the subject narrated the story (such as in several David Isay and Dan Collison/Elizabeth Meister documentaries) or the reporter created richer scenes, perhaps by leaving in his questions or interactions with the subject. Another idea might be to use music to serve as a bridge between the subject's recollections. Of course, it's incredibly difficult to do all this and share information with the listener about Hmong culture and domestic violence. The quality of reporting on these subjects make this a documentary worth licensing.
Dheera Sujan
Posted on March 01, 2006 at 01:06 AM | Permalink
Review of Tsim Txom: Domestic Violence in Hmong Society
This is overall a wonderful story about the problems of a community that's not too well known to outsiders. Domestic abuse no matter which community its occurring in is a topic that's still laden with taboos and needs to be dragged out into the public sphere a lot more than is currently happening, so kudos to the producers for bringing the subject out to air - especially in the context of this mysterious and (to outsiders) unknown community of the Hmong in the US.
As a European broadcaster however I feel that there's just too much (needless) narration in there. Why US stations feel that the American narrator needs to tell a story that the interviewees are doing perfectly well is something that continues to perplex me. In this case the speakers were good, their English fine and clear, their stories powerful. The male narrator's storyline just got in the way and sucked out quite a lot of emotion from what is in the end an appalling human rights story. An abused wife finally leaves her husband, we're told as some unnecessary music elbows its way in. Then we move onto another speaker. My response as a listener, as a woman, as a mother is "hang on - did she take her kids with her? Where did she go? How did she survive?" I wanted to know the answers but only get some information of her fate at the end of the programme, though not nearly as much as I would have liked.
However it's an easy listen and the time flies by - there are great stories in here and lots of interesting information about a traditional community coping with integration.