suarezdelrio

This is a lovely, timely book - the account of this true story serves as a microcosm for the challenges of cross-cultural communicaton facing the U.S. today. An ancient hill-tribe culture clashes with post-industrial Western society when a large community of Hmong refugees settles in Merced, CA. The main focus of the narrative is the ensuing problems that arise in the delivery of healthcare to this immigrant population. The language barrier turns out to be the least of Merced's problems. The hospitals and doctors of Merced are ill-equipped for communicating with a people who believe deeply that everything has a spiritual component, that a shaman must retrieve the wandering souls of the sick, that animal sacrifices, coin rubbing, and herbal concoctions are essential to the healing process, and that Western medicine is not to be trusted. The author does a commendable job of telling this story even-handedly - we feel for the parents, for the doctors, and the social workers - everything was done with the very best of intentions and the most tragic of consequences. Along the way, the reader learns a good deal about the fascinating history, beliefs, and traditions of the Hmong. There are no easy solutions when deeply-held cultural values conflict, but the author's compassionate analysis puts us on the path toward solutions - which will undoubtedly involve compromise, mutual respect, sensitivity, and the assistance of those few precious folks who straddle the divide between two cultures - the cultural liaisons.

2023-02-27 06:52