The Montagnard Youth

Hello Everyone,

My name is Vivian Ko Sa Siu and I am a freshman in college. My mother is Cil(Koho) and my father is part Bahnar and part Jarai. I was born in Los Angeles, California but I now reside in Georgia. I would like to know if there are any other young Montagnards in America. I came across a website that discussed the Vietnam ethnic minorities. This website stated firmly that the tribal people of Vietnam will be extinct in 2015. I want to help my people but I can not do it alone. Our community in America is still not strong like other Asian communities. We still have not made an impact in American society like other Asians have done successfully. People still do not know the central highlanders of Vietnam. When I was applying to colleges and scholarship communities, there were Asian ethnicity fill in choices like Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Hmong, but of course, there was not a choice for "Montagnard". I had to pick the choice "Other". When people asked me for my Asian ethnicity, they do not know the term "Montagnard". No one knows. I just explained to them that I am a descendant of Vietnam ethnic minorities. I want the younger Montagnards to have a smoother road so that they do not need to struggle with their identity. So if you are a young Montagnard who is determined to preserve your heritage, please contact other young Montagnards. You know the saying, two chopsticks work better than one chopstick. Encourage the youth to stay in school. Education can do so much for an individual in America. The old generation will not be here forever. It is up to us, the Montagnard youth, to maintain our culture. I would also love to know more about the history of the Vietnam Central Highlanders. I am researching right now on the tribes but there is so much information that was lost in Southeast Asian history. We have to know history because history repeats itself. Please email me.

sincerely, Vivian