"Kuv txiv, txhua txhia qhov chaw hauv lub ntiaj teb no yog thoj nam tawg rog lod?"
Tus me ntxhais Kalia yeej tsis paub lub neej dhau ntawm lub laj kab ntawm Lub Yeej Thoj Nam Tawg Rog Zos Vib Nais li. Lub yeej thoj nam taw grog nyob rau Thaib teb tau muaj ntau txhiab tsev neeg Hmoob uas khiav tawm tom Kev Ua Tsov Rog Nyas Quav Txias hauv Nplog teb uas tau tshwm sim thaum lub sij hawm Meskas Tuaj Ua Tsov Rog Nrog Nyab. Hais txog rau Kalia thiab nws cov nus muag, lub neej tsis yog ib qho yooj yim tab sis lawv tseem nrhiav txoj hauv kev los ua si, khiav caum qaib thiab caij lawv cov dev uas ntxim hlub.
Thaum nyuam qhuav muaj plaub lub xyoos xwb, Kalia twb yeej txawj xav txog qhov chaw nws yuav nyob hauv lub ntiaj teb no lawm. Thaum nws nug txog yam uas nyob dhau laj kab sab nrauv lawm, thaum xub thawj nws txiv kuj tsis tuaj yeem teb nws tau. Tab sis hnub tom qab, nws txiv coj nws mus rau ntawm tsob ntoo siab tshaj plaws hauv lub yeej tawg rog thiab, muab nws puag ruaj ruaj rau hauv nws txiv xub ntiag, ua rau Kalia pom tias lub ntiaj teb no nthuav dav npaum li cas.
Kao Kalia Yang cov lus sau sib dhos uas tu siab heev thiab Rachel Wada cov duab kos piav qhia uas ua rau pom zim zuag lub neej ntawm zaj dab neeg tiag tiag txog txoj kev hlub ntawm leej txiv thiab ib tug ntxhais.
"Father, is all of the world a refugee camp?"
Young Kalia has never known life beyond the fences of the Ban Vinai Refugee Camp. The Thai camp holds many thousands of Hmong families who fled in the aftermath of the little-known Secret War in Laos that was waged during America's Vietnam War. For Kalia and her cousins, life isn't always easy, but they still find ways to play, racing with chickens and riding a beloved pet dog.
Just four years old, Kalia is still figuring out her place in the world. When she asks what is beyond the fence, at first her father has no answers for her. But on the following day, he leads her to the tallest tree in the camp and, secure in her father's arms, Kalia sees the spread of a world beyond.
Kao Kalia Yang's sensitive prose, now translated into Hmong, and Rachel Wada's evocative illustrations bring to life this tender true story of the love between a father and a daughter.
