Skip to content Skip to search

Republish This Story

* Please read before republishing *

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Creative Commons license as long as you follow our republishing guidelines, which require that you credit The 19th and retain our pixel. See our full guidelines for more information.

To republish, simply copy the HTML at right, which includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to The 19th. Have questions? Please email [email protected].

— The Editors

Loading...

Modal Gallery

/
Sign up for our newsletter

Menu

  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships
    • From the Collection

      Changing Child Care

      Illustration of a woman feeding a baby a bottle
      • 1 in 4 parents report being fired for work interruptions due to child care breakdowns

        Chabeli Carrazana · February 2
      • Washington, D.C., offers financial relief to local child care workers

        Orion Rummler · September 20
      • As climate change worsens hurricane season in Louisiana, doulas are ensuring parents can safely feed their babies

        Jessica Kutz · May 5
    • From the Collection

      Next-Gen GOP

      Illustration of a woman riding an elephant
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • A banner year for Republican women

        Amanda Becker · November 11
      • Republican women could double representation in the U.S. House

        Amanda Becker · November 4
    • From the Collection

      On The Rise

      Illustration of three women marching
      • Can Cheri Beasley build a winning coalition in North Carolina?

        Candice Norwood · October 11
      • Los Angeles has never elected a woman mayor. Karen Bass hopes to change that.

        Nadra Nittle · September 8
      • Judge J. Michelle Childs is confirmed to D.C. appeals court

        Candice Norwood · July 20
    • From the Collection

      Pandemic Within a Pandemic

      Illustration of four people marching for Black Lives Matter with coronavirus as the backdrop
      • Some LGBTQ+ people worry that the COVID-19 vaccine will affect HIV medication. It won’t.

        Orion Rummler · November 23
      • Why are more men dying from COVID? It’s a complicated story of nature vs. nurture, researchers say

        Mariel Padilla · September 22
      • Few incarcerated women were released during COVID. The ones who remain have struggled.

        Candice Norwood · August 17
    • From the Collection

      Portraits of a Pandemic

      Illustration of a woman wearing a mask and holding up the coronavirus
      • For family caregivers, COVID is a mental health crisis in the making

        Shefali Luthra · October 8
      • A new database tracks COVID-19’s effects on sex and gender

        Shefali Luthra · September 15
      • Pregnant in a pandemic: The 'perfect storm for a crisis'

        Shefali Luthra · August 25
    • From the Collection

      The 19th Explains

      People walking from many articles to one article where they can get the context they need on an issue.
      • The 19th Explains: What we know about Brittney Griner’s case and what it took to get her home

        Candice Norwood, Katherine Gilyard · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why the Respect for Marriage Act doesn’t codify same-sex marriage rights

        Kate Sosin · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why baby formula is still hard to find months after the shortage

        Mariel Padilla · December 1
    • From the Collection

      The Electability Myth

      Illustration of three women speaking at podiums
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • Stepping in after tragedy: How political wives became widow lawmakers

        Mariel Padilla · May 24
      • Do term limits help women candidates? New York could be a new testing ground

        Barbara Rodriguez · January 11
    • From the Collection

      The Impact of Aging

      A number of older people walking down a path of information.
      • From ballroom dancing to bloodshed, the older AAPI community grapples with gun control

        Nadra Nittle, Mariel Padilla · January 27
      • 'I'm planning on working until the day I die': Older women voters are worried about the future

        Mariel Padilla · June 3
      • Climate change is forcing care workers to act as first responders

        Jessica Kutz · May 31
    • From the Collection

      Voting Rights

      A series of hands reaching for ballots.
      • Connecticut voters approved early voting. Here’s how their new secretary of state wants to make it happen.

        Barbara Rodriguez · February 13
      • Women lawmakers in Minnesota are in the vanguard of the democracy movement

        Barbara Rodriguez · February 3
      • Election workers believe in our system — and want everyone else to, too

        Barbara Rodriguez, Jennifer Gerson · November 8

    View all collections

  • Explore by Topic

    • 19th Polling
    • Abortion
    • Business & Economy
    • Caregiving
    • Coronavirus
    • Education
    • Election 2020
    • Election 2022
    • Election 2024
    • Environment & Climate
    • Health
    • Immigration
    • Inside The 19th
    • Justice
    • LGBTQ+
    • Military
    • Politics
    • Press Release
    • Race
    • Sports
    • Technology

    View All Topics

Home
  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships

We’re an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy. Read our story.

The 19th News(letter)

News from reporters who represent you and your communities.

Please check your email to confirm your subscription!

Submitting...

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Become a member

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

Catzie Vilayphonh
Catzie Vilayphonh, founder of Laos in the House, in Philadelphia. Jose F. Moreno/Philadelphia Inquirer

Coronavirus

Lao artist mourns sense of community during coronavirus

“To be able to celebrate our holidays in public, it took a long time to get here … Now we’re almost back to Square One," said Catzie Vilayphonh. "The way in which we celebrate traditions is to ourselves again.”

Errin Haines

Editor-at-large

Errin Haines portrait

Published

2020-05-23 08:10
8:10
May 23, 2020
am

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

This collection, Portraits of a Pandemic, is a co-production between The Philadelphia Inquirer and The 19th. This work is supported by the Pulitzer Center and The Lenfest Institute.

Catzie Vilayphonh will remember 2020 as the saddest Lao New Year.

Normally a time to gather and reunite with friends and relatives, with rituals, foods, and familiar customs, this year’s celebrations for the mid-April holiday were canceled amid the pandemic.

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

“If you’re living alone, you can’t give yourself a blessing,” said the 39-year-old poet. “So you miss out on this idea of someone wishing you a great and prosperous new year. Being social isn’t just about having friends and being liked. It’s also about people acknowledging your presence.”

With the stay-at-home order in place in the city through May, Philadelphians with Asian roots have had to mark Asian American Heritage Month indoors. The pandemic has cost thousands of lives and millions of jobs, but also lost in the months of staying at home is the sense of community and culture central to many Americans, including among many immigrants and refugees.

Vilayphonh is one of the keepers of Lao tradition and culture in the city. Her family settled in Philadelphia when she was an infant, and she grew up translating English and navigating much of American culture for her parents. While they didn’t explicitly instill in her a sense of pride in being Lao, her family did lead Vilayphonh to embrace her identity.

As an artist, she writes poetry confronting stereotypes against Asian women. And in 2015, she opened Laos in the House, a nonprofit arts organization that promotes storytelling among Lao American refugees.

“Growing up, the people who lived in our neighborhoods or lived near the temples knew who we were, because they saw us out and celebrating, wearing our clothes and eating our foods,” Vilayphonh said.

“To be able to celebrate our holidays in public, it took a long time to get here. … Now we’re almost back to Square One. The way in which we celebrate traditions is to ourselves again.”

Maintaining the sense of shared experience has been a challenge during the pandemic, especially among older community members who either lack access to technology or aren’t comfortable with it. In many ways, Vilayphonh finds herself again acting as a bridge and a translator.

Her latest effort through the gallery is an oral history project, “Sukapop Sap!” which, loosely translated, means “delicious health.” The premise is based around younger Laotians interviewing older family members about dishes they created in refugee camps, using food memories as stories of adaptability and survival. The recorded conversations will be posted online.

Stories by experienced reporters you can trust and relate to.

Delivered directly to your inbox every weekday.

Please check your email to confirm your subscription!

Submitting…

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Vilayphonh’s work will also be featured in an upcoming show at the Asian Arts Initiative. The virtual exhibit, “Thank You, No Thank You,” is timed to the 45th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. It will focus on Asian refugee identity and the idea of “good immigrant behavior,” and examine the role American foreign policy had in their becoming refugees.

Remaining a visible cultural ambassador feels like urgent work that Vilayphonh thought might not always be relevant. During the pandemic, racial backlash against Asian Americans has increased across the country, with President Trump frequently referring to COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus.” In Philadelphia, Asian-owned businesses have suffered as others have blamed them for spreading coronavirus.

Vilayphonh said that for some of her Asian friends and family, the pandemic “affects your identity and what you can and can’t be proud of.”

“This has given me pause to think about the kinds of things I would like to focus on and what is necessary,” she said. “You think we’ve made progress, but then something traumatic happens, and the whole world changes on you.”

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

The 19th News(letter)

News from reporters who represent you and your communities.

Please check your email to confirm your subscription!

Submitting...

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Become a member

From the Collection

Portraits of a Pandemic

Illustration of a woman wearing a mask and holding up the coronavirus
  • For family caregivers, COVID is a mental health crisis in the making

    Shefali Luthra · October 8
  • A new database tracks COVID-19’s effects on sex and gender

    Shefali Luthra · September 15
  • Pregnant in a pandemic: The 'perfect storm for a crisis'

    Shefali Luthra · August 25

Up Next

Children playing on a swing set with snow on the ground.

Coronavirus

The pandemic upended child care. It could be devastating for women.

As states reopen their economies, some have yet to issue a specific plan for child-care facilities. Industry groups predict that a third to half of child-care centers may not reopen at all.

Read the Story

The 19th
The 19th is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Our stories are free to republish in accordance with these guidelines.

  • Donate
  • Newsletter
  • Events
  • Search
  • Jobs
  • Fellowships
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Community Guidelines
  • Membership
  • Membership FAQ
  • Major Gifts
  • Sponsorship
  • Privacy
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram