Immigrant's $1.3B Powerball win spotlights the Iu Mien community
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Cheng “Charlie” Saephan wore a broad smile and a bright blue sash emblazoned with the words “Iu-Mien USA” as he hoisted an oversized check for $1.3 billion above his head.
The 46-year-old immigrant’s luck in winning an enormous Powerball jackpot in Oregon earlier this month — a lump sum payment of $422 million after taxes, which he and his wife will split with a friend — has changed his life. It also raised awareness about Iu Mien people, a southeast Asian ethnic group with origins in China, many of whose members fled from Laos to Thailand and then settled in the U.S. following the Vietnam War.
“I am born in Laos, but I am not Laotian,” Saephan told a news conference Monday at Oregon Lottery headquarters, where his identity as one of the jackpot’s winners was revealed. “I am Iu Mien.”
During the Vietnam War, the CIA and U.S. military recruited Iu Mien in neighboring Laos, many of them subsistence farmers, to engage in guerrilla warfare and to provide intelligence and surveillance to disrupt the Ho Chi Minh Trail that the North Vietnamese used to send troops and weapons through Laos and Cambodia into South Vietnam.
Related articles
Cannes 2024: Studio Ghibli takes a bow with an honorary Palme d'Or
CANNES, France (AP) — Studio Ghibli, the Japanese anime factory of surreal ecological wonders that h2024-05-22Kentucky Derby: What it's like at Churchill Downs for 150th Run for the Roses
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — When Lori Hennesy imagined her outfit for the 150th running of the Kentucky D2024-05-22Will Prince Harry get to see his busy father, King Charles, when he visits the UK?
When Prince Harry visits Britain this week, he will attend an event just two miles from his sick fat2024-05-22- LOS ANGELES (AP) — Max Muncy had the first three home run game of his career along with four RBIs, S2024-05-22
Kate Hudson hits the stage to debut songs from her new album Glorious at star
Kate Hudson looked like a pro as she performed songs from her new album Glorious for the first time.2024-05-22Tilda Swinton, 63, shows off her unique style in rare outing with long
Tilda Swinton was spotted in a rare outing looking loved up with her long-term partner Sandro Kopp,2024-05-22
atest comment