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Khamsone

@_khamsone_

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Perpetual Dilettante.
Adventurer, writer, daydreamer, creative mother of 3. Advocate & humanitarian. Vice Chair @legaciesofwar

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Me: I don’t really wear pink

Also me:

…xoxo😘 by @_khamsone_

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a year ago

✨Link in my bio✨

Thank you @legaciesofwar

Such and impactful experience for me.

@legaciesofwar

Thank you to our board member, Khamsone, for writing this extraordinary piece and thank you to USA Today for publishing. The trip to Laos was especially meaningful for Khamsone, who was returning for the first time since leaving as a child during the American Secret War.

"...I had sworn that I’d return when I reached my 18th birthday in 1992. But back then, Laos was still unstable. It was still recovering from both the war in neighboring Vietnam and the American secret war – when between 1964 and 1973, the United States dropped more than 2.5 million tons of ordnance on Laos, making it the most heavily bombed country per capita in history – the secret war that my family fled. I was recovering, too, but I knew I’d go back one day. College, work and raising children delayed the dream.

Four decades later, I returned to Laos the same way I left – by way of Thailand. Then, we fled by boat in the darkest hour of night and in a state of urgency and fear. This time, I flew on Lao Airlines across the Mekong River to the capital city Vientiane..."

Visit the link in our bio or pick up a copy of today's USA Today newspaper to read the full piece.

Photo: @bykayleblee

#refugeestories #unhcr americanimmigrant #usatoday #comingtoamerica #unhcr #womeninart #unhcr unhcr #refugees #unitednations #un #peace #womenshistorymonth #halotrust
#laoamerican #internationalwomansday #unhcr #aapi #minesadvisorygroup #mag #aapiheritagemonth #asianamerican #asiansinamerica #worldpeace #humanitarian #redtabletalk #phoenix #arizona #usatoday #usa taken in Laos by @_khamsone_

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4 years ago

FYI - my kids are living abroad!

My middle child Somchit and his fiancee Nichole just moved to Thailand for their Asia adventure living abroad tour - so proud of them! And their sidekick dog Wilson #letsnotforgetthedog

AND - they have a @youtube channel LINK IN MY BIO
Follow and subscribe to see what these 2 are up to!

Send pics of the food @nicholemdc

Miss you both💖

@nicholemdc her travel era✨ by @_khamsone_

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2 months ago

❤️When dreams come true through your children…

🌹CONGRATULATIONS to my handsome romantic storybook phantom son Somchit, and his main character femme fatale FIANCÉE Nichole

@nicholemdc Betrothed✨ by @_khamsone_

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3 months ago

Tomorrow, June 20th, we are honoring World Refugee Day through conversation with Southeast Asian American artists. We hope you will join us for this FREE and virtual event and meet these creators who are shaping a new generation of what it looks like to preserve our culture and memory.

https://legaciesofwar.funraise.org/page/world-refugee-day by @_khamsone_

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4 months ago

PLEASE JOIN US! June 20th!

For refugees, war and displacement have erased generations of family archives, memories, and oral histories. Scattered recollections and treasured artifacts become the fragments from which we reconstruct our journeys, from homeland to new home.

To honor World Refugee Day and these heroic acts of preservation, Legacies of War will be in conversation Southeast Asian American artists: Kayleb Lee, Taen Bounthapanya, and Nurhaliza Mohamath, with remarks from Ryan Wolfson-Ford, Library of Congress.

Saturday, June 20, 12:30 PT/3:30 ET

REGISTER TODAY!
https://legaciesofwar.funraise.org/page/world-refugee-day

Together, we will explore storytelling as an act of preservation. As The U.S. marks 250 years, we reflect on our shared roots of displacement and our collective responsibility to preserve these stories for generations to come.

Registered participants will receive exclusive links from the artists in advance of the event. by @_khamsone_

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4 months ago

Warning: This post is pure flex.
In honor of Devil Wears Prada 2 - just wanted to remind myself of this one epic time I met #annawintour @voguemagazine back in 2022!

If I ever doubt myself as an artist/designer/community advocate - I’ll remind myself I got invited to this!

Just watched the movie and I’m OBSESSED. Go already you!!!

**Notice she is wearing a Monet print dress and I am wearing Van Gogh - total coincidence!

Bisou bisou💋 by @_khamsone_

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5 months ago

✨Today is International Women’s Day✨

( Read the full article @usatoday
Link in my bio )

I don’t repost this article every year, but at this moment in time - I am reminded that not much has changed in the world in the 50 years since I emigrated to the US as a war refugee after the Fall of Saigon and the American Secret War in Laos.

*****
When I was born, my father gave me a man’s name, the English equivalent of Bruce, Thomas or Edgar. Everyone outside of the family was under the impression he had a firstborn son. It was what my father wanted them to believe.

When my sister was born 11 months later, he gave her a very strong, masculine name, too. My mother did not like it but did not question it. We were in a war; there were more important priorities, like the safety of her daughters. My parents knew war could do unspeakable things to women and girls.

Growing up in Phoenix with my father, there was always a sense of secrecy. My father never talked about the Vietnam War or America’s secret war in Laos. I learned about all this only when I was researching my own history and discovered that although both wars ended nearly five decades ago, the casualties continued.

From 1964 to 1973, the United States dropped more than 2 million tons of ordnance on Laos during 580,000 bombing missions – equal to a planeload of bombs every eight minutes, 24 hours a day, for nine years – making Laos the most heavily bombed country per capita in history.

Millions of these bombs did not explode on impact. But in the last 50 years - at least 25,000 people have been killed or injured in Laos by unexploded ordnance, most of them children.“

*****
#legacieslibrary
Learn about unexploded ordnance (UXO) and the American Secret War in Laos @legaciesofwar

Learn how you can help and support @legaciesofwar

PS. The name “Khamsone” has recently been given to more girls in the last few decades :) by @_khamsone_

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7 months ago

Flashback to my fashionable days @azcostumeinstitute @phxart

As the annual Holiday Luncheon is coming up - I am reminiscing about my love affair with vintage dresses.

This vintage yellow dress. Just divine. Made with light weight wool with little daisies on the collar and she had a CAPE (watteau actually).

I found it in Ithaca, NY of all places, a small local antique shop on a dirt road about 8 minutes from downtown.

I almost scrapped it.

I was looking for a vintage dress to up-cycle for a summer course on textiles & sustainability that I was doing at Cornell.
I saw the yellow, touched the fabric and grabbed it. As I took it to the cashier, I noticed the long fabric piece hanging from it, had a closer look and saw that it was some sort of scarf, it turned out to be a cape or what is actually known as a watteau, commonly found in 1960s vintage - and decided to wear it instead!

…xoxo

#vintagedress #1960s #fashion by @_khamsone_

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10 months ago

Last month I was invited as vice chair @legaciesofwar to speak on a panel in DC with some really amazing women🌹

🙏I appreciate everyone who helped make it happen! Especially our volunteers and Legacies Advocacy Ambassadors!

I was joined by rockstars Quyen Dinh with Southeast Asia Resource Action Center @searac, Susan Hammond with War Legacies Project @warlegaciesproject, Rebecca Giovannozzi with Peace Trees Vietnam @peacetreesvietnam and the star of the panel our dear friend and published writer Kit Norland, author of The Saigon Sisters: Privileged women in the Resistance.

We talked about many things including war, women, mothers, memory, trauma, resistance, resilience, and secrets - I even shared a few words as a daughter of war survivors and my own mother’s experience.

✨One major thing I learned - there are so many #untoldstories out there about women and war, women who survived and women who didn’t - even untold stories about our own mothers.

MUST READ. The Saigon Sisters is about nine affluent Vietnamese women who became forces in the underground resistance during the War in Vietnam. https://www.thesaigonsisters.com/

🌹I highly recommend reading this book, it has become a favorite part of my home library. by @_khamsone_

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a year ago

Hello friends with Lao textiles!

My online sewing studio on Etsy is finally open! Follow my artist account @xiengderella for the link to the studio and get your pre-orders in before January!

**These photos don’t show how beautiful they are on a person. I am getting pics of them on my sister this weekend🤣 DM me with any questions!

🌹Fashion Fundraiser🌹 for @legaciesofwar

✨For Friends without Sinh - I have some fantastic surprises coming your way!

🔥To acknowledge that it is 52 years since the last bomb dropped in Laos and the end of the American Secret War in Laos (1964-1973) - I am opening up 52 slots for custom sewing as a fundraiser.

🔥More info on the history of the American Secret War in Laos @legaciesofwar (or read links in my bio)

#fashiondesign #laoamerican #customdesign #textiles #laotextiles #textileart by @_khamsone_

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a year ago

💃I’ve been a little busy working in my home studio on ways that I can combine my love for LAO TEXTILES, art and advocacy.

🌹FASHION FUNDRAISING🌹 Benefitting @legaciesofwar

This is for all the Ladies who have a bunch of pa sinh, or Lao traditional textiles!!

🔥If you don’t have one - get one here! @sabaidee.buatique
bluebouaofficial @sinhsationalshop @sinhmaiofficial

🔥To acknowledge that it is 52 years since the last bomb dropped in Laos and the end of the American Secret War in Laos (1964-1973) - I am opening up 52 slots for custom sewing!

🔥More info on the history of the American Secret War in Laos @legaciesofwar (or read links in my bio)

✨If you’re like me you have more than a few textiles hidden away somewhere, waiting for an opportunity to have them made into a traditional skirt or perhaps something else more contemporary?

🥂VOILA! I created a variety of custom sewing ideas with 1 piece of Lao textiles each! (The pa sinh)

How does it work?
1. Reserve your custom order online
2. Choose your design, fill out measurements
3. Mail your textiles to my home studio (I’m an LLC)
4. I will cut, trim and sew and finish your garment
5. Mail it right back to you, (return postage included in US)

✨This idea works for Thai, Khmer, Hmong, Indonesian and other textiles as well - woohoo!

🔥Only 52 custom sewing pre-orders available!
🔥DETAILS and LINKS to my full online studio on Etsy coming tomorrow!

PLAN AHEAD: Do you have a New Year’s party, Valentine’s Party, Lao New Year’s Party, prom, a black tie affair, beauty pageant coming up??

#fashiondesign #laoamerican #customdesign #textiles #laotextiles #textileart by @_khamsone_

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a year ago