PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Chen “Charlie” Sefan was all smiles as he draped a bright blue sash that read “Iu-Mien USA” and raised a flag. $1.3 billion oversized check on his head.
The 46-year-old immigrant's good fortune is huge powerball jackpot A lump sum payment of $422 million after taxes in Oregon earlier this month (which he and his wife plan to split 50-50 with a friend) changed his life. It also raised awareness about the Yumien people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group that originated in China. Many of its members fled from Laos to Thailand and settled in the United States after the Vietnam War.
“I was born in Laos, but I'm not Laotian,” Saefan said at a news conference at Oregon Lottery headquarters on Monday after being revealed as one of the jackpot winners. “I'm Yu Mian.”
During the Vietnam War, the CIA and U.S. military engaged the Yu Mien (many of them subsistence farmers) in neighboring Laos to engage in guerrilla warfare to disrupt the Ho Chi Minh Trail that North Vietnam used to send troops. Recruited to provide information and monitoring. Weapons flowed into South Vietnam through Laos and Cambodia.
After the conflict and civil war in Laos, and the collapse of the US-backed Laotian government in 1975, thousands of people fled to avoid retaliation from the new Communist government, walking through the jungle and across the Mekong River. and fled to Laos. Thailand, according to a history posted on the Aiu Mien Community Services website in Sacramento, California. More than 70% of Laos' Yu Mien population left, with many ending up in refugee camps in Thailand.
Thousands of refugees were allowed to come to the United States, the first wave arriving in the late 1970s and settling mostly along the West Coast. Although this culture had a rich tradition of storytelling, basketry, embroidery, and jewelry making, cultural and language differences and lack of formal education initially led many to adapt to Western life. It was difficult.
Chen “Charlie” Sefan holds a check above his head after speaking at the Oregon Lottery headquarters in Salem, Ore., on April 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
Today, there are tens of thousands of Yu Mien (pronounced “Yu-mien”) in the United States, many of whom are attending college or starting their own businesses. Many people converted from traditional animist beliefs to Christianity. Portland and its suburbs are home to a large Yu Mien community with Buddhist temples, Baptist churches, active social organizations, businesses and restaurants.
Cale Tarn, president of the Oregon Aiumien Association, arrived in Portland with his family in 1980 at the age of three. He is currently running for city council. He was born after his father and uncle supported the U.S. military in Laos and his mother fled to a refugee camp in Thailand.
He said many Umiens in the United States have similar stories, and Sehwan's Powerball win sheds light on the new lives they built in places like Oregon after such trauma. Tern knows all three Powerball winners, he said.
AP correspondent Donna Warder reports on recent Powerball jackpot winners and how they came at the right time.
“You know, I think for me it's more than just a money issue. … We've been here since the late '70s and very little is known about us,” Port said. he said, sitting in his uncle's restaurant in Troutdale, a suburb of Rand.
“The attention we're getting is that people are interested in what our community is and who we are and where we come from. That's equally special to me. ”
Saefan, 46, said he was born in Laos, immigrated to Thailand in 1987 and immigrated to the United States in 1994. She graduated from high school in 1996 and has lived in Portland for 30 years. He worked as a machinist at an aerospace company.
He said Monday that he has had cancer for eight years and received the latest chemotherapy treatment last week.
“I'll be able to provide for my family and my health,” he said, adding, “I'm going to find a good doctor for myself.”
Sehwan, who has two young children, said that as a cancer patient, he thought to himself, “How will I have time to spend this money?” How long can I live? ”
He said he and his wife, Duanpeng, 37, would receive half of the money and give the rest to their friend Liza Chao, 55, who lives in the Portland suburb of Milwaukee. She tipped Chao $100 to buy tickets with them.
Chen “Charlie” Sefan listens to questions from the media at the Oregon Lottery headquarters in Salem, Ore., on April 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
Chao was on her way to work when Sehwan called and told her that she didn't have to go.
In the weeks leading up to the drawing, he wrote the match numbers on a piece of paper and slept with it under his pillow. He prayed for victory and said: “I need help. I don't want to die yet unless I do something for my family first.”
powerball winning ticket was sold at the Plaid Pantry convenience store in Portland in early April, ending a winning streak that had lasted more than three months. The Oregon Lottery said it must go through a security and vetting process before releasing the identities of those who come forward to receive prizes.
Oregon law does not allow lottery participants to remain anonymous, with some exceptions. The winner will have one year to win the top prize.
If the winner chooses to take the prize instead of paying it out in a lump sum, the cash value of the jackpot would be $621 million before taxes. pension Payable immediately and in 29 annual installments over 30 years. Prizes are subject to Oregon federal and state taxes.
The $1.3 billion prize is the fourth-largest Powerball jackpot in history and the eighth-largest of any U.S. jackpot game, according to the Oregon Lottery.
The highest prize won in the U.S. lottery was $2.04 billion. in California in 2022.
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Johnson reported from Seattle.
