The Last and Final Wave of Hmong Refugees

8/14/2019 The Last and Final Wave of Hmong Refugees

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The Hmong Refugees Chapter

Closed. The Last Wave ReturnedHome.

Farewell Houy Nam Khao .

Farewell, My Fellow

Hmong. Hope you willbe warmly welcomed

in your country!By the Hmong. Edited and finalized in the United States, March 5, 2010


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The Hmong Refugees Chapter Closed. The Last Wave Returned Home.

Thailand no longer wants any refugees after decades of having served as a safe heaven for hundreds

of thousands of Indochinese refugees after the Vietnam War. From the middle of the 70s to 2010, Thailand

could hardly be free from accommodating refugees. In 2004, thousands of Hmong flowed to Houy NamKhao. Currently, Burmese refugees, the Karen, still cross to Thailand periodically. Being so sick and tired

of having to serve as an on-going recipient of people who run for their lives, the Kingdom needs a break.

To look for a break, the Hmong have to be sent back to Laos and the Karen to Myanmar.

Repatriation is the only sources to send a clear message to prone refugees that seeking refuge in

Thailand is no longer allowed, and that the country will no longer tolerate any illegal entry. Anyone entering

Thailand illegally will be forced back without any consideration of the causes and fear of the parties seeking

protections. So, the Hmong and many Burmese refugees will not be entitled to any protection. Enough is

enough is the choice for Thailand to act quite forcibly to close its door. Cleansing refugees is an urgent

matter as Thailand is having its own huge internal problems, the Red Shirts versus the Yellow Shirts and a

serious border dispute with Cambodia at the Preah Vihear temple.

More aggressively and challengingly, the Cambodian Prime Ministers appointment of Thaksin to serve

as the Prime Ministers personal economic advisor had resulted both Thailand and Cambodia to call back

their Ambassadors, and diplomatic relations between the two countries have been sour lately and may stay

that way until they can be restored. International problems can either be clear quickly or can remain tense

for a while. The Thai and Cambodian problems may not be easy to restore since they involve a territorial

boundary. Each nation will not give up its claim that easily. Such a prone confrontation urges each side to

prepare for what may happen down the line.

Thailand also faces serious problems with its Muslim populations in the south. Religious conflicts are

among the most difficult issues to compromise and work out. Different religion teaches different beliefs,

and believers of different religions have difficulties getting along well. Many have difficulties living next to

each other. In recent years, violence in the south has been the hottest national unrest.

Thaksins on-going political bombardments have been a huge impact on the country. He is free to

legally travel around the world as a Thai citizen. His supporters, the Red Shirts, refuse to end their

movements, perhaps, until their icon can return home. Red shirts and Yellow shirts accuse each other of

being dictatorial. All of these appear to have caused the Kingdom to be divided into four regions, the North,

the Northeast, the Central and South. The Thai stability has been shaken hard like never before. And

having serious internal problems triggers national concerns.


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The Kings influences are not as effective as they used to be. He is not in good health, and his poor

health already signals many possibilities, including a sunset in the near future. If and when the King says

Farewell, Thailand could possibly become more problematic. A younger or new King may either be very

influential or may be too inexperience.

All of the problems mentioned above led Thailand to no choice but to send the Hmong back to Laos to

get rid of some unimportant burdens. In late December, between 25-29, 2009, Thailand sent troops to the

Hmong camp at Houy Nam Khao to fiercely force the Hmong refugees to go back to Laos (see picture

below). By looking at the scenes in the picture, there was not a single friendly act to match the world

voluntary return, but Thailand claimed that all the Hmong were willing to go back without any forceful act

against their will. Whether the Thai were right or wrong, nobody had any jurisdiction to argue. A few

countries, including the United States, issued certain statements as an excuse but took no action. The 158

UNHCR recognized refugees at a Nong Khai detention center were also a part of the movement.

A Thai official isholding a Hmongchild on the way tothe military trucks tobe sent to Laos.

Thailand called thisforced repatriationvoluntary return.

Among the refugees being forced back, the Thai officials sated that about 800 of them were people of

concerned. Hundreds came out to Thailand directly from the jungle. They were the most wanted

dissidents Laos was looking for, and their wellbeing and safety could be in jeopardy while being in the

custody of the Laotian authorities. However, the Thai did not bother to show any concern and mercy. They

classified all of them as illegal immigrants just so their qualifications for humanitarian protections could be

blocked and ignored, and to force tem back would not be considered a violation of international laws.


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It was without doubt that this forced repatriation was very painful. To the Hmong, it was unfair and

aggressive. Evidences (cell phone videos) sent from the refugees in the camp to relatives abroad showed

violent pushing and shoveling along with profanities. The scenes in the videos clearly indicated that

activities like that were only seen in a few places on earth. And Houy Nam Khao was one among them.

Loud noises made by the Thai officials against the refugees sounded torturous. In some situations, the

Thai soldiers even handed tissues to the refugees to wipe out blood. Noises made by the refugees were

pleading and begging: I am not willing to go. I am not willing to go. Mai yom pie. Mai yom pie in Thai

language, but the pleas was in vain. Painfully, there was no third party jumping in to do anything to about

it. Without help, all of them put their lives on the line, cried in vain and slowly approached the trucks, being

one step closer to hands of the people they had escaped from.

Thailands relationship with Laos is far more important than a few thousands Hmong. Being friend

with Laos can reduce many threats. Over the years, Isane not only is prone to break away from Thailand,

but it also used to be a part of Laos. Thailand got it for free from the French colonial rule in around the

early 1880s. England and France agreed to divide such territories during their early stage of colonial

imperialism. So sending the Hmong back could build a stronger Lao confidence in the Thai and could

reduce many possible Lao supports to Isane in case of conflicts. To that end, the benefits of respecting the

Hmongs human rights could not exchange Isane, so whatever the Lao government will do to the Hmong

back home is not a Thai concern. Isane brings the most horrific concerns. For the Hmong, Thailand has

nothing to do with them even if they had to face dangerous treatments or severe punishments.

This is the camp builtin Bolikhamxay, Laosfor the Hmongreturnees from HouyNam Khao. Thename of this camp isPhonekham.


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Perhaps, due to international pressure, Laos had no choice but to have to construct this camp, so that

most of the most recent returnees can be resettled in one specific site just so it could be easier to allow

interested parties who wish to get contacts with them to visit, such as the UN, NGOs or representatives of

foreign governments. For whatever reasons, each time a group was forced back, prior to the 4,800, a few

men were unaccountable for after arrival. In 2004, five male teenagers among the twenty-seven children

forced back by Thailand were missing. To date, their whereabouts is totally unknown. But no party bothers

to ask or seems to be interested to find out. And Laos is taking advantage of such a silence to not mention

them or to act as if nothing had happened. This type of missing links continues to be so suspicious. To the

Hmong, the children, if still alive, must be locked up in a very secret place in the country. And Laos will

never embarrass itself by bringing them out to prove that they have been locked up for no reason or for

being minor. Therefore, for the purpose of saving face, this camp is to prove that nothing similar to the

situations of the boys is taking place and to further prove that not a single individual is missing.

Despite the so-called openness of the LPDR, one can only go to places that will never present any

hidden facts of mistreatments of the Hmong. As having said repeatedly over and over again, Laos will

never allow any party to see its secret sites/camps. A secret place will be in a remote area totally isolated

and disconnected to the out side world where no independent party will ever be allowed to visit. Speaking

of secret places/sites, not just Laos, but also every government on earth will keep people away from their

confidential sites. Therefore, going to a camp, like Phonekham or Pha Lak, to find something wrong there

is none other than a sham. Laos or any government on earth will make the best preparation possible at a

would-be-visited site to host its visitors. Foreign officials who expect to see strange things in such a site

are not realistic and serious about carrying out any fact-finding. They are simply taking vacation there.

Whether this camp can represent a sincere integration of the returnees into Laotian society or not

remains to be seen. Trusting the Hmong remains very minimal and has been consistent for years, and the

LPDR officials are not that serious about the integration. The nature of hesitation and reluctance is not

new. To explain this better, it is necessary to look back at the LPDR early stage of being in power. In the

early days of the so-called LPDR New and Fresh Regime, Hmong villages in the remote areas were

flooded with the word democracy. Whether it was around a dinner table, a first time discussion with the

Pathet Lao soldiers, or during one of their routine visits, Pathet Lao soldiers would not miss the words

democracy and freedom. We have brought real democracy to the country. Now, the people of Laos have

all the freedom they had wished to have: the freedom of speech, press, religion, ownership, settlement

anywhere in the country and everything else. As peasants, the Hmong did not know that the enjoyable


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language was a sham. Almost all the Hmong believed that, as the new leader of the country, the officials

were sincere about their words. Therefore, they took the Pathet Laos words seriously with beliefs that they

truly have all the freedoms mentioned. Being told about democracy and freedom all the time, the

Highlanders thought that their tradition and old lifestyle would not have to be changed. They continued to

make their livings exactly the same way they had done for so many years, coming home late from farms,

and the old ways collided with the Pathet Laos so-called New Orders. Under the New Orders, curfew

applied. The villages had to be quiet by nine. Although the Hmong are a quiet people who dont have the

tendency to speak out about issues they like or dont like, they definitely did not like the mandatory curfews.

Not liking the curfews turned the Hmong disloyal to the Pathet Lao. And trust between the two sides

weakened and has been so ever since. Presently, the same attitude is still very much force everywhere in

Laos, and this sham still irritates the Highlanders in many ways. Furthermore, then and now, the LPDR

dictatorial rules do not allow any public opinion or oppositions to any of their policies. An opposition, big or

small, is unacceptable. Even so, now and then, the Hmong have little or no problems adjusting to the new

orders, but usually one opposition is too many for the LPDR, and its officials would treat the Hmong for

always being disloyal. Therefore, being good and loyal Hmong or not makes no difference. They are

always the bad people, known in the Lao language as Kom Khoun boh dee. To fix these wounds does

not seem to be an easy process. Will see how the integration at Phonekham village goes.

Here is another evidence of the difficult process to integrate the Hmong into mainstream Lao society.

On February 19, 2010, Scoop Independent News published this article with the following statement:

Laos Minister Warns Hmong Returnees of Subversion. The term subversive elements refersto the General Vang Pao Hmong or those sided with the United States during the VietnamWar, and those the Lao military continued to hunt down in remote jungle areas. Earlier thisyear, western journalist had again visited the remaining jungle groups in military-controlledXaisomboune Special Zone. Lieutenant General Douanchay Phichit said.

This clearly indicates that the LPDR authorities remain very hesitant about integrating the Hmong. There

are still some gaps remained. Whenever the authorities have some Hmong in custody, they waste no time,

but quickly hook them up with Vang Pao or the CIA just so it is easier to find rooms for issuing allegations.

Somsavat Lengsavat, the Laotian Deputy Prime Minister, talked loudly on Radio Free Asia that Vang Pao

had been in America and could no longer do anything. He still carries a death penalty. If so, why still hook

up the Hmong to him? Hooking them to him only means to find reasons to accuse and issue allegations,

not to reconcile. More importantly, what can a Hmong, two Hmong or a few Hmong do to the LPDR? The


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LPDR has supports from Russia, China, Vietnam North Korea and Cuba and so many others, including the

European Union and the United States. China and Vietnam are ready to help in any way Laos asks for.

With the assured

and guaranteed

supports, why

suspecting that the

Hmong would be

able to do harm to

the country? This

attitude is a key

destruction of trust

and a sole intention

to single out and turn

the Hmong as the

bad people.

This is the group (see picture By Lloyd, published on 17 February 2010) that General Douanchay

Phichit referred to as those that the Lao military continued to hunt down in military-controlled Xaisomboune

Special Zone. It was unclear why General Douanchay Phichit revealed their existence when the Ministry of

Defense and Foreign Affairs continued to deny them. Since the LPDR inception, Yong Chanthalansy,

former spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had once mentioned that the LPDR would be glad to

integrate the people in the jungle into mainstream society like other citizens if they came out, and after that

statement, he was replaced. Maybe Laos has changed since Yongs statement. In contrast, the Hmong

have no shame to inform anyone no matter how a party may perceive the roles of the groups, running and

hiding, being hunted and killed or being a LPDR rivalry. Under any status, they are in the jungle for tons of

good reasonsto name one, to defend themselves from an ethnic cleansing campaign, announced in May

1975, long before the existence of these groups and before the Hmong refugee crisisa campaign that

eventually created all of the mentioned problems.

On the other hand, the LPDR continues to deny the existence of the Hmong in the jungle to avoid

shame from its implementation of the ethnic cleansing campaign. It does not want the world to know its

aggression against its own citizens although the campaign is still going on and will go on until the last

Hmong has been killed. Despite the denial, the people in the picture prove that they exist and are standing


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to show their faces to the world that they will do what it takes until justice is served. Even if they are

eventually perished, they will die with dignity in the name of the Hmong and for the Hmong causes.

Dangerous or severe punishments are not new. The Hmong have suffered the inhumane treatments

for so long, since the second half of 1975. In 2010, two generations of Hmong children hiding in the jungle

have no chance to see peace and never know how peace is. As soon as they turn adolescents, most of

them have to replace their killed predecessors to serve as the fence needed to protect the defenseless

women, children and the elderly. The young men must be a new generation of fighters who have to step

up to take over the defense after their elders had been killed. The good thing is that they have survived the

heavy extermination campaign for thirty-five years. Nobody expects that they are still there, but they are.

Their survival represents an ability to stand against any form of aggression. The bad thing is that the LPDR

will continue to classify them as the bad people (Kom Khoun boh dee). And their defenses wont end

soon. Somsavat Lengsavat had described them in his secret meeting with his officials on April 15, 2007 at

the Lao Ministry of Defense, Nong Teng, that the Hmong are the countrys most problematic element, and

the LPDR had to take care of the element seriously. In that meeting, the Somsavat officials proposed to

have the Hmong totally wiped out by 2020. The faction (Photo) would be the most likely target for intense

assaults and is the prone group to be perished before any other Hmong group. Since 1975 to the present,

the LPDR officials have called the Hmong the rotten meat that can never be washed clean. So, there is

no definite and easy answer to the efforts to integrate the Hmong.

Lets see two meeting minutes of the meeting held on April 15, 2007. And based on the minutes, be

ware, Hmong! No Hmong has been out of the wood yet. The worse is yet to come.

No. Dated on 15/4/2007

Lao People Democratic Republ icPeace, Independence, Democracy, Equality and Everlasting prosperity

Special Meeting

-Based on the urgent threats against the party of the LPDR

-Based on the urgent and special mandate by the President of the LPDR

-Based on the shuffles of positions within the government and the various Ministries,

The government of the LPDR had assigned Mr. Comrade Khamphong, representing the law committee of the

LPDR, to call this special meeting. Attendants include:


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1. Mr. Samane Vinyaket of the Ministry of Defense

2. Mr. Somsavat Lengsavat, Deputy Prime Minister

3. Mr. General Bounchane, Head of the Administrative Arm Force

4. Mr. Khamphong, Head of the law administration and enforcement

5. Mr. Kamsay of the presidential and national committee

The meeting was called to order at approximately 8:00 AM on April 15, 2007 at the office of the Administrative

office of the Arm Force, Nongteng 101, of the Ministry of Defense of the LPDR. The administrator of the meeting,

Mr. Khamphong, requested Mr. Somsavat Lengsavat to explain to members of the meeting as follow:

I like to take this opportunity to honor each member of this special meeting and all other honorable and important

comrades within the government of the LPDR, specifically those of you who are in this special meeting of the

day. We have arranged this special meeting in order to focus on the urgent order of our President of the LPDR,

and to invite our fellow comrades who are entitled to attend this meeting to jointly brainstorm and make absolute

judgments about our defense strategies of the country to make this nation last and stand forever.

My fellow honorable comrades! Lets look back at the past 30 years. From the day we gained victory and retook

power to this day, we never have peace. We continue to be in this situation because there are still some traitors

that we cannot eliminate remained. There are three major ethnic groups in our country, namely: the lowland Lao,

the Khamu, and the Hmong. The lowland Lao is the majority and dominant ethnicity in the country. The Khamu is

a minority ethnic group. This group poses no threat to our government. The Hmong group, previously known as

Meo is the ethnic group (The rest of this minute is not provided perhaps due to the sensitivity, authenticity

and gravity of the record).

Translated on March 24, 2008.

Lao People Democratic RepublicPeace, Independence, Democracy, Equality and Ever lasting prosperi ty

The Arm Forces of Laos

Notice of actions

The Chairperson of 101 Nongteng, the Ministry of defense issued this announcement to all military units


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throughout Laos to collectively implement the Prime Ministers order, Order No. 001/PM, dated 15/4/2007 (April

15, 2007), which included the following:

In order for our nation to finally have peace in the future, the president and the Prime Minister of the LPDR along

with all leaders attaching to all key important ministries have established urgent policies to protect the country to

eventually bring real peace. It is urgently ordered that all departments and military units collectively take actions,

starting May 2007, to eliminate all remaining Vang Pao Meo contras that are still hiding in various locations in the

jungles by 2008-2009. Over the years 20102015, cleansing all CIA contras and their offspring of the Vang Pao

Meo remained in Laos is to be complete by 2020, not a single Meo to be alive in Laos thereafter. Therefore, the

Administrative leadership 101 of the Ministry of defense issues this order to all departments and military units

throughout the country to urgently carry out their missions based on the order to make sure the operations are as

effective as it can be, starting from the date this order is received.

Translated on March 11, 2008

Despite the campaign proposed by the Somsavat Lengsavat team and the announcement above, the LPDR

may have changed in many ways. By looking at this picture, it seems as if brotherly love makes members of

the audience smile. It looks like the contact would not be another way to brainwash the returnees with Marxist

philosophies and that the LPDR officials will not force the returnees to speak in favor of the government if any

party, UN, US, Australia or other foreign diplomats or representatives, should go to visit the camp and ask them

any question, pertaining to their wish to stay in Laos or go abroad.

This LPDR officialwas entertaining hisaudience probablywith a likable andenjoyable language.Hope such smiles will

last forever


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And indeed, on February 26, 2010, the Thai and U.S. officials were eventually allowed to visit the

camps in Borikhamxay. The visit appeared to ignite excitements among the returnees and puzzle them at

the same time. Many of the returnees were there to welcome to visitors, but while doing so, they might also

be confused what such a visit would do for them. Their wonders could be if the visitors knew who was

there and who was not. Did they have the list of the names of the 158 people recognized by the UNHCR

and called their names to make sure if they were present? Or why the visitors did not bother to ask if any

of the 158 UNHCR recognized member was there? For most Hmong, with Laos in total control, it was

expected that no visitor would dare to ask, and furthermore, asking or not, Laos would never provide any

information about those having been detained and/or isolated from the rest. The visit did not seem to have

contributed anything new other than a stop by to show the international community that the Thai kept and

committed to their promises to do follow-ups, and that the Thais hostile act at Houy Nam Khao was not a

mean to endanger the Hmong. In any way, it had been a huge victory for Laos. How many Hmong were

missing; how many had been killed, how many have been locked up in secret camps were totally unknown.

Many might be tortured, hungry, thirsty, or doing hard labors somewhere in Laos while the Thai and U.S.

officials enjoyed their walk around at Phonekham camp. Each guest party did no more than prematurely

and confusedly indicating that they had been pleased from having access to the returnees, and from what

they saw, there were no signs of mistreatment.

Human rights groups have expressed concern for the safety of the returnees but diplomats say

there have been no reports of mistreatment. Bangkok post said.

Sure, the Phonekham visitors might say so too based on how much their eyes could see. Words or remarks

beyond what they saw on the spot could be politically painful to their country, so they would only say based

on their actual views, for example, how the returnees were; they did not see any abuses, mistreatments,

and got no reports of problems. In a visit like that, nobody needed to be told that strange things might

happen inside the visited spot. Laos or any government on earth would make sure that the would-be-

visited-site be well prepared before the visit. Expecting to see or hear anything unusual there would be

unprofessional. Laos would have already told a possible interviewee how and what to say. Any word

outside the mandatory given statement represented a severe penalty in return. So, why should an official

visitor expect a report of abuse, mistreatments or other problems on the spot? Ask, would any Lao soldier

beat anyone during the visit? Or would anyone step forward to report a problem? Be reminded that the

environment of the site would be made problem free as much as possible. And therefore, one would never

see anything unusual on the visiting spot or expect any verbal report from any ordinary citizen or official


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representing the Lao government. Individuals who might come forward to deliver a report would never be

allowed to attend such a visit. If the authorities happened to know such a person, he/she would have been

arrested and thrown in jail long before such a visit take place. In Laos, any claim against the government is

a crime. Making Laos a perfect country is the only correct way. By this, we can say that the government of

Laos is a government of the government, not the people, and its own officials cannot represent the people.

The Bangkok post indicated its views as followed:

Hmong returnees look life in eye in barren land

FUTURE UNCERTAIN SINCE THAI GOVT SENT THEM BACK TO LAOSPublished: 28/02/2010 at 12:00 AM

It was the first official Thai visit to the village since the repatriated Hmong left the camps. TheHmong who met them at the village sang a native song of welcome. The lyrics confessed theirguilt at having left the motherland, and asserting their happiness at having returned. However,the optimist ic message of the song was at odds with how many of the Hmong really feel.

Again, in Laos, a song or a statement cannot represent the truth if it relates to political matters. All sayings

related to politics must be in favor of the Lao government. So, the song sung at the reception of the Thai

delegation did not represent the true feelings of the Hmong, but the content of it had to be made in favor of

the government to make the Lao representatives happy. More importantly, it was to block the mind of thevisitors that treatments of the Hmong were as good as seen, and that advocates claims about

unaccountable Hmong were wrong. Whether the singer liked it or not, he/she had no choice but to perform

on behalf of Laos.

According to MSN Malaysia News/ Agence France-Presse, Update 2/26/2010, the U.S. embassy in

Laos said it was pleased that Laos had allowed it to have contact with the Hmong sent back from Thailand

in December 2009. The U.S. embassy official who went there was the embassy Deputy Chief. As a result

of the permission to visit the Hmong, the embassy Public Affairs officer said: Were just pleased that the

government of Laos is beginning to follow-up through its earlier promises. Unfortunately and as

usual, the officials again repeated the statement: there have been no reports of mistreatment. This was

the key reason why no party had done much to find out the whereabouts of the five Hmong boys who had

disappeared after Thailand forced them back to Laos in 2004. Currently, their whereabouts is still unknown

and whether they are still alive. These children must be brought to Phonekham as soon as possible.


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Theyve done nothing wrong against Laos. The childrens case is a very good example of all cases that

powerful parties such as the UN, U.S., EU and others including the Thai did not do enough to have such

sensitive cases opened up. Perhaps, to these powerful nations and organizations, a few Hmong in

captivity did not matter. Nobody should be blamed for the Hmong problems. The problems belong to the

Highlanders, and right or wrong, good or bad, they should have taken care of their problems on their own.

Many hid in the jungle for years, and they are still there. Use them as a model to solve the problems.

Finally, in a few months, the world will eventually turn away by assuming that these returnees are well

taken care of. The media will take other matters as their priorities, and nobody will hear from these people

again. In the event that an interested party, a reporter who is sensitive to the Hmong crisis, wastes a

minute or two to ask about these suffered people, the LPDR officials will say: They are fine. We treat

them like other ordinary citizens. They are very happy now. True of false, the party, who perhaps

having been blocked from direct contacts with the returnees, will just say: Thank you very much.

However, trick or treat, it is hoped that the Lao government will keep its words by considering the

4,800 Hmong, returned from Houy Nam Khao, as true citizens. Being back to Laos, the returnees can turn

and move in the direction to a better and everlasting future. Opportunities in the motherland may be more

plentiful to them whether it is education or agriculture. As citizens, if the Lao authorities truly and sincerely

treat and consider them so, they can share and contribute valuable strength to the countrys economic,

social, cultural and educational growths. As a Western old saying says: There is no place like home.

Home refers to shelter, residence, district, county, province, government and country. There is no place

like home means that nowhere else on earth is better than ones own shelter, residence, district, county,

province, government and country. The returnees are back to the mentioned places.

Whetherthere is no place like home is a reality for the returnees or not, all citizens of Laos, Hmong

and Lao alike, and more importantly, the government of Laos, must be aware that the Hmong are also Lao

citizens, and as citizens, they have every right to express their voices about an issue or issues. When the

citizens realize that a policy will affect them negatively, they have the rights to call for changes. The on-

going conflicts in Laos have a lot to do with the limitations of the rights to opinions from the public. For

nearly four decades, the people of Laos have had no rights to be for or against any government policy.

And that is not democracy. A government that does not allow and accept public opinions is a dictatorial

entity and needs to be aware that its system needs changes. Nearly four decades of LPDR rule brings little

or no changes to social, educational, economic, and religious advancements. The fields mentioned either

stay static or go backward. But an opposition to any static action will be considered a severe obstacle to


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the government operations, and the opponent will become an enemy of the country instead of appreciating

his/her opinions. To that end, the people, all Lao ethnicities, are not entitled to any rights to voice their

concerns. An opinion opposing a policy means to the government as serious conflict or a war. So, how

can Laos move forward? Countries that can move forward open the doors widely to its citizens to do them

all kind of favors. Laos does the oppositethe government controls everything.

On February 22, 1973 at noon, the last American working in Laos disappeared in the cloud of the Lao

aerial territory, leaving its Hmong ally behind but opening great opportunities for all parties to work out their

differences and forgive each other. But the so-called New and Fresh regime, did not seriously integrate the

Hmong. Instead, the statement Seuk leo, Meo tie meaningAfter the war, the Hmong die was widely

heard or widespread in every corner of Hmong communities. Whether such a statement was a joke or a

reality, it sped the heartbeats of the Hmong to the highest levels. Every Hmong who had heard the

statement could not be or was no longer at ease. Although the Hmong had taken side with the Americans,

and the Pathet Lao did with Vietnam, China and the former Soviet Union, it was the responsibilities of the

victorious party to bring all factions together instead of sayingAfter the war, the Hmong die. For a newly

emerging leader of the country to say that, it would immediately and urgently trigger tons of anger and

senses of self-defenses among members of the target group. Sadly, the Pathet Laos supporters had

made that faction too proud and too arrogant. The prides and arrogance, real or proxy, urged that party to

use its maximum power to push the Hmong over the limits.

During the war, Laos was none other than a pad on the face of the earth for the superpowers to test

their weapons, but the Hmong were proud to get the American supports, and the Pathet Laos were excited

to get theirs from Vietnam, China and the former Soviet Union. The superpowers came in either to use

Laos as a site to test their weapons or to get rid of old ones that they had no room to store. Of course, the

tests of the weapons had killed many people on both sides. Even so, both the Hmong and the Pathet Lao

were so proud for having someone standing tall behind them. However, although thousands of innocent

people had died, the superpowers were glad to gain better ideas how to build more advanced weapons.

They cared little or nothing about how the innocent people had suffered and died, cared little or nothing

about the destructions of the country, nothing about the current on-going conflicts between the Hmong and

the government and the on-going hatred and division between different ethnicity, a dilemma that has

caused so much pains in recent years and decades.

Although the Hmong-American alliance somewhat had contributed to the current Hmong problems,

nobody, the CIA, China or Russia, is interested in that any more. The United States had lost the Vietnam


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War and has totally put that behind. And the Hmong who had fought along side with the Americans shared

and was a part of that loss. Although they had sided with the United States during that war, they remain

citizens of Laos as usual even after the war had ended. It was and is the responsibilities of the government

of Laos to care and protect its citizens regardless of party affiliation during the war. Penalties against

civilian Hmong, if any, should be lifted, exempted or tossed away. Punishing all of them regardless of

status but for being Hmong only hurts Laos and invites the world to watch and laugh about the way Laos

treated its citizens, at time, inhumanely. Existing and remaining problems had to be solved between the

conflicted parties on their own. The problems after 1975 were totally between the LPDR and the Hmong,

not the CIA, Russia, China or Vietnam. It is solely the responsibilities of the government of Laos to bring

everyone together. When your children cry, you have to show the loves they deserve and give the cares

they expect and want, not whipping and punishing. Children have the rights to protection if they are not

treated humanely and have the right to resistance if they are pushed around too hard and over the limits.

Thank you for reading.

March 5, 2010


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Hello! Laos

And

Phonekham

The Last and Final Wave of Hmong Refugees

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Transcript of The Last and Final Wave of Hmong Refugees