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According to an article written by Jonathan Head that appeared online May 22nd, 2009 at BBC.com, "For the past four years, thousands of ethnic Hmong, who have fled from their homes in the mountains of northern Laos, have been living a precarious existence in the Thai province of Phetchabun."
The article continued, "After initially trying to survive in the forest, they were moved by the Thai military into a camp, to which access is strictly controlled. Almost all outside agencies are banned from entry. Repeated requests by the UN refugee agency to be allowed to screen them and assess their claims that they face persecution or death if sent back to Laos have been refused by the Thai authorities."
The Karen Paduang Longneck refugees from Burma (Myanmar) currently residing in various locations around northern Thailand face a different struggle. Each day a hundreds of tourists are given access to Karen refugee camps inhabited by women that are known for the distinctive gold rings adorning their necks.
Hmong in Thailand are living under "extreme psychological stress, because of the constant threat of repatriation." according to Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) (Doctors Without Borders), a Nobel Peace Prize recipient. The organization has been the nearly 5000 Hmong's sole source of food and healthcare in Phetchabun, but more than 1,500 have already been forced back over the border.
After their repatriation, the fate the Hmong is unknown since the Pathet Lao Communist government refuses to allow international agencies to monitor them.
So why the duplicity? The Karen Paduang Longneck refugees make big money for the Thai government and Lao Hmong don't. Although it has been said that the Thai military appears to view some groups as a security threat perhaps complicating ties with neighboring armies, none of this guesswork has been applied to the Karen Longneck women.
While many Hmong refugees from Laos, including children, are being held in jail or cramped detention centers in the border town of Nong Khai, portraits of Karen Longneck women embellish travel brochures printed by the Thai government.
In fact, Mae Hong Son, Thailand mayor Direk Kongkleb consolidated three Karen refugee camps to make it easier on tourists. At around $ 50 USD per head, the mayor earns a tidy sum of money for himself.
Whereas Burma's (Myanmar) Rohingya minority was set out to sea and cast adrift with little food and water by the Thai army earlier this year, the Karen Longneck refugees are restricted from traveling more than about an hour from their camps. Furthermore, arriving Karen refugees must reside in Thailand for ten years before applying to emigrate to another host country.
According to Amnesty International, 20 women and girls sent back to Laos in December 2005 were detained for 18 months, and some were tortured.
Other returnees have vanished. In Thailand, Karen Longneck women have trouble vanishing for more than a couple of hours.
Among the Hmong leaders is Joua Va Yang, who in 2004 helped guide a BBC team into a rebel area to make the first TV documentary about the plight of the Hmong who were trapped there.
He is now being held in jail in Phetchabun, after being arrested at the camp. The Thai military say he has volunteered to go back to Laos, despite an obvious risk of retribution over his role in the documentary. No one has been allowed to see him to hear his own views.
In Thailand, TV documentaries about Karen Longneck women are produced all the time. Some are factual and others are not, but as the old adage goes, "any publicity is good publicity."
When asked why no international screening or monitoring of the Hmong was being allowed by Thailand, Thai Foreign Minister, Kasit Piromya, told the BBC that "such screening was unnecessary", and that he was prepared to "trust the assurances of the Lao government."
So what will happen if this largely unreported story fails to gain traction in the international media? Who knows but it doesn't look good. Trusting "the assurances of governments" never seems to work in favor of the Laotian Hmong.
It's well documented that America never cared about the fate of their CIA trained brethren and the American government "secretly" abandoned them in 1975. After the U.S. betrayal, Hmong were subjected to harsh treatment by the new Pathet Lao Communist government that included the use of chemicals to poison their water and food supplies.
Some started a desperate armed campaign against the government, which they have kept up intermittently to this day. In July 1981, former generals Vang Pao and Phoumi Nosavan formed the United Lao National Liberation Front from abroad.
The front has agitated the present Pathet Lao Communist government but General Vang Pao, the former 79 year old Hmong guerilla leader, sits in a Sacramento, California U.S.A. federal courtroom facing charges of plotting a "coup" in Laos. Many say the case is based on fabricated evidence.
It makes sense to me that in view of the harsh treatment the Laotian Hmong have received while in Thailand, they might want to start dressing up as Karen Longneck Paduang women. Sure they will be banned from going too far astray but they could turn out to be a nice little money makers for one of the world's most renowned tourist destinations.
Just think of all the Americans that would pay attention to them then.
IMPORTANT LINKS TO THE PLIGHT OF AMERICA'S FRIENDS HERE
http://asiapacific.amnesty.org/aidoc/ai.nsf/Index/ENGASA260042004http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA26/003/2007
http://www.tragicmountains.org/
Center for Public Policy Analysis
John Brown Photojournalist On LIGHTSTALKERS
My Mondo Library Photography
My Photoshelter Photography Archive Homepage
According to an article written by Jonathan Head that appeared online May 22nd, 2009 at BBC.com, "For the past four years, thousands of ethnic Hmong, who have fled from their homes in the mountains of northern Laos, have been living a precarious existence in the Thai province of Phetchabun."
The article continued, "After initially trying to survive in the forest, they were moved by the Thai military into a camp, to which access is strictly controlled. Almost all outside agencies are banned from entry. Repeated requests by the UN refugee agency to be allowed to screen them and assess their claims that they face persecution or death if sent back to Laos have been refused by the Thai authorities."
The Karen Paduang Longneck refugees from Burma (Myanmar) currently residing in various locations around northern Thailand face a different struggle. Each day a hundreds of tourists are given access to Karen refugee camps inhabited by women that are known for the distinctive gold rings adorning their necks.
Hmong in Thailand are living under "extreme psychological stress, because of the constant threat of repatriation." according to Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) (Doctors Without Borders), a Nobel Peace Prize recipient. The organization has been the nearly 5000 Hmong's sole source of food and healthcare in Phetchabun, but more than 1,500 have already been forced back over the border.
After their repatriation, the fate the Hmong is unknown since the Pathet Lao Communist government refuses to allow international agencies to monitor them.
So why the duplicity? The Karen Paduang Longneck refugees make big money for the Thai government and Lao Hmong don't. Although it has been said that the Thai military appears to view some groups as a security threat perhaps complicating ties with neighboring armies, none of this guesswork has been applied to the Karen Longneck women.
While many Hmong refugees from Laos, including children, are being held in jail or cramped detention centers in the border town of Nong Khai, portraits of Karen Longneck women embellish travel brochures printed by the Thai government.
In fact, Mae Hong Son, Thailand mayor Direk Kongkleb consolidated three Karen refugee camps to make it easier on tourists. At around $ 50 USD per head, the mayor earns a tidy sum of money for himself.
Whereas Burma's (Myanmar) Rohingya minority was set out to sea and cast adrift with little food and water by the Thai army earlier this year, the Karen Longneck refugees are restricted from traveling more than about an hour from their camps. Furthermore, arriving Karen refugees must reside in Thailand for ten years before applying to emigrate to another host country.
According to Amnesty International, 20 women and girls sent back to Laos in December 2005 were detained for 18 months, and some were tortured.
Other returnees have vanished. In Thailand, Karen Longneck women have trouble vanishing for more than a couple of hours.
Among the Hmong leaders is Joua Va Yang, who in 2004 helped guide a BBC team into a rebel area to make the first TV documentary about the plight of the Hmong who were trapped there.
He is now being held in jail in Phetchabun, after being arrested at the camp. The Thai military say he has volunteered to go back to Laos, despite an obvious risk of retribution over his role in the documentary. No one has been allowed to see him to hear his own views.
In Thailand, TV documentaries about Karen Longneck women are produced all the time. Some are factual and others are not, but as the old adage goes, "any publicity is good publicity."
When asked why no international screening or monitoring of the Hmong was being allowed by Thailand, Thai Foreign Minister, Kasit Piromya, told the BBC that "such screening was unnecessary", and that he was prepared to "trust the assurances of the Lao government."
So what will happen if this largely unreported story fails to gain traction in the international media? Who knows but it doesn't look good. Trusting "the assurances of governments" never seems to work in favor of the Laotian Hmong.
It's well documented that America never cared about the fate of their CIA trained brethren and the American government "secretly" abandoned them in 1975. After the U.S. betrayal, Hmong were subjected to harsh treatment by the new Pathet Lao Communist government that included the use of chemicals to poison their water and food supplies.
Some started a desperate armed campaign against the government, which they have kept up intermittently to this day. In July 1981, former generals Vang Pao and Phoumi Nosavan formed the United Lao National Liberation Front from abroad.
The front has agitated the present Pathet Lao Communist government but General Vang Pao, the former 79 year old Hmong guerilla leader, sits in a Sacramento, California U.S.A. federal courtroom facing charges of plotting a "coup" in Laos. Many say the case is based on fabricated evidence.
It makes sense to me that in view of the harsh treatment the Laotian Hmong have received while in Thailand, they might want to start dressing up as Karen Longneck Paduang women. Sure they will be banned from going too far astray but they could turn out to be a nice little money makers for one of the world's most renowned tourist destinations.
Just think of all the Americans that would pay attention to them then.
IMPORTANT LINKS TO THE PLIGHT OF AMERICA'S FRIENDS HERE
http://asiapacific.amnesty.org/aidoc/ai.nsf/Index/ENGASA260042004http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA26/003/2007
http://www.tragicmountains.org/
Center for Public Policy Analysis
John Brown Photojournalist On LIGHTSTALKERS
My Mondo Library Photography
My Photoshelter Photography Archive Homepage
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