The Hindu : International : U.S. pays debt to Vietnam allies

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 25, 2004

International

International

U.S. pays debt to Vietnam allies

By John Aglionby— © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

THAM KRABOK (THAILAND), AUG. 24. Par Cher Yang is struggling to decide which two of his three wives to divorce. One is 56 and has borne him seven children, the second is 50 and has also given birth to seven children. The third, 25, has given birth to five. Between them, the 19 children have 19 children of their own.

The dilemma facing this 59-year-old Hmong from Laos has not been provoked by jealousy or marital indiscretions, but political expediency.

Mr Yang and his approximately 15,900 fellow Hmong in a refugee camp near the Tham Krabok temple, 150 km north of Thailand's capital, Bangkok, have been offered resettlement in the U.S., provided they meet the immigration criteria, one of which is no polygamy.

``I am still thinking about it,'' he said. ``It is not an easy decision because my family is so large and so dear to me.''

Palpable excitement

He has to make up his mind fast because, after a few families left last month, the resettlement process is gaining momentum. The first charter flight with 289 people on board left Thailand yesterday for Los Angeles, and the Thai Government says it wants the camp closed within six months.

The excitement is palpable in Tham Krabok, more a town than a camp, where the Hmong congregated after drifting around Thailand for years.

Young boys playing football in the dusty lanes dream of a U.S. education leading to untold riches, while the older generation regards the move as the completion of an outstanding 29-year debt.

``The Americans deserted us in 1975,'' Mr Yang said. ``We fought for them for 12 years and then at the end of the war they just left. It really hurt. It's like tears have run down my face ever since and this help now is wiping them away.''

He is referring to the 40,000 Hmong fighters recruited by the CIA to halt the spread of communism in Laos as a sideshow to the Vietnam War. Almost half the fighters were killed, civilian casualties approached 50,000 and, by 1973, nearly half the Hmong population in Laos had been displaced. Thousands more died after the Americans withdrew two years later.

The Hmong have been fleeing from persecution for much of the last 250 years. In the late 18th century they fled oppression in China and eventually settled mostly in the north of modern-day Laos.

By 1980, more than 100,000 had sought refuge in various camps in Thailand. The move to Tham Krabok began 10 years later, when some sought treatment for drug addiction at the temple and took their families with them.

Thailand wary

The current resettlement, undertaken by the International Organisation for Migration, is mopping up most of the remaining Hmong refugees in Thailand, because Bangkok has no intention of giving them citizenship.

``We are afraid of a flood [of refugees] if we did [grant citizenship],'' General Winai Phattiyakul, secretary general of Thailand's National Security Council, said. ``The situation is already bad. We've just finished the registration of illegal workers and the number is 1.27 million, and we estimate those still underground are roughly about another million or two.''

In addition to the repayment of historical debts, there are two further factors for Washington. One is the Hmong-American lobby, which, at 200,000-strong, is clamouring for its relatives to be allowed in. The other is the desire of the U.S. to maintain its image as a haven. As a result of tighter security measures since the September 11 terrorist attacks, refugee inflows have fallen by almost half.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

News Update

Stories in this Section

Beginning of the battle, says Al-Sadr aide

Abu Ghraib report blames top civilian, military leaders

Stop attacks, say Sudanese rebels

U.S. pays debt to Vietnam allies

Fears over Guantanamo Bay trial standards

Bush hails Kerry's war record

Plan to undermine democracy: U.S.

Japan for Security Council seat

'Genghis Khan was a scholar'

Plea to resolve Balochistan issue

India, U.K. offer help to Bangladesh

Let's not rock the boat, says Pakistan