Asian And Pacific Migration Journal, Volume 12, Issue 3 (2003-09). pp. 271-300.
Language:
English
Abstract:
The fear of retaliation, retribution and persecution, combined with alleged forcible re-education by the post-war socialist government of Laos have forced half of the 300,000 Hmong of Laos to flee the country since the Secret War ended in 1975. The majority of these Hmong refugees were resettled in the United States. By 2003 they had established a Hmong American community comparable in size with the current Hmong community in Laos. The rest of these Hmong refugees settled in Australia, Argentina, Canada, Germany, France and French Guyana. Their post-war diasporic experience includes forced dispersion to at least two foreign countries, struggling to maintain a collective memory of their homeland, and maintaining a Hmong ethnic consciousness. Some have experienced difficult relationships with host societies, while others have adapted better, and learned to develop a more tolerant attitude toward diversity. Additionally, a small group of the Hmong in the West continues to support the resistance movement in Laos, where Hmong ethnic oppression is still said to exist. This paper is an attempt to explore the Hmong Diaspora in the Post-Secret War Period. It focuses on two communities in 2003: the Hmong in Laos and Hmong Americans.