Evicted from their homes as part of a government campaign to force them to return to their native Laos, thousands of ethnic Hmong in northern Thailand remained huddled near the border yesterday, begging for food and shelter.
"Please help, we're very hungry," read a hand-lettered sign hanging on a fence near where groups of Hmong were on the side of a road in Phetchabun Province. A handful had umbrellas and others sought protection under trees from the intermittent rain and sun.
The evictions came after Thailand's National Security Council decided last month to deport Hmong living illegally in the country. They have been considered a nuisance by Thai authorities because of suspicions that they engage in illicit drug trafficking and help Hmong exile groups stage attacks against neighboring Laos, harming bilateral relations.
PHOTO: AP
The Hmong say they will be persecuted by the communist government of Laos if they are repatriated because of their Vietnam War-era ties with the US. Many Hmong fought under CIA advisers during a so-called "secret war" against communist insurgents in Laos.
They have appealed to the UN to treat them as political asylum seekers and help find them a home.
Facing penalties of up to five years in prison and a 50,000 baht (US$1,200) fine for sheltering illegal immigrants, Thai landlords told some 6,500 of the hilltribe people that they had to leave their bamboo shelters in Huay Nam Khao village.
The refugees, men, women and children, moved out late on Monday, taking with them reed mats and plastic sheets, and their other modest belongings in plastic bags.
Some gathered on Tuesday in the grounds of a government office near the village, some 120km from the border with Laos.
Jongtong Saewang, 51, said he fought for the CIA for five years and hid in the jungle for another 28 after the communist government took power in Laos. He said he came to Thailand last year with 60 other people who also had been living in the jungle.
"Now we have no home. We are staying in the forest. We will certainly die if we are deported back," he said.
Ngiathong Saemua, 45, said his father was a former CIA soldier, and that he had fled because he was afraid of being arrested by Lao authorities.
"I have nothing for my son to eat. So, I mix rice with water," he said, spoon-feeding his one-year-old son. "I don't want to go anywhere. I want the Thai government to let me have a life here."
But Thai officials show no signs of doing that, and have in fact have ordered vendors not to enter the area to sell food to the refugees, said Sawai Leeprecha, a Thai-Hmong village headman. Sawai acts as a liaison between the villagers and central government officials.
Thailand does not regard the Hmong as political asylum seekers and plans to repatriate them as illegal immigrants, said Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Sihasak Phuangketkeow, adding that the government is cooperating with Laos on the issue.
But a Lao foreign ministry spokesman said his government had received no word from Thailand on deportations, adding that "it is not right for the Thai government to make the decision alone."
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