The Secret War

Liberty

sarNie Adult
I'm trying to put the finishing touches and edit my story on my dad and came across this.

Under pressure from American conservatives, twenty two years following the end of the Laotian War, on May 15, 1997, the U.S. officially acknowledged its role in the Secret War, erecting a memorial in honor of American and Hmong contributions to U.S. air and ground combat efforts during the conflict. The Laos Memorial is located on the grounds of the Arlington National Cemetery between the John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Several years later, following several years of pressure from U.S. conservatives and human rights activists, the U.S. government reversed a long-standing policy of denying immigration rights to Hmong refugees, who had fled Laos for refugee camps in Thailand. In a major victory for the Hmong, tens of thousands of Hmong later were afforded expedited U.S. immigration rights by the U.S. government.[10]

In 2000, however, several films were released showing the Secret Army soldiers with their families still running for their life from the Lao government in the jungles of Laos. The films document ongoing human rights abuses by the Laotian government.
Is anyone else a little irked by the fact that they only mention Hmongs? What about the Lao people that fought and died as well?
You know when I went in to try to sign up for a language test they gave me a list. I didn't see Laotian on there but I saw Hmong. Hmong?! but not Laotian? WTH?
I get really irritated when people ask me if Laotian is the same thing as Hmong. I've actually been asked that several times by professors when I tell them that I'm Laotian. They ask me, is that like Hmong? @#$%^&!

I have nothing against Hmongs but geez, how come they get recognition but it's as if Laotians don't even exist.
 

KEdoubleNY

sarNie Adult
I wouldn't be surprise that the person that wrote the stories got his inputs from a Hmong person. That's why most of the stories you read is one-sided story. Always base on how the Hmong is getting abused and killed in Laos ...

To add why they don't mention Lao people ... Cus Hmong is well known ... they have a Senator here in MN ... their people are bonded together ... they hold big ceremonies and stuff ... Lao people .. they always low-key .. most ceremonies are held at the Wat and who's gonna want to report that? Hmong are just out there exposing themselves and who they are ... while us Lao are secret and quiet about everything.


Btw, Liberty .. may I ask u what ur paper is about? The Vietnam War?
 

mongstaness

sarNie Adult
I'm trying to put the finishing touches and edit my story on my dad and came across this.



Is anyone else a little irked by the fact that they only mention Hmongs? What about the Lao people that fought and died as well?
You know when I went in to try to sign up for a language test they gave me a list. I didn't see Laotian on there but I saw Hmong. Hmong?! but not Laotian? WTH?
I get really irritated when people ask me if Laotian is the same thing as Hmong. I've actually been asked that several times by professors when I tell them that I'm Laotian. They ask me, is that like Hmong? @#$%^&!

I have nothing against Hmongs but geez, how come they get recognition but it's as if Laotians don't even exist.
To be honest, I am Hmong. and i was curious about wat u had to say about the Secret War. Let me tell you beforehand that I, as well have nothing against Laotians. But from my experience, it depends on where you live. Because honesty, I don't think that there are as many Laotians in the US compared to Hmong.

and i experienced the opposite of what you experienced. i see Laotian, and don't see Hmong when i am circling bubbles that are asking me wat my ethnicity is. the bottom line is that, both Laotians and Hmongs are the underdogs when it comes to Southeast Asians.

But about the vietnam war, i've never heard the side of the Laotians, but i am curious as to what they experienced too though. if you do kno, please share, im very open to learning new things about us Southeast Asians.
 

Liberty

sarNie Adult
It's not really about the Vietnam War, it's about the Secret War that went on in Laos and continued after the Vietnam War ended.
It was something I had to do for a writing class, Journalism as a Literary Form. We had to write a story that was non-fiction but read like a novel and so the first thing I thought about was war (most nonfiction novels are about war from reason) and my dad.

Population wise, I thought there are more Laotians because from my research it says that over 100,000 came to the US but only approx. 25,000 Hmongs made it to the US. I don't know, maybe it's changed greatly since someone last reported that stats. We need a Laotian in the government. I had considered running for an office when I got older but that was when I actually enjoyed politics, now I've grown tired of it.

Anyway, the story is about my dad and his escape from Laos during the time that the Communists were taking over.
 

Liberty

sarNie Adult
It's not really about the Vietnam War, it's about the Secret War that went on in Laos and continued after the Vietnam War ended.
It was something I had to do for a writing class, Journalism as a Literary Form. We had to write a story that was non-fiction but read like a novel and so the first thing I thought about was war (most nonfiction novels are about war from reason) and my dad.

Population wise, I thought there are more Laotians because from my research it says that over 100,000 came to the US but only approx. 25,000 Hmongs made it to the US. I don't know, maybe it's changed greatly since someone last reported that stats. We need a Laotian in the government. I had considered running for an office when I got older but that was when I actually enjoyed politics, now I've grown tired of it.

Anyway, the story is about my dad and his escape from Laos during the time that the Communists were taking over.
Oh almost forgot, I'll have the story up some time today on my blog if you guys would like to read it.
 

lady0fdarkness

Professional Lakorn Watcher
But about the vietnam war, i've never heard the side of the Laotians, but i am curious as to what they experienced too though. if you do kno, please share, im very open to learning new things about us Southeast Asians.
What I experienced too? Let's see...

bombs exploding, gunfires, hiding in ditches, sister almost getting raped, hunger and malnutritioned, diseases, sickness, home was destroyed, relatives dead, hiding in bushes in the cold night, getting captured and locked up, father got killed, dead bodies everywhere, fear, and living like animals for 4 years in a refugee camp.
 

mysuper_girlfriend

sarNie Juvenile
To be honest, I am Hmong. and i was curious about wat u had to say about the Secret War. Let me tell you beforehand that I, as well have nothing against Laotians. But from my experience, it depends on where you live. Because honesty, I don't think that there are as many Laotians in the US compared to Hmong.

and i experienced the opposite of what you experienced. i see Laotian, and don't see Hmong when i am circling bubbles that are asking me wat my ethnicity is. the bottom line is that, both Laotians and Hmongs are the underdogs when it comes to Southeast Asians.

But about the vietnam war, i've never heard the side of the Laotians, but i am curious as to what they experienced too though. if you do kno, please share, im very open to learning new things about us Southeast Asians.

i have to agree. Hmong people these days expose them self more.
 

BaBeeLaiLai

BaBeeLaiLai
yeah Hmong people are getting pretty big...you guys seen Gran Torino yet. lolz...it's hmong people. But yeah don't forget that Mien people fought in the secret war too. There's not too many of us so were not known. So don't feel bad, at least you guys have a country. We live and come from the moutains of Laos and Thailand.

My mom and dad told me a couple of stories of them leaving Laos due to the war as well. They said they had to travel on foot with the kids on their backs and whatever they can bring. They traveled across the Mekong river and into Thailand. There they stayed at the refugee camp for several years until they were sponsered into America.
 

pink_juliet_kashie

sarNie Oldmaid
I'm trying to put the finishing touches and edit my story on my dad and came across this.



Is anyone else a little irked by the fact that they only mention Hmongs? What about the Lao people that fought and died as well?
You know when I went in to try to sign up for a language test they gave me a list. I didn't see Laotian on there but I saw Hmong. Hmong?! but not Laotian? WTH?
I get really irritated when people ask me if Laotian is the same thing as Hmong. I've actually been asked that several times by professors when I tell them that I'm Laotian. They ask me, is that like Hmong? @#$%^&!

I have nothing against Hmongs but geez, how come they get recognition but it's as if Laotians don't even exist.
I wouldn't be surprise that the person that wrote the stories got his inputs from a Hmong person. That's why most of the stories you read is one-sided story. Always base on how the Hmong is getting abused and killed in Laos ...

To add why they don't mention Lao people ... Cus Hmong is well known ... they have a Senator here in MN ... their people are bonded together ... they hold big ceremonies and stuff ... Lao people .. they always low-key .. most ceremonies are held at the Wat and who's gonna want to report that? Hmong are just out there exposing themselves and who they are ... while us Lao are secret and quiet about everything.


Btw, Liberty .. may I ask u what ur paper is about? The Vietnam War?
Yes i do agree that as a hmong..Hmong ppl are trying very hard to be out there..to have our story told
Not that Laotians don't deserve their credibility...but there's alwaise that one thing tat alwaise gets me..at
the very least Laotians still have their homelands to turn to..Hmong..we don't have a country...so we must
have our stories told...b4 they are forgotten...heck the hmong teens now don't even know why Hmong ppl are here in the
states today..and probably one major thing Hmong are alwaise being spoke of is becuz of the promise of safety of our ppl that
the Americans fail to keep..i dunno..but the emotion i get as a Hmong girl wen i hear that my people are being
toss from country to country because no one wants us in their country..saddens me to the point where i can't even
find the words for...

but as Mong stated..i've experienced the opposite from you...i never see Hmong listed on there..though i do see
Laos / Thai / Camb. which hurtst me deeply sometimes...
 

PhoneO_5

sarNie Oldmaid
For one of my classes, I read "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down" and I honestly can say that I learned a lot from that book. It was easy read and I found that the Hmong have a lot of pride. I say this because of the whole "protection from safety" thing that the United States promised. But, other Laos people had to suffer too. Hmong gets recognition from Gen. Vang Pao who had his people fight, but then I don't understand why people respect him after he was the first one out of Laos & made his people suffer escaping the war. I guess he's a great manipulator.

Laos side in relation to my fam:
My dad dropped out of school to go join the army. He saw his brother shot and die in front of him. I definitely think he has post stress syndrome which isn't really recognized by Southeast Asians. And probably won't be diagnosed due to language barrier. Anyways, on my parents wedding day, people were shooting in their village. Friends had to go against friends according to which side they were on. Many Laotian men are afraid of going back to Laos just like every Hmong is due to fear of being killed with their involvement in the war. However, I encouraged my dad to return and he saw family members and friends who he once were enemies with. But, they welcomed him with open arms...because the war is over. I convinced him that if he does die..then he dies in his home country. Maybe if many Hmong who are US citizens return to Laos as a big group, they could defend each other and actually witness how the government is treating Hmong people and report on that. Hmong is the US are way more than in Laos *The book I read is so funny-the doctors didn't want to be on call for when a Hmong woman was going to give birth and Laos is such a small country that they would be too scared to kill US citizens.

I'm just one of the lucky few who was not born in Laos and made it to the U.S. and not having to face the reality of it all.

PS
Are there Hmongs from Thailand here in the U.S.?
 

pink_juliet_kashie

sarNie Oldmaid
For one of my classes, I read "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down" and I honestly can say that I learned a lot from that book. It was easy read and I found that the Hmong have a lot of pride. I say this because of the whole "protection from safety" thing that the United States promised. But, other Laos people had to suffer too. Hmong gets recognition from Gen. Vang Pao who had his people fight, but then I don't understand why people respect him after he was the first one out of Laos & made his people suffer escaping the war. I guess he's a great manipulator.

Laos side in relation to my fam:
My dad dropped out of school to go join the army. He saw his brother shot and die in front of him. I definitely think he has post stress syndrome which isn't really recognized by Southeast Asians. And probably won't be diagnosed due to language barrier. Anyways, on my parents wedding day, people were shooting in their village. Friends had to go against friends according to which side they were on. Many Laotian men are afraid of going back to Laos just like every Hmong is due to fear of being killed with their involvement in the war. However, I encouraged my dad to return and he saw family members and friends who he once were enemies with. But, they welcomed him with open arms...because the war is over. I convinced him that if he does die..then he dies in his home country. Maybe if many Hmong who are US citizens return to Laos as a big group, they could defend each other and actually witness how the government is treating Hmong people and report on that. Hmong is the US are way more than in Laos *The book I read is so funny-the doctors didn't want to be on call for when a Hmong woman was going to give birth and Laos is such a small country that they would be too scared to kill US citizens.

I'm just one of the lucky few who was not born in Laos and made it to the U.S. and not having to face the reality of it all.

PS
Are there Hmongs from Thailand here in the U.S.?
Yes he did..he was the first to leave...that is why a lot of hmong ppl hate him too..tat he left us behind to suffer...
but i see this in a different light...i have a lot of respect for him...I don't mind him leaving b4 anyone..becuz he was
the SOLE target if u get wat I mean..the US CIA contacted him first..he was the leader..he was FIRST on there list
so i understand why he fled...i would have done the same thing..and don't hate him for doing it..its juz like the case
of Prince is it Charles? who wants to go into the war..come on..he would be the first one the enemies want....plus
i'm not mad becuz its not like he fled and NO hmong was able to come to the US...a lot of us did..including me..although
i was born in Thailand... -_-

yes in 2004 thousands were brought to the US from Thailand...becuz of the promise the US had made...but there are still
many more back in tose camps
 

fun

Expired Sarnie
But, other Laos people had to suffer too. Hmong gets recognition from Gen. Vang Pao who had his people fight, but then I don't understand why people respect him after he was the first one out of Laos & made his people suffer escaping the war.
I second that.
 

Liberty

sarNie Adult
Yes he did..he was the first to leave...that is why a lot of hmong ppl hate him too..tat he left us behind to suffer...
but i see this in a different light...i have a lot of respect for him...I don't mind him leaving b4 anyone..becuz he was
the SOLE target if u get wat I mean..the US CIA contacted him first..he was the leader..he was FIRST on there list
so i understand why he fled...i would have done the same thing..and don't hate him for doing it..its juz like the case
of Prince is it Charles? who wants to go into the war..come on..he would be the first one the enemies want....plus
i'm not mad becuz its not like he fled and NO hmong was able to come to the US...a lot of us did..including me..although
i was born in Thailand... -_-

yes in 2004 thousands were brought to the US from Thailand...becuz of the promise the US had made...but there are still
many more back in tose camps

Prince Charles? Which war are you talking about here?
If you're talking about the war that's currently going on in the Middle East, that's Prince Henry, Charles his the old guy with the big ears.
He's William and Henry's father. William and Henry are both in the service but William I think is a flyer, air force? Henry, the youngest is in the army, he's actually on the ground.

There's a BIG difference between being a Prince and being a general.
A general's job is to lead the army, if he flees who are his followers going to follow?

It's more reasonable for a prince to be the first to flee because he comes from a royal line. In the old days stuff like that was important, but even then sons of the monarchy still lost their lives for war so long as there was at least one heir to carry the family line.
In Prince William and Prince Henry's case, they'd be targets not because their family has any real power anymore but because of who they are. If one or the other gets killed in battle the family will weep but there will still be someone to carry on the name. The thing they're most worried about is that if either William or Henry enter the war and get captured it'll make things very complicated.
 

nkaujhmooblauj

sarNie Adult
at least the laotians are not being tortured for fighting in the secret war
the hmong people are trying to escape persecution
 

lady0fdarkness

Professional Lakorn Watcher
at least the laotians are not being tortured for fighting in the secret war
the hmong people are trying to escape persecution
some lao people who were on the independent side who doesn't agree with communism are also being persecuted, not just Hmongs. It's not a question of who is suffering the least or the most. We all refuged from a war that wasn't ours in the first place. In my opinion, we all suffered the same. We each lost a father, a mother, friends, relative, homes, and lives.
 

mongstaness

sarNie Adult
For one of my classes, I read "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down" and I honestly can say that I learned a lot from that book. It was easy read and I found that the Hmong have a lot of pride. I say this because of the whole "protection from safety" thing that the United States promised. But, other Laos people had to suffer too. Hmong gets recognition from Gen. Vang Pao who had his people fight, but then I don't understand why people respect him after he was the first one out of Laos & made his people suffer escaping the war. I guess he's a great manipulator.

Laos side in relation to my fam:
My dad dropped out of school to go join the army. He saw his brother shot and die in front of him. I definitely think he has post stress syndrome which isn't really recognized by Southeast Asians. And probably won't be diagnosed due to language barrier. Anyways, on my parents wedding day, people were shooting in their village. Friends had to go against friends according to which side they were on. Many Laotian men are afraid of going back to Laos just like every Hmong is due to fear of being killed with their involvement in the war. However, I encouraged my dad to return and he saw family members and friends who he once were enemies with. But, they welcomed him with open arms...because the war is over. I convinced him that if he does die..then he dies in his home country. Maybe if many Hmong who are US citizens return to Laos as a big group, they could defend each other and actually witness how the government is treating Hmong people and report on that. Hmong is the US are way more than in Laos *The book I read is so funny-the doctors didn't want to be on call for when a Hmong woman was going to give birth and Laos is such a small country that they would be too scared to kill US citizens.

I'm just one of the lucky few who was not born in Laos and made it to the U.S. and not having to face the reality of it all.

PS
Are there Hmongs from Thailand here in the U.S.?
Yep. I've read that book too, by anne fadiman. it really taught me a lot about my own culture.

and yes, there are hmong from thailand in the US.
 

mongstaness

sarNie Adult
some lao people who were on the independent side who doesn't agree with communism are also being persecuted, not just Hmongs. It's not a question of who is suffering the least or the most. We all refuged from a war that wasn't ours in the first place. In my opinion, we all suffered the same. We each lost a father, a mother, friends, relative, homes, and lives.
yes that is very true. Although it may not seem like it, we've all suffered the same.
 

Liberty

sarNie Adult
Sorry, I just realized I got the name of the red-headed prince wrong. It's Harry not Henry, lol. My bad.

Anyway, I agree with Lome, it's not just Hmongs that are being persecuted.
My paternal grandfather died during the war, my dad got shot trying to fight the communists.
My maternal grandfather was still working for the royal government and was forced to flee the country before he got captured.
My dad told me that his dad had to move their family when the communits got hold of the capital because they were going after EVERYONE that was with with royal family/government and against communism. They eventually found out where my dad's family was hiding out and they had to flee to Thailand.
 

sofarsogood

sarNie Egg
WoW I am so confuse about all this stuffs. I am not into hmong or Laos communities things.

humm my family has gone throught the wars too, my brother said there was this one time when gun shoots was everywhere and bodies was just falling on to the ground around him......aldults, babies ,childrens...he says he was so bless that when he flee that place he did die.
 
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