THAM KRABOK, Thailand (AP) – The largest refugee camp for ethnic Hmong who fled communist Laos to Thailand was officially closed Thursday, ending another chapter of the Vietnam War era.
The closure of the camp in Thailand follows the relocation of 10,000 Hmong, a mountain-dwelling ethnic group, to the United States. Another 5,300 are expected to resettle there by September.
During the Vietnam War, the CIA enlisted the Hmong to help U.S.-backed government forces fight communist insurgents in Laos.
When the communists won, many Hmong fled for fear of retribution. A small number continue to fight the government in the jungles of northern Laos.
Some leaving the camp at Tham Krabok, about 60 miles north of Bangkok, said they were sorry to go.
“I will miss it here. It will take me a long time to forget,” said Kaying Song, 37, who lived in the camp for 10 years and leaves for Minnesota next month with his wife, father and seven children.
Under pressure from Thailand, which contended the camp had become a center for drug trafficking and political intrigue against neighboring Laos, Washington started a registration process to accept the refugees.
About 15,000 registered. So far, just over 10,000 have gone to the United States, and 77 to Australia, which also agreed to accept them.
Most have resettled in California, Minnesota and Wisconsin, which have long-established Hmong communities.
Kia Li, 53, who fled Laos in 1975 and is slated to go to the United States, reluctantly joined the camp’s closing ceremony.
“I’m already old and don’t want to go, but my children want to go,” she said. “I will have to go.”
Others were happy to move.
Nea Saesong, 30, was excited about starting a new life with her mother and sisters, who have been living in the United States for some time.
“I don’t know yet what I’m going to do,” she said. “But I think I will survive.”
About 170 elderly Hmong who don’t want to go overseas will be moved to northern Thailand’s Lampang province and granted Thai citizenship.
Also staying are several who’ve been denied resettlement overseas due to drug-related criminal records.
Meanwhile, Thai authorities are considering what to do about 5,000 Hmong from Laos who live in the northeastern province of Phetchabun, where disease has become a problem.
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