[fun2have]

the hmong in laos and the montagnards in vietnam were sponsored and trained by the us/oz during the vietnam war and before.
most of the old hands i have spoken to (not saigon bar warriors), are full of praise for these people, and thats why so much was done to help them eventually, after the communist victory.
these 2 groups are still persecuted by the governments in control of their countrys.

the thais just recently, forcibly repatriated hmong back to laos.
whilst interred in thailand, no official aid agencies were really allowed to help them, only NGO's and support from hmong expats.

thailand has a very strict policy regarding these minority groups eg the karen etc, its no open arms in thailand.

in oz, many hmong settled in tasmania, and made a very successful life, they generally dont marry outside the extended hmong community.
there is only about 8 familys left in tas, the others have moved to a warmer climate in queensland.

they are a proud and persecuted people within laos, and even in one of the hmong/english phrasebooks at the language school my wife attends, there is a comment handwritten about returning their home to freedom.

so their drive to obtain freedom is survival based, but violence should be the last resort.