Lessons of Refugee Survival
J. Pete Fuentecilla
Mekong Circle International
New York, NY
USA
Abstract:
When the Pathet Lao won control of Laos in 1975, waves of lowland Lao and Hmong,
uncertain and fearful of their future under the new rulers, fled the country. It
is estimated that 10 percent of the inhabitants, or some 350,000, settled in
Thailand, the USA, Canada, Australia, France, and other countries. The migration
lasted over 10 years.
The first wave was composed of the elite -- former government and military
personnel and merchants. Among the first wave were Lao lowland nurses, the
products of the first private school of nursing operated by a non-governmental
organization managing a health care program in the country. The author was an
instructor in that school. These nurses represented a sector of a small
population of Lao possessing skills of value and middle-level education. As such
they composed a distinct segment of the refugees, a majority of whom were
uneducated Lao farmers and Hmong tribes people.
This paper will describe the circumstance of their migration to and settlement
in the USA. Their experience will be compared with demographically similar and
dissimilar refugees in the USA, not only from Laos but also from Vietnam and
Cambodia. (All three countries saw the forced migration of large numbers of
their inhabitants during the same period).