Dr. Jane Hamilton-Merritt

**NEW LETTER**

U.S. Congressional Letter to Secretary of State Clinton

**NEW**
May 21-23, 2009: Washington, D.C. National Lao-Hmong Veterans Memorial

**VIDEO**
Unknown Group of Vets Hold Special Ceremony

**ALERT**
Médecins Sans Frontières Protest Hmong Refugee Treatment by Thai Government and Military

What's New?

TRAGIC MOUNTAINS IS CELEBRATING its 15th anniversary of publication by Indiana University Press.

Fifteen years ago, Tragic Mountains: The Hmong, The Americans and the Secret Wars for Laos was launched at the Hmong New Year Celebration in Fresno, California by the Lao Veterans of America in conjunction with Indiana University Press. It was the culmination of some 14 years of research and writing.

Tragic Mountains took so long to write because the key players lived all over the world. Some of these individuals had worked for intelligence agencies and by contract were prohibited from discussing their activities--although many did recall their own experiences. Since the U.S. military operations in Military Region II (Hmong homelands) in Laos were covert, U.S.government documents were classified--not available. This made it difficult to piece together the history of the Hmong, the Americans, and the secret wars for Laos. After interviewing well over l,000 people, the story of what happened in northern Laos during the Vietnam War era took shape and those first-hand testimonies became a profound document. To all who spent many hours with me in interviews, this 15th anniversary celebration of Tragic Mountains is an acknowledgment of your contributions to history.

In this message, I also want to acknowledge the Hmong American college students--past and present. Over the years, Hmong American student organizations have sponsored me as a lecturer on their campuses to talk about how the Hmong and the Americans came together under President Kennedy, to describe the roles of the Hmong soldiers in the Lao theater of the Vietnam War, and to address the terrible consequences of the Hmong alliance with the U.S. As a result, I have had the opportunity to meet thousands of Hmong American students. You are most impressive!

In our private discussions, they voice their frustrations that their fellow students, their college staff and faculty personnel often know very little about the Hmong--or are misinformed.. They report that there is often no mention of the Hmong in their elementary and high school classes. These students conclude: "It is as if we don't exist."

Hmong American high school and college students have recently become active in bringing public attention to the plight of the Hmong political refugees in jeopardy in Thailand and of the tragedy of those Hmong who are running and hiding in the high jungle of Laos. College students and recent graduates are pushing for inclusion of Hmong history in the public school curricula in states where there are large numbers of Hmong American students.

U.S. President- Elect Barak Obama's recent letter to the Hmong American community hopefully opens new opportunities to address the issues of Hmong Americans and to resolve the Hmong humanitarian crises for the Hmong political refugees in Thailand and for the Hmong hiding in the Lao jungle. (Obama's letter is posted above.) With the interest of President-Elect Obama in the Hmong American community issues, perhaps we can hope that the Hmong concerns and issues can be raised to the highest level in our society.