Medicins Sans Frontieres
For articles regarding the MSF Protest of Hmong Refugee Treatment,
click here.
Special Report
"Fearing a Forced Return - The Situation of the Lao Hmong Refugees in Petchabun, Thailand"
Thailand 2007 © Greg Constantine
Date Published: 22 May 2008
A child stands in front
of the barbed wire fence that hems in the Hmong refugees living in Huay Nam Khao camp in Thailand's Phetchabun province.
Nearly 8,000 ethnic Lao Hmong currently confined to a guarded, barbed-wire enclosed camp controlled by the Thai military
in the village of Huai Nam Khao in Petchabun province in northern Thailand face the imminent threat of a forced return to
Laos. Many of these refugees have told the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins
Sans Frontières (MSF), the sole nongovernmental organization working in the camp, of a life in Laos spent fleeing violent
attacks and persecution, witnessing the murder of family members, suffering rape, surviving bullet and shrapnel wounds, and
enduring malnutrition and disease.
Recent actions taken by the Thai and Lao governments—including the involuntary
return to Laos of 11 refugees in the camp—have heightened the anxiety, psychological distress, and fear among the camp
population. Four of the refugees have attempted to commit suicide since January 2008. Some refugees receiving psychological
care have told MSF that facing the Thai military during the screening process—even anticipation of the meeting—has
triggered flashbacks and nightmares recalling abuses suffered in Laos. This state of desperation has been fueled by the Thai
military’s near constant threats to the refugees of an imminent return to Laos.
Out of grave concern for
their safety and well-being, MSF is calling upon the governments of Thailand and Laos to immediately stop the forced repatriation
of these Lao Hmong refugees without independent monitoring and guarantees for their safety.
To
view the HTML introduction to of this report, click: here
To view and save the Adobe PDF version of this report, click: here
(You will need the free Adobe Reader software available here)
"As Tensions Mount for Forced Return to Laos, Fire Ravages
Hmong Refugee Camp in Northern Thailand"
© MSF Date Published: 27 May 2008
Field News
On Friday, May 23, a fire destroyed close
to 60 percent of the houses in the Huai Nam Khao refugee camp in Petchabun province in northern Thailand. The blaze took hold
after a week-long demonstration in the camp, which is home to nearly 8,000 Lao Hmong refugees, to protest the arrest of a
community leader and the imminent threat of a forced return to Laos.
Many of these refugees have told Doctors Without
Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the sole nongovernmental organization working in the barbed-wire, military-controlled
camp, of a life in Laos spent fleeing violent attacks and persecution, and enduring malnutrition and disease. MSF has been
assisting this refugee population since 2005. MSF has called on the Thai and Lao governments to immediately stop the refugees'
forced repatriation without independent monitoring and guarantees for their safety. Gilles Isard, MSF head of mission in Thailand,
describes the recent events in the camp leading up to the demonstrations and fire.
To view the
full HTML version of this report and all the photos, click: here
"The situation of the Lao Hmong refugees in Petchabun,
Thailand"
Date Published: 31 October 2007
The international medical humanitarian organization
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is calling upon the government of Thailand to halt forced repatriation proceedings
against 7,500 ethnic Hmong refugees from Laos who are currently confined to a camp controlled by the Thai military in the
northern village of Huai Nam Khao in Petchabun province.
The refugees claim to have fled violence and persecution
in Laos and fear for their safety if forcibly returned to the country.
MSF began providing humanitarian aid to
this group of Hmong refugees in July 2005 and has been the sole international organization present since November 2005. During
medical consultations and mental health assessments, MSF has found extreme fear and psychological distress among this population,
which is being exacerbated by the fear of being sent back to Laos.
To view the HTML introduction to of this report,
click: here
To view and save the Adobe PDF version of this report, click: here
(You will need the free Adobe Reader software available here)
