November 4, 2007

 

Docters Without Borders Find Evidence of Atrocities Against Hmong

                                                                            

Thailand (FFC)  Doctors in the refugee camp at Huay Nam Khao have found dozens of Hmong with bullet and shrapnel wounds as well as psychological trauma.

 

The international humanitarian organization Medecins Sans Frontieres or Doctors Without Borders have been treating Hmong refugees in Thailands Petchabun since July of 2005.  MSF teams provide medical and relief assistance to the 7,500 refugees, including health care, psychosocial care, food, relief supplies, water, and sanitation.

 

MSF staff at Huay Nam Khao  are “strongly convinced” many of the Hmong refugees have been badly traumatized by persecution in Laos.  In a press briefing Gilles Isard, MSF country director stated,  “ We believe they are genuine refugees and should be entitled to proper protection."  According to Isard the refugees who claim to have fled violence and persecution in Laos are extremely afraid about the prospect of being forcefully returned.  These fears have produced intense stress and psychological suffering.

 

MSF is calling on Thailand to stop the forced repatriation of the Hmong back to Laos.   "The Hmong refugees we have been caring for in the Huai Nam Khao camp since 2005 constantly tell us how afraid they are of being sent back to Laos," said Gilles Isard, MSF head of mission in Thailand. "Yet every day, they are threatened with an imminent return to Laos—from where many claim to have fled persecution and violence—with no credible guarantees for their safety upon return. This not only violates international standards on repatriation of refugees, but shows a basic disrespect for the dignity and safety of people who are living in fear."

 

MSF is the only international organization working inside the camp at Huay Nam Khao.  In a press release MSF urged the Thai government to carry out a proper objective screening process controlled by an independent, legitimate third party, such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). This third party would assess the legitimacy of their fears, verify their claims to refugee status and protection, and assure that any repatriation to Laos is voluntary.

 

 

 

The Fact Finding Commission is dedicated to exposing the plight of the veterans of the U.S. Secret War who have hid in the mountains and jungles of Laos for the past thirty years to escape the retribution of the communist Lao government for their loyalty services to the United States during the U.S. Secret War in Southeast Asia.

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