military guarded camps or in jails.  The UNHCR has no access to them.  Even those that have been granted refugee status by the UNHCR face the possibility of being sent back to Laos.  Once the Hmong had favored status that would allow them to migrate to the United States.  However, under a provision of the Patriot Act they are now defined as "terrorists" because they have borne arms against the communist government of Laos* (It does not matter the arms they bore were provided by the United States and used by them as an American military unit).  They literally have no one to turn to.   

Those in America have watched for years their people suffering at the hands of the communist government of Laos.   While the world is aware of their plight there have been no solutions for them.  The United States and the international community have failed to find a diplomatic resolution.  Therefore when presented with what are misguided promises by others these otherwise good men have made what they see is a last ditch effort to save their brothers and sisters from genocide.

Tragically a noble historical figure has fallen from grace.  General Vang Pao is one of the most respected military strategists of the last century.  Without his "Secret Army" the spread of communism would have engulfed all of Southeast Asia.  Like no other leader in exile he has held the Hmong people together giving them a vision for the future.  Those who may have led this elderly world leader into this serious matter need to take stalk on what they may have cost this "father" of the Hmong people.

In October of 2003 General Vang Pao announced his "Peace Doctrine."   In that announcement he encouraged the international Laotian community to work peacefully toward a more certain future for the people of Laos through education and economic development.  In 2005 he met with staff of the State Department in Washington and with U.N. staff members in New York were he denounced any intention to overthrow the government of Laos and reiterated his desire to negotiate a peaceful resolution for those in the mountains of Laos.  His position was not received well by some.  His son's home in Minnesota was firebombed nearly costing the life of his son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren.
Though he has been under a great deal of pressure for his position, Vang Pao in his conversations with the FFC has continued to support a peaceful resolution for the people in the jungle.  What may have made a change in the last few months is unclear.  Again, those that may have persuaded him to pursue another path have done Vang Pao a great injustice.

The Hmong community needs to understand they cannot save those left behind by destroying themselves from within.  If the allegations are true what the men did is very wrong.  On the other hand how does anyone helplessly stand by and watch their family die.  All of us are capable of lapses in judgment when those close to us are in harms way.  The fault does is not in the hands of those who deeply care and are unable to do anything it is the in the hands of those that have the power to help and have done nothing. 

*There are efforts in the U.S. Senate to correct this anomaly in the Patriot Act. 

The Fact Finding Commission
Ed Szendrey
Georgie Szendrey
Ger Vang

The mission of the Fact Finding Commission is to bring the plight of the U.S. Secret War veterans and their families that are hiding in the remote jungles of Laos to the attention of the world.