L48 Anthro 3283 Chapter Notes - Chapter 12: Ban Vinai Refugee Camp, Vang Pao, Hmong People
Fadiman Ch. 12 (p. 154-170)
• Lees’ “trip to Thailand” in 1979 was there second attempt to escape from Laos after the
war
o Big hardship for their family, held at gunpoint, one of their kids got ill and died
and the other infant died of starvation; had 8 children → 6 children
• 26 days on foot and entered the border into Thailand
• People from the Western hemisphere can’t understand what it is like
• After the war, they wanted the Hmong culture to disappear
• Neo Hom – group founded in the U.S and headed by Vang Pao; financed entirely by
refugees from Laos; families donated money and Pao promised this money would go to
carry out guerrilla activities and overthrow the communist government in Laos
• Opium overdoses happened so frequently that it never made headlines and they accepted
them as a fact of life
• Had to leave valuables, could not bury family members that died
• Hong put in camps near the Lao border
• Ban Vinai camp that largest Hmong settlement in history; only have the right to get your
rations and go to your tent; some people were born and grew up there
• Ban Vinai Rabies parade – held Hmong responsible for their own dependence, poor
health, and lack of cleanliness
• U.S. refused to accept families with more than 8 people, but did not limit the size of
nuclear families; Hmong grew accustomed to lying when they were interviewed by
immigration officials
• 1982 meeting on the Ban Vinai field – expressed fear of doctors who ate the livers,
kidneys, and brains of Hmong people
• Ban Vinai may have been disease ridden, dirty and crowded, but culturally it was
powerful
• The older a Hmong the less willing they were to leave the camp; at the camp the cultural
tradition was still there
o What would be the good to go to America if all of that changed?
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
