THE NATIONS, ARTICLE WRITTEN BY JOE DAVY August 18, 2007

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/08/18/opinion/opinion_30045483.php Hmong refugees suffer, forgotten in Nong Khai http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/08/18/opinion/opinion_30045483.php Hmong refugees suffer, forgotten in Nong Khai The 149 Hmong refugees at the Nong Khai Immigration Detention Centre have begun a hunger strike to protest the inhumane living conditions there. During the past two months, Thai authorities at the immigration jail have not allowed these refugees out of their tiny overcrowded cells. They have taken away their mosquito netting, blankets and clothing. The refugees are forbidden to wash their clothes and have to drink the water from the bath trough. The majority of these refugees, including the elderly, women and infants, have all become critically ill because of this. This inhumane treatment is all being done to punish the refugees because they refuse to return to Laos, where they face political persecution. These refugees have been detained for nine months now with no hope of ever being released. They clearly see that both the Thai and Lao governments can openly defy international law by denying the fact that these Hmong are United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)-recognised refugees. After a failed forced deportation attempt in January, Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont had promised that these refugees would be allowed to resettle in third countries. Since then, he has done an about-face and put a hold on any third-country resettlement, allowing these refugees to rot in jail as if they were some criminals. Meanwhile, the UNHCR, Unicef, the US government, the diplomatic community, human rights groups and the media seem to all be letting the Thai and Lao governments work this out on their own. Maybe when the Hmong start dying someone will finally start to speak up. Joe Davy Chicago