After a rally for Assembly Joint Resolution 36, Assemblymember Dave Jones, D-Sacramento, couldn’t help but hold back tears when a crying Hmong woman approached him and told him of a loved one who died in the jungles of Laos.
“All I could do was hug her and tell her how very, very sorry I was that she had lost her family member,” he said.
The resolution calls for the president and Congress to take appropiate measures to defend and protect the human rights of the Hmong population in Laos and Thailand. An assembly joint resolution is a resolution passed by both houses of a bicameral legislature and can become a law if signed by the president or can be vetoed.
The treatment of the Hmong in Southeast Asia is a concern for Jones, who authored the bill.
The United State’s CIA enlisted the help of the Hmongs during the Vietnam War. It has been more than 30 years since the war ended, but many Hmong are still hiding in the jungles and fighting for survival against the Laotian government.
Jones said he learned about the history of the Hmong in Laos and Thailand when he worked as a legal aid lawyer to provide for people, some of who were Hmong, who could not afford the service. He then worked closely with the Hmong community when he was councilman for the South Sacramento area.
“I believe that we owe a real debt of gratitude to the Hmong community and we should exert all diplomatic pressure and influence to address the human rights crisis occurring in Laos and Thailand,” he said.
The resolution urges the U.S. to intervene in Laos and Thailand diplomatically. It does not specify the steps Congress should take, but Jones said they had to be respectful of the separation of powers. He said they want them to stop mistreating the Hmong in Laos and stop deportation of the Hmong in Thailand.
“So rather than prescribing or dictating a certain set of approaches, we want them to use what’s going to work," he said. "That’s the bottom line.”
The resolution does urge, however, for the Laotian government to allow the United Nations to provide humanitarian aid, specifically food and access to medical care, to the Hmong population who have taken refuge in the jungle. The resolution currently states the measure is non-fiscal.
Jones said he wants to show the world how the Hmong are being mistreated by the Laotian government. The country is not letting any media or observers in. Only journalist who risked his or her life has been the way the public has known about these events, he said.
Rebecca Sommer is one of those journalist who captured the Hmong people in the jungles in her documentary, Hunted Like Animals. The documentary was secretly shot showing how the Hmong were surviving and their continuous plight as the Laotian soldiers chase them.
Vaming Xiong is chairman of Hmong America Ad Hoc Committee of Sacramento. He was born in Laos and said it is destructive what the Hmong have to endure. He said Laotian soldiers burn homes and villages, kill animals so the Hmong will starve, people die of illnesses and they imprison many.
Xiong said he is also in support of the resolution, but feels it is taking too long to have an effect.
“If the bill passes, there may not be enough Hmong to save,” he said.
Thua Vang, a researcher, said there are about 5,000 to 7,000 Hmong left in the jungles moving from different encampments to stay ahead of the Laotian armies and police units. He said they are surviving on cassava roots, sometimes poisonous yems and if they are lucky, bamboo.The website Factfinding.org contains history, facts and statistics of deaths in Laos, Vang said. The website found 71 people were killed or died from January through February.
He said someone who watches the footage of Hmong being killed, children being malnourished, women talking about rape and families mourning for thier lost ones, would not be able to hold back tears.
Though Vang said he is very supportive of the resolution, he questions the effect it will have on the president and Congress.
“Numerous resolutions have been passed in Washington. Nothing has been done. This is coming from the state level,” he said. “How effective will it go from state to an international level?”
Vang said this is an international and foriegn issue that should encompass the help of other countries. He sometimes gets direct satellite phone calls from Hmongs who are in hiding and often times, gets questions he can't answer.
“You know, I’m really good at answering questions but the hardest question that is thrown at me is ‘how soon can you help us? How soon will they come here to help us?’” Vang said.
Philipine Phomphakdy is a Laotian resident in Sacramento said he believes there is no human rights violation in Laos. He said he has a grandpa in Laos who can attest to that and the media is just making people look bad.
“But they’re blowing things out of proportion to probably make people think it’s going on again,” Phomphakdy said.
He said videos obtained by the Hmong are used as false evidence.
“I think they (Hmong) should try and talk with the Laos community and see where everyone stands in the situation,” Phomphakdy said.
Lao Ambassador Phiane Philakone was quoted from an article last June in The Sacramento Bee denying the human rights violation accusations.
“I deny these things because we don't have people in the jungle -- it's only a rumor, it's not accurate information," Philakone said.
The Lao embassy in Washington was unavailable to comment after repeated attempts.
Vang wishes he could meet with Laotian government officials himself.
“I just feel sorry to see these politicians denying all the allegations against them, when they can be more transparent and work with an international community,” he said.
The resolution has passed the assembly judiciary committee no opposition or obstentions.
The Sacramento Hmong community will host a rally at the Capitol on Mar. 24 from 9 a.m. to 1
p.m. protesting the deportation and genocide of the Hmong in Laos, Xiong said. The rally will try to bring attention to the recent deaths that have happened in Laos, having 71 people dress in black to represent those killed. Jones will also be one of the key speakers.Jones said he’s seen more leaders in the government get involved by writing letters, like Doris Matsui and Barbara Boxer. He said he hopes the California legislature will send a loud and united message to the president and Congress so the necessary steps to the help the Hmong in Laos will be fulfilled.
Vang said the time for the Hmong now is to fight, just as they did and are doing in Laos.
“The way they fight in this county is to get their voice to the elected official so lawmakers have the power and the ability to make change,” he said.
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4 comments:
This was a really interesting read. It didn't actually read like you were meeting an assignment (not that you didn't) but as a human interest story. You guys did a good job making a bill (in this case, resolution) story come alive. I actually didn't know that state assembly members could author resolutions meant to ultimately be considered on the national level, nor did I realize there was this situation in Laos. The use of sources in the story is interesting when it comes to revealing the nature of the problem- especially the South Sacramento resident who shows there's also people who don't believe this is actually a problem. Whether that's true or not (though from the sound of everything, I'm inclined to think he's wrong) that voice helped effectively communicate how the matter is complicated.
Outside of now wanting to know more about how a resolution can spring up from the state level, the issue itself and the resolution was well described, and it seems like you did a good job in communicating angles of the issue through different voices.
Wow, what an issue. It has happened so many times that huge human rights violations occur and when the general public finds out (sometimes years later), people ask, "Why didn't we do something about that?" Often the press is blamed for not bringing attention to the crisis.
This is a good story, and an example of writing about a serious issue that doesn't get much press. Part of this is probably because it is difficult to prove, and there are high-profile people saying the problem doesn't exist.
The fact that a state legislature is addressing a matter of foreign policy is also interesting. If passed, what does a resolution at the state level really mean?
I don't think there's a lot of knowledge in American about the Hmong people, and their plight is something that should receive more attention. Some people like to say bad things about the United States getting involved with issues in other countries, but helping the Hmong is a lot different than starting wars with countries that pose no serious threat to us. Great choice for a story.
Way to talk about a neglected community in Sacramento
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