2,000 Hmong Arrested at Wat Tham Krabok
BANGKOK, Thailand - Hoping to be included in the resettlement process to America, more than 2,000 Hmong have been arrested by Thai soldiers after they allegedly entered wat Tham Krabok illegally.
Reports indicate that on Wednesday, August 18, hundreds of Thai troops stormed the camp at around 2 a.m. and rounded up those who registered at the camp after the U.S. deadline of August 2003.
According to camp insiders, thousands of Hmong entered the camp after they had heard about the resettlement program despite having missed the deadline.
While most of those arested were former habitants of the camp who decided to leave some time prior to the announcement of the resettlement program, hundreds of others are Hmong who illegally crossed over from Laos.
Although it is not known where the 2,000 prisoners are currently being detained, it is believed that they will eventually be returned to the villages they came from. The fate of those Hmong from Laos is even more of a mystery.
Information for this article provided by the Associated Press
This article appeared in Hmong Today, Volume 1, Edition 18, Published August 26, 2004. Reprinted here by permission from Hmong Today.