By Connie Lee, UW-Madison

Sometimes in life, if you are lucky, you will experience moments that leave you changed forever.  You will never know when, why, or even how but when the moment presents itself, life, as you know it, begins to have a whole new meaning.

On Thursday, February 5 2009, Hmong American students traveled to Washington DC at the invite of Dr. Jane Hamilton-Merritt to participate in the National Policy and Press Conference held by the Center for Public Policy Analysis in Washington, D.C.   This event was entitled, “Laos, Hmong Refugee Crisis: ‘Tragic Mountains’ and the Human Rights and Humanitarian Challenge in Thailand and Southeast Asia.”
More than twenty students from the Hmong Human Rights organization (HHR) at UW-Madison were honored to voice their concerns about the forced repatriation of the Hmong at a national level.
No words can describe our initial meeting with Dr. Jane, Nobel Peace Prize candidate and author of Tragic Mountains: The Hmong, The Americans, and the Secret Wars for Laos.   Her passion immediately ignited a spark within us.  We went straight to work on notes, goals, and last minute preparations for the press briefings the following day.

The next morning, dressed in traditional Hmong clothes, we accompanied Dr. Jane to the National Press Club for the first press briefing.  From nine to noon, representatives from Amnesty International, Lao Veterans of America, Inc., Lao Hmong Human Rights Council, Hmong Diaspora Leadership Council, Lao Student Movement for Democracy, students from UW-Madison and UW-Platteville, several human rights groups, and Dr. Jane herself shared knowledge and concerns about the Hmong humanitarian crisis in Thailand with concerned Congressional personnel.

In Thailand at Ban Huay Nam Khao, some 5-7,000 Hmong refugees are facing forced repatriation from Thailand back to Laos.  International human rights groups are calling on the Thai government to allow the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) access to this camp to independently screen the Hmong for refugee status and resettlement in third countries—and to stop the repatriation until this has been done.

Later that day a second press briefing was held at the Cannon House Office Building.  While this briefing consisted of the same speakers, we were met with a surprise.  The arrival of Representative Patrick Kennedy from Rhode Island was beyond belief.  With an inspiring speech that left us all in tears, he restored hope for rescuing our Hmong refugee relatives in Thailand.

More importantly, he emphasized his passion for the Hmong by assuring us all that he would continue to work on passing H. Res. 1273, a bill that he introduced in June 2008 that would officially involve the U.S. government in urging the Lao government to better treat the Hmong and other ethnic minorities in Laos.

The next day we accompanied Dr. Jane to a Congressional Briefing on Capitol Hill, arranged by Wisconsin Representative Ron Kind due to letters sent by UW-Platteville’s Chancellor and students.  The powerful presentations during the Congressional Briefing included a documentary film, presented by Vaughn Vang of the Lao Hmong Human Rights Council, depicting the terror and desperation of the Hmong refugees in Thailand.

Afterwards, we set out to speak to our Senators about the immediate need to stop the forced repatriation of the Hmong from Thailand to Laos.  As a college student, it was intimidating to step inside a Senator’s office.  However, the Senate staffs responded very well to our cause.  They were especially interested in what we, as students, had to say about the issue, and it was then that I truly believed we were making a difference for our people.

The opportunity to visit Washington, DC has been a turning point for us all.  It has changed adolescent boys and girls into young adults. It has made us realize that our duty to the Hmong people is utilizing each individual’s civic responsibility to save our Hmong refugee relatives.  Our experience in Washington, DC has challenged us to break out of the stereotype that young Hmong Americans are apathetic towards our people. We can band together in unity to better the lives of the Hmong people in Thailand, our people who are desperately crying out to us for help.