Since the 1970s, some 200,000 Hmong refugees from Laos have come to the United States. A minority ethnic group based in the Laotian highlands, many of them settled in California, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Each Hmong refugee may have their own chilling story to tell, but a common thread runs through them: The U.S. recruited this mountain tribe for the Cold War efforts in Laos in the early 1960s, when a Communist takeover was threatening Indochina (now Vietnam). After Saigon fell, the Hmong were hunted down by the Viet Cong. Running through jungles, they crossed over into Thailand, the staging area for resettlement. More than 300,000 Hmong have fled Laos since 1975, seeking asylum in refugee camps. Over 200,000 have been resettled in the U.S.

Although the Hmong comprise less than one percent of the immigrant population in California, their growing numbers in the farming business have contributed to the state’s agricultural growth, not to mention a culinary revolution with their exotic vegetables.

Among these refugees is the Moua family, who has laid stakes in the flat and dry Central Valley. Their journey has been harrowing: When war spread from Vietnam to Laos, Ted Moua, his two sisters and one brother, ran and hid in the mountains for several years, eluding the Viet Cong. They fled to Thailand in 1979 and arrived in the U.S. in 1980.

Text by Astrid Barros

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