Press Release	For Immediate Release: Monday, August 4, 2003 Media Contacts HND Bo Thao or Doua Thor at (202) 463-2118 SEARAC KaYing Yang or Max Niedzwiecki at (202) 667-4690

HND and SEARAC Urge U.S. Department of State to Offer Resettlement Option to Hmong Refugees In Wat Thamkrabok, Thailand

Washington, DC—SEARAC and HND encourage the Governments of the United States and Thailand to implement humane and lasting solutions to the dilemma of longstanding Hmong refugees from Laos who are now in Thailand, principally at Wat Thamkrabok. Solutions available to these refugees should include third-country resettlement in the United States.

Following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, hundreds of thousands of Hmong fled Laos for refugee camps in Thailand due to their involvement on the side of the United States. Thousands later left the camps, including Ban Vinai, for fear of repatriation, and many found relative sanctuary in Wat Thamkrabok, a Buddhist temple in central Thailand. According to recent reports over 15,000 Hmong refugees from Laos now live at the temple grounds.

"After almost thirty years, these refugees still live in poverty and are often exploited. Without access to Thai citizenship, they lack full rights and cannot integrate where they are now. Many of them have close family members in the U.S. who would love to welcome them here and help them make a new start." says KaYing Yang, Executive Director of SEARAC.

Historically, the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program has offered resettlement as a means of protecting special groups — such as the Hmong — who were and continue to be persecuted of their pro-American stance.

"Refugee resettlement in the United States offers a durable solution for these remaining refugees who supported Americans during the Vietnam War," states Bo Thao, Executive Director of HND.

On July 30, HND and SEARAC formally presented a list of recommendations for the Wat Thamkrabok refugees to the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Population, Migration and Refugees (PRM). The two organizations continue to advocate on behalf of post-Vietnam War refugees from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam who remain in vulnerable situations, and recommendations and updates on their work will be posted at http://www.searac.org/new.html and at http://hndlink.org.

Both the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC) and Hmong National Development (HND) are national-level nonprofit organizations managed primarily by and for resettled refugees in the United States.

• HND (http://hndlink.org/) is a national nonprofit organization developing capacity to ensure the full participation of Hmong in society. HND works with local and national organizations, public and private entities, and individuals to promote educational opportunities, to increase community capacity, and to develop resources for the well-being, growth, and full participation of Hmong in society.
• SEARAC (http://www.searac.org/) is the national advocacy organization working to advance the interests of Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese Americans through leadership development, capacity building, and community empowerment.