Hmong

The Hmong had settled in Laos in the 1800s when they were driven off from the mountains of China and Vietnam. Thus Hmong forms one of the oldest ethnic tribes in Laos. When Laos became a French colony, the Lo clan of Hmong entered into a feud with the French. The French gave some amount of liberty to a few Hmong clans in Laos. Political disputes within the Hmong tribe were looming large.

The French exploited the Hmongs to the maximum during the Second World War. The profit was used by them to engage in undercover operations in the Vietnam War. With the profits they also created an army of Hmong guerrillas. It was in 1954 that Laos gained freedom from French. The Corsicans then took over the Laos opium business.

The Vietnam War had disastrous effects on the Hmong of Laos. With the war spreading to Laos and Cambodia the Hmong supported the US army. But when the war ended the US government refused to help the Hmong. As the Pathet movement took over the government in 1975 a large number of Hmongs left Laos. They settled down in various parts of the world including US, Thailand, Vietnam, France and Australia.

Today the Lao government holds the Hmongs responsible for the problems that Laos has to face as they were with US. As a result the Hmongs in Laos are given inferior treatment and they are forced to shift their homes from the highlands to areas with poor agricultural productivity. Though hundreds of Hmongs are distributed all over the world and have been influenced by modernization and technology they still retain their native culture and tradition.