Hmong resettlement village finally sees the light

 

This was the headline of an article in the Vientiane Times earlier this month. It refers to  the return to Laos of Hmong refugees from Thailand, which was big news in Thailand towards the end of 2009. Events in Thailand have long since eclipsed this as a news story, so it is no surprise that this update has not figured in the English language press to my knowledge. I am reprinting it here and will follow it up tomorrow with a post of my own on the subject of Hmong resettlement villages I have visited.

 

 

Hmong resettlement village finally sees the light

 

Residents in the Hmong resettlement village of Phonkham in Borikhamxay Province’s Borikham district now have access to electricity. Villagers gained access to the power grid last weekend after officials held a ceremony to mark the occasion on Sunday. The villagers have been granted use of free power for the next year, Borikham district Governor, Mr Khene Lomany, told Vientiane Times last week.

 

The village, consisting of more than 610 houses, was built by the Lao government for over 3,500 homeless Hmong people, including Hmong returnees who had previously migrated to Thailand illegally. Many of them returned to Laos in December last year.

 

Mr Khene outlined some of the progress made by the government in helping the villagers to become self-sufficient.

 

More than 600 hectares of land has been cleared for upland rice cultivation, with each family allocated 1.2 to 1.5 hectares. Provincial and district authorities have worked with private companies to encourage the villagers to become self-sufficient and help the government to wean them off subsidies by next year.

 

Officials are currently in the preparation stage of building a small scale five-bed medical dispensary to provide healthcare services. A gravity-fed water system has already been installed in the village, along with toilets. Construction of a 57km road connecting the village to the district centre was recently completed. Local authorities plan to develop the village’s temporary market into a permanent one to boost community trade, as well as to build a passenger-vehicle station nearby.

 

Mr Khene said the Party and government places great importance on the well-being of the villagers, reflected through the realisation of 13 development programmes introduced to develop the village. This has given the returnees confidence tin the policies aimed at assisting them and made them realise they are safe upon their return, after earlier worrying about being persecuted as widely rumoured in Thai detention camps, Mr Khene said.

 

Source: Vientiane Times (June 03, 2010).

 

The article can be viewed here at Lao Voices  where some photos of the official ceremony can be seen.