i don't know how they can continue to question that these hmong people in thailand are political (not economic) refugees. thailand has attempted to illegally deport a group of them, thus forcing the hand of the usa and australia. read below:
read this article for some background...
http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=ENGASA260012007
read this article for the backdown...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070131/wl_asia_afp/thailandlaoshmongunrefugees_070131075719
read this article for the usa backup...
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,21146779-1702,00.html?from=public_rss
3 comments:
ever since making friends with a bosnian refugee i've gained a whole new appreciation for the refugee problem in general. i never realized there are actually international laws associated with the "handling" of refugees. how unfortunate that we as a world don't more readily take in the poor and weak among us. and just this weekend i heard that the u.s. is increasing the cost of citizenship - apalling - no reason for it that i can see. the u.s. and australia and canada do a lot of good - but there's so much more that needs to be done.
p.s. i thought i was your target audience. :(
if you think the cost of citizenship is bad, look at the cost of getting a green card. wow. i should post that on my blog...
and you are my target audience, but its nice to have someone from Laos take a look every so often.
If you look at economic history, refugees are great for growth and development. Look at the late 1800's. We should just open up the borders and let them all flow in I say. The infastructure will hurt a little in the beginning, but it will make us all better in the long run.
And you are straddling a fence buddy. You need 2 blogs. One for Laos, and one for your musings. You should be the authority on Laotian issues for English speakers. A diplomat of sorts and a scholar as well. Check this out as an example (he analyzes Central Asia):
http://roberts-report.blogspot.com/
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