Wat Tham Krabok - Hmong Refugees

Hmong Refugees

Following the end of the Vietnam War, in the late 1970s, Wat Tham Krabok hosted Hmong refugees in a camp on its grounds, most of whom fled Laos alleging that they were persecuted by the communist government that has ruled Laos since 1975. This continued until over 15,000 Hmong were allowed to go to the USA in 2004 and 2005.

In the late 1970s Wat Tham Krabok, and particularly its abbot, Luang Por Chamroon, supported the Hmong resistance against the Lao PDR government, particularly the Chao Fa movement led by Pa Kao Her. The Hmong were United States war allies in the Secret War against the communist Pathet Lao, the Viet Cong and North Vietnam.

When several Thailand-based Hmong refugee camps closed due to a lack of financial support in the early 1990s, Hmong refugees in Thailand fled to the temple to avoid repatriation to Laos. The population at the temple quickly grew to about 35,000, although it later declined significantly.

Wat Tham Krabok and its Hmong refugees drew global attention in the mid-1990s, as they became the subject of a major global political debate over their future. The government of Thailand, with support from the United Nations and the Clinton administration, sought to repatriate the Hmong at Wat Tham Krabok to Laos. But this effort drew significant opposition from American conservatives and human rights leaders, especially Hmong groups. Michael Johns, the influential former Heritage Foundation foreign policy analyst and aide to former President George H. W. Bush, helped lead opposition to the forced repatriation, labeling it a "betrayal," since many Hmong had aided the United States during the Secret War.

While some Hmong were repatriated, most were resettled to the United States in 2004 and 2005, most moving to the U.S. states of Minnesota, California, and Wisconsin. There are presently only a couple of Hmong families living at Wat Tham Krabok.