Repatriation, Redux

FROM TODAY'S WALL STREET JOURNAL ASIA Thailand's return to democracy has brought positive change in many quarters, but for Hmong refugees from Laos the new government is turning out to be just as bad as its predecessors. Bangkok is again sending these friends of the U.S. back to the dangerous country they left. More than 850 were deported in June. For decades, Thailand has attracted waves of Hmong, members of a fiercely anti-Communist minority group that fought alongside the Americans in the Vietnam War. The refugees are seeking a shot at a better life in a country where they won't face political retribution. Previously, many were resettled permanently in the U.S. and Australia. But for five years Hmong fleeing Laos have been shunted into "temporary" shelters, with no way to lodge formal applications for asylum and in fear of... [read full story]