Flight
- Back to the background. The Lees walked from Laos to Thailand in 1979. This was actually their second attempt—they had tried three years earlier but were captured by Vietnamese soldiers.
- As you might imagine, the journey was hard and heart-breaking. Ge, one of Nao Kao and Foua's daughters, dies after they arrive at a refugee camp in Thailand.
- There are still "tens of thousands" of Hmong in Laos (12.18). These stragglers form several rebel groups, one of which is led by Vang Pao. Who now lives in America, but still manages to head a rebel group.
- For those who did leave, the toughest part of the journey is crossing the Mekong River. To put it simply, the thing is a "nightmare" (12.26).
- Things aren't exactly swell in Thailand, either. Though the Hmong are at least able to live among themselves, their living conditions are pretty awful.
- It doesn't help that many of the Westerners who run the refugee camps consider "the Hmong responsible for their own dependence, poor health, and lack of cleanliness" (12.33). Ouch.
- While most of these refugees end up in America, about 10,000 Hmong just up and leave the camps one day. No one is entirely sure where they end up.