DOCUMENT RESUME ED 270 509 UD 024 855 AUTHOR ... - ERIC

THE HMONG IN LAOS: ECONOMIC FACTORS 35A second economic reason for the delayed effect onHmong exodus patterns is suggested by the monthly figuresfor Hmong refugee arrivals in Thailand over the years1981, 1982 and 1983, which are set out in Table 3.(Monthly statistics are not available before January1981.)Figures for the first four months of each year aremuch higher than for the other months of each year andpeak around March in all three years. Why should thispattern emerge and what does it suggest?A facile explanation often heard and credited, isthat the Mekong River, which most Hmong must cross beforearriving in Thailand, is low during the first half of theyear and at its height towards year's end. If this factis to be used to explain the least number of hill-triberefugee crossings (only four) in November 1981, it cannotexplain the high figure of 1,413 lowland Lao who crossedthe same river in the same month of the same year.certainly Itcannot explain why no Hmong crossed in June1982, when the river was at its lowest.Thus, whilst it is recognized that the Mekong inflood presents a fearsome obstacle to mountain people unusedto water travel, we must look beyond the rivertheory for an explanation of the monthly patterns of exodusevident in Table 3. I suggest that these patternsare less a result of river level than they are evidenceof the dictates of the agricultural year.Hmong harvest rice around October, sometimes intoNovember. This harvest is followed by Hmong New Yearcelebrations, which in turn are followed by the opiumharvest.The opium harvest usually takes a single familythree to four weeks to complete. The precise date it beginsvaries between localities and depends on soil conditions,type of seeds used and weather conditions in anyparticular year. At the very earliest, it begins inearly December and at the very latest it is completed inthe first days of February. The two months following theopium harvest, February and March, are used to cut newfields, repair the house and do various tasks to preparefor the coming agricultural year. Families intending tomove to a new location do so at this time of year. They,,47