How many people are the Hmong community compared to the rest of the Laos population?
The 1974 census indicated that there were 350,000 Hmong living in Laos. Today there are only about 200,000 left in Laos including 12,000 former CIA soldiers and their families, still living in the jungle and resisting the Lao authorities. The Hmong ‘rebels’ live in groups of 250 and up to 800 people, concentrated in the provinces of Bolikhamsay, Xaysomboune, Xieng Khouang and Luang Prabang. Many of the people in the film are very young. Why are they involved in this conflict? The group we visited led by Waleng Lee live in the Bolikhamsay province numbering about 250, mainly women and children. We were the first outsiders they had seen in over 28 years. Chong-Cha Lee, our main character, lives with his wife Vue and their seven children. His elderly mother lives within his compound with his older brother Waleng Lee, the chief of this group. About 25 fighters made up of young men and teenagers are armed with AK-47 machine guns and old American rifles. There are only five actual old vetera
