Hmong families were forced to hide in the jungle. Thousands of displaced survivors made their way to the Mekong River and hazarded the dangerous crossing by raft or floats to refuge in Thailand. Tens of thousands were killed during the war, and even more lost their lives while attempting to escape to freedom after the war ended.

This a map of Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. It shows the paths of the Mekong river and how the Hmong traveled.

Soon Hmong families migrated to live in different countries, more than 170,000 migrated to the U.S., some went to France, others went to Australia. But not all families were able to pass the river, many were caught, some were able to stay hidden from the communists, insulated in the forest.

This is “pa ndau or paj ntaub”, it means “flower cloth” Hmong. It tells the story of the Hmong in the Vietnam war.