Hmong Studies Journal (Dec 2003)
Hmong of Germany: Preliminary Report on the Resettlement of Lao Hmong Refugees in Germany
Abstract
This paper briefly describes the resettlement of Lao Hmong refugees in Germany since the fall of Laos in 1975. Data for this paper were collected during my two visits to the Hmong community of Gammertingen in southern Germany. Although, it has been known that there are Lao Hmong refugees living in Germany, literature about their resettlement in academic journals and the western media has been nonexistent. Therefore, information about their population, social, educational and economic status has not been available. While serving in the U.S. Army, I was fortunate to be stationed in Germany and had several opportunities to visits and interact with this isolate Hmong community. Therefore, I would like to share what little information I have gathered about this forgotten Hmong community. This paper provides a preliminary report on the resettlement process, population, social, educational and economic status of this community. Data were collected primarily through informal direct interviews with the head of household from four families of the original five families that resettled in Germany. As of the writing of this paper, there is no other known Hmong community in Germany other than this Gammertingen Hmong community.
