Hmong people

It's nearly 30 years since the end of the Vietnam War - but for some who were caught up in that bloody conflict the killing has never stopped.

The Hmong people of Laos drew the short straw in the war. Allied to US forces, it was their job to rescue downed American pilots, and disrupt North Vietnamese supply lines. But when the communists won, in Vietnam, and in Laos, they found themselves on the wrong side.

Many fled Laos to neighbouring Thailand - but thousands remain hiding in the jungles hunted to this day by government forces.

We have obtained exclusive footage smuggled out after an horrific attack on a camp believed to be carried out by the government forces.

Some of the images in Kylie Morris's report were extremely upsetting.

KYLIE MORRIS:
The war's not over here. These families live in fear of being found by Lao government troops, never forgiven for the help their parents and grandparents gave the Americans during the Vietnam War. In this camp there are nearly 200 men. But across the remote jungles of the rugged mountainous country as many as 17,000 people live in the same way. It's a desperate existence. Living constantly to evade the troops, they can't grow crops. Severely malnourished, they've no access to food or medical aid. Stories of ambushes and attacks by the Lao forces were long told, but never recorded until now. Footage smuggled from these jungles shows just where the Hmong are so afraid. We wouldn't be able to tell you this story without the bravery of two men, Va Char and Ka Ying, both of whom risked their lives to bring video footage out from Lao. One is now safe, but the other is still seeking refuge. The footage shows the aftermath of a brutal attack on a group of teenagers, apparently the deadly work of the Lao army. Both men believe it is the only way to show the world that their people are dying. Va Char couldn't bear to watch the crimes against the Hmong any longer. A simple trader, he was shocked by what he saw when he first ventured into the mountains ten years ago. His work, to supply and aid the Hmong, landed him in prison and won him the title of Lao's most wanted man. By bringing out the video he's now ruled out the chance of ever returning to his homeland.

VA CHAR YANG:
[TRANSLATION]
I feel sad and angry that I couldn't do anything. I look up to you to see whether you are capable and how much you can do to help save them.

MORRIS:
Children are dying of hunger. In a country already ranked the least developed in south-east Asia the Hmong are singled out for suffering. The mother of this child was too ill to produce breast milk. The baby died ten days after these pictures were taken. After the war, the Hmong took to the hills, determined to continue their resistance. But hiding is their only real defence. To avoid detection, this group's moved more than 20 times in these past six months. The government described them as bandits and a threat to law and order. Hunger is almost as much a threat as the government soldiers. Every time the Hmong leave the camp to search for food, they run the risk of discovery. So the search for food is highly organised. Each day, a group is selected to hunt and gather while others stay behind to guard the camp. But it's a deadly business. On a damp May morning, the simple search for food harvested tragedy. Va Char remembers they had been in camp for two days, and supplies were running low. Early one morning a group set out for food, and others, including Va Char, followed.

VA CHAR:
[TRANSLATION]
That early morning we needed to get food in case we needed to move on. We didn't have any second thoughts. There was a group that went before us. But not so far ahead as we could hear them talking. As I climbed up the mountain they were walking freely, not in any fear, they were chanting and singing. Then it stopped and we heard gunshots.

MORRIS:
It was a Lao Army patrol. Va Char and his group, less than a hundred metres away, hid in the undergrowth, fearing for their lives.

VA CHAR:
[TRANSLATION]
I heard the troops yelling "girls, girls", and they were screaming. I was very scared.

MORRIS:
The soldiers circled around five members of group, four girls and a boy, all younger than 15.

VA CHAR:
[TRANSLATION]
They were raped. I heard girls screaming and the troops were laughing, enjoying the moment. I assumed they raped them all at once then killed them afterwards. When they killed them, they were stabbing them, saying, there's your mouth, there's your pussy. That is what they were saying. The reason they were saying that was because the mouth allows you to speak and your vagina allows you to breed. They were blaming her reproductive system for leading this continuing resistance.

MORRIS:
Va Char ran back to the camp to get his camera, just as those who'd been injured returned to tell the others what had happened. He went back to the site of the ambush and wasn't prepared for what he saw. All four girls had been raped and then murdered. The boy had been shot in the head and stabbed twice in the chest. We can't show the pictures of the 14-year-old as she had been disembowelled and shot. Only yards away lies a 13-year-old. Her right leg had been mutilated, an injury caused by what experts believe was a bullet fired at close range.

VA CHAR:
[TRANSLATION]
From what I heard they killed them not because they were angry with them, but because they were having fun. They were saying "this one, this one over here, that one", so it seems like they were having fun killing them. They were all in uniform, and when we checked the footprints, they were all from the Army. This one is the one they stabbed in the mouth. It went through to the back of the neck. They also stabbed here in the chest. They dragged this girl to an area away from the others. This is the one I believe was raped more by the men.

MORRIS:
This girl was 14. Her mother lost two daughters in the ambush, her sister was stabbed in the mouth. She was engaged to a young man, Ka Ying, who had remained at the camp that morning, one of those whose duty it was to protect the community. Va Char couldn't cope with watching the footage again.

VA CHAR:
[TRANSLATION]
I can't watch this, it's too much. Go and reach them and save them as soon as possible. I want to plead to the international community, do not forget about these people, go back and rescue them.

MORRIS:
Va Char knew he could no longer stay. When he returned to the camp, he found the inevitable, people already packing to move again, knowing the soldiers were nearby. Ka Ying, the fiancée of one of the girls, decided to join Va Char and escape. He left his only sister. They travelled through hostile terrain for days, carrying the tape with them at all times until they found safety in a neighbouring country. This is where we met Ka Ying. He found it difficult to talk. He knew the only way to tell the world what was happening, was to help Va Char bring the tape out of Lao, even though that meant leaving his only sister behind.

MORRIS:
Do you expect that you'll see her again?

KA YING YANG:
[TRANSLATION]
I don't expect to see her again because it's very dangerous. So I don't think so.

MORRIS:
So you feel as though you had to choose between bringing the tape out or looking after your sister?

KA YING:
[TRANSLATION]
I love my sister very much, but I choose the tape because I love the Hmong people. This is the only way I can love my sister and the Hmong people. I couldn't say to my sister, "come with me", because the route was very difficult. With the tape, we can help the Hmong people and my sister.

MORRIS:
Some Hmong have found a kind of salvation. As many as 15,000 had settled in Thailand, at a camp in the grounds of a Buddhist temple, in the years since the war. They'd never been welcomed by the Thai authorities and lived as virtual prisoners inside the camp. But now the United States, in a bid to reach refugee targets, has granted visas to nearly all of them. For many, it's the long-awaited recognition for the help they gave the Americans during the war. Each day, they check departure times, anxious to start their new lives. There are daily departures here as well, but the destination brings more of the same suffering. Those left in the jungles of Lao travel in the company of the ghosts of their brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers. It seems their fate is to scramble through the mountains with no certainty but hunger, constant fear and knowing they are all but forgotten by the world.

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This transcript was produced from the teletext subtitles that are generated live for Newsnight. It has been checked against the programme as broadcast, however Newsnight can accept no responsibility for any factual inaccuracies. We will be happy to correct serious errors.