The Hmong, a Southeast Asian ethnic group, were recruited to fight during America's "Secret War" in Laos during the 1960s and 1970s. Following the American withdrawal from Vietnam, many Hmong fled to refugee camps along the Thai border. Many later emigrated to the United States. Today, California's San Joaquin Valley holds one of the largest concentrations of Hmong outside of Laos, estimated at 70,000. In the Valley, many Hmong immigrants have turned to agriculture as a means of making a living. In today's age of large-scale, industrialized agriculture, these small, family-run farms hearken back to an earlier era. |