Most people in the world have not heard of the genocide taking place in Laos today. Most people haven't paid attention to it, haven't heard of it, or haven't bothered to spend more than thirty seconds of their lives learning about it. The world has managed to almost entirely ignore the genocide of the Hmong people in Laos for over 30 years and still allows this crime against humanity to continue. Since the 1970s, the ethnic Hmong people of the Southeast Asian country of Laos have been persecuted by the Laotian government (Malakunas, 2000). This harassment was a direct result of the Hmong's ties to the United States Central Intelligence Agency in what has come to be known as the Secret War (Malakunas, 2000). The Laotian government officials who led this massacre were not arrested due to lack of evidence (Sommer P.4). The Hmong were singled out for persecution by the communists in Laos because of their ties to the United States Central Intelligence Agency (Malakunas, 2000). ). The CIA hired, armed, and trained approximately 40,000 Hmong soldiers between 1961 and 1975 to wage the secret war in North Vietnam (Malakunas, 2000). Hmong soldiers fought in North Vietnam, preventing Vietnamese soldiers from reaching American soldiers in South Vietnam (Malakunas, 2000). In North Vietnam, soldiers saved thousands of American troops by stopping goods and moving troops (Malakunas, 2000). They also rescued American pilots from crashed helicopters and planes (Malakunas, 2000). They often sacrificed a large part of themselves to save a single pilot (Malakunas, 2000). The secret war was kept secret because the country was supposed to be neutral and had several international treaties prohibiting foreign troops from fighting there (Malakunas, 2000). Tens of thousands...... middle of paper ......-9e3c- e6c19c3c337b@sessionmgr114&hid=114&bdata=JnNpdGU9c3JjLWxpdmU=Malakunas, K. (2000, 12 30). Fight or face extermination. . Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=n5h&AN=200012301023380623&site=src-liveMitchell, M. and Gould, R. (2009). Opium has always been a complex problem in Laos: the drug has played a role in tribal culture, but its addiction has also ruined reputations. Winston-Salem (NC) Journal. , Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=n5h&AN=2W6782643631&site=src-liveSommer, Rebecca. International Society for Threatened Peoples. The United Nations. Report on the situation in the special zone of Xaysomboun and the 1100 Hmong-Lao refugees. People of the Earth, 2006. Web. .