In the wake of the evacuation, tens of thousands of Hmong, mostly former soldiers and their families, fled Laos by foot during the next few years, crossing the Mekong River into Thailand.
While the fate of the Hmong remained uncertain, on August 8, 1975 Colonel Xay Dang Xiong (died 3-15-18) and his 80 volunteers were commissioned by the Interior Ministry of Thailand to clear a small forest in Pak Chom district to build the temporary refuge for asylum seekers.
An official record stated that Ban Vinai was created in December 1975 to house the influx, hosting an initial population of 12,000 refugees.
[1] The site of Ban Vinai is located in northeastern Thailand in Pak Chom district of Loei province, about 10 miles (16 km) south of the Mekong River and the border with Laos.
The camp covered about 400 acres (160 ha) and was crowded with makeshift shacks built by the refugees themselves, plus administration buildings, dormitories, warehouses, health care centers, and other facilities.
More than a dozen international charitable non-governmental organizations worked in the camp implementing programs and running facilities on behalf of UNHCR, other donors, and the refugees.
[3] Initially, all the refugees in Ban Vinai were granted temporary asylum in Thailand with the expectation that they would either soon return to Laos or be resettled in a third country.
Reluctance was also based on the reported influence of Vang Pao and other leaders urging them to remain in Thailand as a prelude for a return to Laos and the overthrow of the communist government.
A younger generation of Hmong was willing to adopt new customs and lifestyles and the Thai government was pressuring refugees to accept resettlement or to be forcibly repatriated to Laos.