Hill Tribe – Tom Vater

From the Archives: Thailand´s Minorities

August 18, 2011tomLeave a Comment

For many years, I have been reporting on the plight of Thailand’s minorities – the so-called ‘hill tribes’ in the north of the country, and the sea nomads, also known as sea gypsies in the south. Unfortunately, much of what I have written about the problems these stateless people are facing, has been published in […]

From the Archives: The Bunong – The Caretakers of Cambodia´s Sacred Forests – Part 4

October 23, 2010May 16, 2011tom2 Comments

In 2006, I researched and wrote a report for Fauna and Flora International (FFI) on the Bunong, one of Cambodia´s indigenous minorities. The Bunong live mostly in the north eastern province of Mondulkiri, an area of high barren plateaus, dense rainforests and virtually no roads, bordering on Vietnam. Traditionally, the Bunong practice swidden agriculture and […]

From the Archives: The Bunong – The Caretakers of Cambodia´s Sacred Forests – Part 3

October 18, 2010May 16, 2011tom6 Comments

In 2006, I wrote a report for Fauna and Flora International (FFI) on the Bunong, one of Cambodia´s indigenous minorities. The Bunong live mostly in the north eastern province of Mondulkiri, an area of high barren plateaus, dense rainforests and virtually no roads, bordering on Vietnam. Traditionally, the Bunong practice swidden agriculture and domesticate elephants. […]

From the Archives: The Bunong – The Caretakers of Cambodia´s Sacred Forests – Part 2

October 14, 2010May 16, 2011tom1 Comment

In 2006, I wrote a report for Fauna and Flora International (FFI) on the Bunong, one of Cambodia´s indigenous minorities. The Bunong live mostly in the north eastern province of Mondulkiri, an area of high barren plateaus, dense rainforests and virtually no roads, bordering on Vietnam. Traditionally, the Bunong practice swidden agriculture and domesticate elephants. […]

From the Archives: The Bunong – The Caretakers of Cambodia´s Sacred Forests – Part 1

October 13, 2010May 15, 2011tom2 Comments

In 2006, I wrote a report for Fauna and Flora International (FFI) on the Bunong, one of Cambodia´s indigenous minorities. The Bunong live mostly in the north eastern province of Mondulkiri, an area of high barren plateaus, dense rainforests and virtually no roads, bordering on Vietnam. Traditionally, the Bunong practice swidden agriculture and domesticate elephants. […]

From the Archives: Tom Vater’s On the Trail with the Bush Meat Hunters republished

January 13, 2010May 15, 2011tomLeave a Comment

Until very recently the markets of Muang Singh, Luang Nam Tha, Phonsavan and Vang Viang were teeming with live and dead forest animals. Squirrels, civet cats, forest rats, bats, beavers, porcupine and their close relative the ‘sinhawn’ as well as an enormous variety of birds including owls and pheasants were offered from market stalls all […]

Sousath Phetrasy – Child of a Secret War

December 5, 2009April 7, 2010tom8 Comments

I was saddened to hear that Sousath Phetrasy, the owner of the Mali Guest House in Phonsavan in Northern Laos, died, in his late 50s, on 25. September 2009. A brilliant and troubled man, Phetrasy was an unlikely veteran of the CIA’s secret war in Laos in the 1960s and 70s, the agency’s largest campaign, […]

The Most Secret Place on Earth – The CIA’s Covert War in Laos – Trailer

April 6, 2009November 23, 2018tom

Trailer The Vietnam War was the most intensely televised war ever. However, next door in neighboring Laos, the longest and largest air war in human history was underway, which eventually made Laos the most bombed country on earth. The Secret War was the largest operation ever conducted by the CIA, yet to this day, hardly […]