Jane Hamilton-Merritt
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Jane Hamilton-Merritt (born Mary Jane LaRowe) is a retired college professor, photojournalist, author, and
animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...
and animal husbandry advocate. She resides in
Redding, Connecticut Redding is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,765 at the 2020 census. History Early settlement and establishment At the time colonials began receiving grants for land within the boundaries of present-d ...
. In 1999, she was inducted into the
Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame The Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame (CWHF) recognizes women natives or residents of the U.S. state of Connecticut for their significant achievements or statewide contributions. The CWHF had its beginnings in 1993 when a group of volunteers partn ...
. Some of her work has focused on breeding and raising
Llamas The llama (; ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since the Pre-Columbian era. Llamas are social animals and live with others as a herd. Their wool is s ...
and
Alpaca The alpaca (''Lama pacos'') is a species of South American camelid mammal. It is similar to, and often confused with, the llama. However, alpacas are often noticeably smaller than llamas. The two animals are closely related and can successfu ...
.


Early life, education, and teaching

Jane Hamilton-Merritt was born Mary Jane LaRowe in 1947 in Noble County, Indiana, not far from Fort Wayne. Her parents were Claude LaRowe, a farmer, and Alvada (Brown) LaRowe. She attended
Ball State University Ball State University (Ball State, State or BSU) is a public university, public research university in Muncie, Indiana. It has two satellite facilities in Fishers, Indiana, Fishers and Indianapolis. On July 25, 1917, the Ball brothers, indust ...
in Muncie, where she received both a B.A. and an M.A. degree. She went on to get a Ph.D. in Southeast Asia Studies at
Union Institute Union Institute & University (UI&U) is a private university in Cincinnati, Ohio. It specializes in limited residence and distance learning programs. The university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and operates satellite campuses ...
in Cincinnati, Ohio. Hamilton-Merritt was a professor at
Southern Connecticut State University Southern Connecticut State University (Southern Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State, SCSU, or simply Southern) is a public university in New Haven, Connecticut. Part of the Connecticut State University System, it was founded in 1893 and is g ...
, where she taught writing and journalism for nearly two decades (1979–97) on a part-time basis. In 1991–92 she was a visiting faculty fellow at
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
. In 1997, she retired from teaching at
Southern Connecticut State University Southern Connecticut State University (Southern Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State, SCSU, or simply Southern) is a public university in New Haven, Connecticut. Part of the Connecticut State University System, it was founded in 1893 and is g ...
, to work full-time for the resettlement of a group of Hmong living in a compound near Bangkok,
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
. She also raises llama and alpacas on her Connecticut farm, in her retirement.


Raising alpacas and llamas

Hamilton-Merritt is an active member and officer in the Greater Appalachian Llama and Alpaca Association.Greater Appalachian Llama and Alpaca Association, January 2016, http://www.galaonline/board.html She frequently shows her animals in Connecticut and
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
events.


Photojournalism and advocacy

Hamilton-Merritt reportedly went to Vietnam as a free-lance war correspondent, reportedly spending six years covering aspects of the Vietnam War, including the
North Vietnamese invasion of Laos North Vietnam supported the Pathet Lao to fight against the Kingdom of Laos between 1958–1959. Control over Laos allowed for the eventual construction of the Ho Chi Minh Trail that would serve as the main supply route for enhanced NLF (the ...
. She claims to have won the Inland Daily Press Association's Grand Prize Trophy for her purported front-line war coverage, but there is no independent sources to document her claim. Print articles, and repeated electronic archive research, from this period have not turned up under either of her names, raising questions as to when and how her Vietnam-War-era work was published. To date, no known independent sources exist of her writings during this period. Hamilton-Merritt is also known for the work she has done on behalf of the Laotian and Hmong people, who were U.S. allies in the Vietnam War before being largely forgotten in the aftermath. In 1980, she wrote an early story in ''Reader’s Digest'' on reported chemical and biological warfare in
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
Laos under the
Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
government. She has worked as an adviser to several American school systems with large numbers of Hmong children. Beginning in the early 1990s, she worked with several non-profit organizations and non-governmental organizations seeking to stop forced repatriation of Hmong political refugees from camps in Thailand back to
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
Laos, on the grounds that this puts them at great risk of execution or slavery. In 1993, in cooperation with
Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...
Press (IUP), she published a book on the Hmong and
Lao people The Lao people are a Tai ethnic group native to Southeast Asia, who speak the eponymous language of the Kra–Dai languages. They are the majority ethnic group of Laos, making up 53.2% of the total population. The majority of Lao people adhere t ...
, ''Tragic Mountains: The Hmong, the Americans, and the Secret War for Laos, 1942-1992''. For her work to help bring awareness about the Hmong people's situation and their recent history, Hamilton-Merritt has reportedly been largely self-nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, which she did not receive. Mr. Burke Marshall, of Yale Law School, reportedly wrote in support of her nomination: “They (the Hmong) are a people who have been deeply damaged and wronged by history and by the actions of great nations...” Hamilton-Merritt was one of the editors of Indiana University's Vietnam War Era Classics Series.


Criticism

Hamilton-Merritt has been critical of Professor
Alfred W. McCoy Alfred "Al" William McCoy (born June 8, 1945) is an American historian and educator. He is the Fred Harvey Harrington Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.Vang Pao Vang Pao ( RPA: ''Vaj Pov'' , Lao: ວັງປາວ; 8 December 1929 – 6 January 2011) was a major general in the Royal Lao Army. He was a leader of the Hmong American community in the United States. He was also known as General Vang P ...
, Laos, and
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
during the period of
North Vietnamese invasion of Laos North Vietnam supported the Pathet Lao to fight against the Kingdom of Laos between 1958–1959. Control over Laos allowed for the eventual construction of the Ho Chi Minh Trail that would serve as the main supply route for enhanced NLF (the ...
. In return, Hamilton-Merritt's writings regarding Vang Pao and the Hmong have been criticized by McCoy.


Selected publications

;Books *''Tragic Mountains: The Hmong, the Americans, and the Secret War for Laos, 1942-1992'' (Indiana University Press, 1993) *''A Meditator's Diary: A Western Woman's Unique Experiences in Thailand's Monasteries'' (1976) ;Articles *"Gas Warfare in Laos: Communism's Drive to Annihilate a People" (''Reader's Digest'', October 1980, pp. 81–88) *"Hmong and Yao: Mountain Peoples of Southeast Asia" (''Survive'', 1982) *"The Killing Fields of Laos" (interview, ''Vietnam'', December 1993, pp. 46–53) *"General Giap's Laotian Nemesis" (''Vietnam'', June 1995, pp. 27–32)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton-Merritt, Jane American photojournalists American women journalists American women writers Women war correspondents Living people 1937 births People from Indiana People from Connecticut 21st-century American women Women photojournalists