{"id":3780,"date":"2025-04-29T07:58:32","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T07:58:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/?p=3780"},"modified":"2025-07-07T13:10:01","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T13:10:01","slug":"montagnards-sons-of-the-mountains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/stories\/montagnards-sons-of-the-mountains\/","title":{"rendered":"Montagnards, sons of the mountains"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Montagnards, sons of the mountains\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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by Luca Catalano Gonzaga<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Part of Invisible people<\/b> <\/div><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/summary>\n\t\t\t\t
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Jharkhand - India - 2018<\/a><\/h3>

The ugly face of beauty<\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Jharkhand - India - 2018<\/a><\/h3>

The nuclear grave of india<\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Indonesia- Kawah Ijen volcano - 2014<\/a><\/h3>

The Devil\u2019s gold<\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Varanasi - India - 2017<\/a><\/h3>

The dark side of India<\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Kigali-Rwanda - 2014<\/a><\/h3>

The forgotten Batwa<\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Nouakchott, Mauritania - 2013<\/a><\/h3>

Haratin, the mask of modern slavery<\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Nouakchott, Mauritania - 2013<\/a><\/h3>

Haratin, the mask of modern slavery - portraits<\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Temuco, Chile - 2013<\/a><\/h3>

Mapuche, people of the land<\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Dhaka-Bangladesh - 2010<\/a><\/h3>

Life in the slum of Dhaka<\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\"\"<\/a><\/figure>

Bani-Burkina Faso - 2010<\/a><\/h3>

Gold fever<\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\"\"<\/a><\/figure>

Mongla-Bangladesh - 2010<\/a><\/h3>

The Island of forgotten women<\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/details>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Economically dependent on shifting cultivation and supplementary trade in forest products and local handicrafts, Degar or Montagnard people live in scattered settlements, and are about to be forced to leave their native lands in the highlands of Vietnam, where they had been living for centuries defending their land from foreign penetration. They claim the status of autonomous Nation. Even during the 60 years of colonialism the Vietnamese presence in this region was scarce. Montagnards, as the French used to call them, are mostly Roman catholic, as a result of early French missionary activity in the mid-XIX century when France established colonial authority over Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, collectively called Indochina. The Montagnards have always been considered the newcomers, both by colonial officials and Vietnamese merchants, and unwelcome intruders. Even though the number of French colonialists and planters in the highlands increased, the presence of ethnic Vietnamese remained minimal throughout the 1920s and 1930s. The situation changed with the bloody Indochina War, when the defeat of the French in 1954 led to a new design of the Region\u2019s borders and consequently to Montagnards\u2019 fate; the 17\u00b0 parallel determined the division of communist North Vietnam whilst its Highlands became part of the American supported South Vietnam. Central Highlands became a strategically important region where Americans built military camps, recruited and trained Degars to fight Vietnamese communist forces. Since then, Degars have been considered Vietnamese enemy\u2019s allies and a threat to Vietnam re-union into one Nation. The fall of Saigon in 1975 ended American participation in the Vietnamese war; Central Highlands left isolated from the outside world, with Vietnam Government pushing for its \u201cvietnamisation\u201d. Many Degars left the Country; the Degars who stayed, have been suffering from from political, economic and religious discrimination, often seeking refuge in their churches. These pictures, by Luca Catalano Gonzaga have been taken in the villages close to Kon Tum, the city of Vietnamese Catholicism. Its Roman Catholic Wooden Church has a garden nearby, where there is a replica of Michelangelo\u2019s Piet\u00e0 which stands as a symbol of the Degar\u2019s faith and resilience and their committment to protect their own identity. Other photos include some of the 127 Montagnard families who had to leave the valley at the foot of the Daklin hydroelectric dam where the water has now invaded what once was their land. The central government has granted these families $10,000 as compensation for having been forced to leave their villages, and $15.000 to rebuild a new house plus free water, food and electricity for four years, the time needed to start a new life. Not everybody was prudent; for many families getting so much money has generated an irrepressible push towards unnecessary expenses (home appliances, motorcycles, TV). The small fortune that would have allowed them to start again, often has gone up in smoke and now many of them find themselves without a home or a small piece of land to cultivate.\u00a0(text by\u00a0Luca Catalano Gonzaga<\/b>).<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div>

\u00a0<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Early morning preparations before going to school in the nearest village. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Young Montagnard women farmer at work for cassava harvesting. The real tragedy of the Montagnards began in 1975, with the unification of the country. From that day on, the Montagnards began to be massacred, exploited and deprived of all rights. A story very similar to that of the Indians in America or the aborigines in Australia. During the French occupation, which began in the nineteenth century, they were a people of 3.5 million persons. Today the survivors do not exceed 800 thousand people.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Y Dat, 28 years old, takes a moment to rest on a cassava field. Central Highlands became a strategically important region where Americans built military camps and recruited Montagnards to fight the communist forces. The fall of Saigon in 1975 ended American participation in the Vietnamese war. Since then, the Montagnards have suffered political, economic and religious discrimination.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Young Montagnard farmer harvesting cassava.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Economically dependent on shifting cultivation and supplementary trade in forest products and local handicrafts, Montagnards people live in scattered settlements, as they were forced to leave their native lands in the Central highlands of Vietnam.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Montagnard woman at work, picking hay.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Montagnards harvesting grain.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Montagnards harvesting grain.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Y Hai, 20 years old, working along the Dakbla River.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Montagnards harvesting grain.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. The long path of the Dakhla river that runs through the city of Kon Tum. With the end of the war, the great escape of the Americans and the triumph of Ho Chi Minh, the hopes of freedom for the Montagnards vanished. The present turn into a real nightmare. The communist regime considered them traitors because they supported the Americans and they profess the Christian faith. This is why repression has begun. The government immediately nationalized their lands, without granting them any right over the territories where they had been living for millennia and hundreds of villages were destroyed.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Yo Tho, 32 years old, a Montagnard farmer.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kon
Kon Tum, Vietnam 2013. Montagnard woman at work, carrying bricks. This activity allows the Montagnards to gain a modest income. The Degar population, during the French colonization, consisted of over 3 million people. Today this ethnicity has dropped to just a few hundred thousand survivors.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kon
Kon Tum, Vietnam 2013. Montagnard woman at work, carrying bricks. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Interior of a typical Montagnard house.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Interior of a typical Montagnard hut.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Montagnard family interior. The Montagnards, mostly Christians, are one of the oldest peoples of Southeast Asia and have been residing in the Indochina peninsula for over two thousand years.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Gak and his son in the Lang Diem Trung village.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Montagnard portrait in the village of Knam Duoi.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Montagnard portrait in the village of Knam Duoi.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Montagnard portrait in the village of Knam Duoi.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Montagnard portrait in the village of Knam Duoi.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Montagnard portrait in the village of Knam Duoi.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Interior of a typical Montagnard house.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. The construction of a hydroelectric plant has hitten the environmental balance, submerging the entire valley.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. The construction of the infrastructure to reach the hydroelectric plant has devastated the entire valley.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Picking up coconuts.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. The new settlements for the Montagnard, who were dislodged from their native lands to make room for the construction of the hydroelectric plant.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Houses under constructions for the Montagnard inhabitants of an entire village, who were forced to settle elsewhere due to the construction of the Daklin hydroelectric dam.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Houses under constructions for the Montagnard inhabitants of an entire village, who were forced to settle elsewhere due to the construction of the Daklin hydroelectric dam.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Montagnard family in front of their home.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Since the end of the Vietnam War (1975) the Christian minority of the Montagnards has been heavily persecuted and discriminated by the communist government in Hanoi.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kon
Kon Tum, Vietnam 2013. Michelangelo's \"Piet\u00e0\" in the courtyard of the diocese of Kon Tum. Over the course of their long history, the Montagnards have professed animist religions, but in the last two centuries, thanks to the work of the missionaries, they became Christians.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kon
Kon Tum, Vietnam 2013. Tan Huong Church.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kon
Kon Tum, Vietnam 2013. Diocese of Kon Tum. More than 16% of the million persons living in its area are Roman Catholics. Many of them belong to ethnic minorities.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kon
Kon Tum, Vietnam 2013. One of the many churches in the catholic city of Kon Tum. In Vietnam, churches are considered with suspicion, as the authorities think Christianity to be a foreign influence and Christians to be agents of the West. In 2013, a law was approved providing all churches to register, with a very complex and difficult procedure that hinders, and sometimes make it impossible, the activities of priests and religious people.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kon
Kon Tum, Vietnam 2013. A church in Kon Tum - one of many in an fiercely Roman Catholic city. The Montagnards are a persecuted Catholic minority in Vietnam.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kon
Kon Tum, Vietnam 2013. The moment of the Eucharist outside the crowded church, diocese of Kon Tum. The Montagnards, mostly Christians, have never surrendered to all persecutions they have suffered for many years from the Vietnamese Government.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kon
Kon Tum, Vietnam 2013. Altar boys getting ready to serve the mass, in the diocese of Kon Tum.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kon
Kon Tum, Vietnam 2013. Of the estimated one million Montagnards, approximately 50% are Protestant and 200,000 are Catholic.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Kon
Kon Tum, Vietnam 2013. Portraits of the bride and groom after the religious ceremony at Kon Tum.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Montagnard typical house. It is since the end of the Vietnam War (1975) that the Christian minority of the Montagnards has been heavily persecuted and discriminated by the Communist government of Ho Chi Minh City.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Montagnard typical house. It is since the end of the Vietnam War (1975) that the Christian minority of the Montagnards has been heavily persecuted and discriminated by the Communist government of Ho Chi Minh City.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Montagnard typical house. It is since the end of the Vietnam War (1975) that the Christian minority of the Montagnards has been heavily persecuted and discriminated by the Communist government of Ho Chi Minh City.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Montagnard typical house. It is since the end of the Vietnam War (1975) that the Christian minority of the Montagnards has been heavily persecuted and discriminated by the Communist government of Ho Chi Minh City.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\"Central
Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Montagnard typical house. It is since the end of the Vietnam War (1975) that the Christian minority of the Montagnards has been heavily persecuted and discriminated by the Communist government of Ho Chi Minh City.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Related news<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Photography exhibition \u201cInvisible people\u201d by photographer Luca Catalano Gonzaga at Brussels, Belgium.<\/a><\/h2><\/div>
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The \u201cInvisible people\u201d project by Luca Catalano Gonzaga at European Parliament<\/a><\/h2><\/div>
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The reportage \u201cMontagnards: sons of the mountains\u201d by Luca Catalano Gonzaga on \u201cIo Donna\u201d Italian magazine<\/a><\/h2><\/div>
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Montagnards, sons of the mountains by Luca Catalano Gonzaga Part of Invisible people Jharkhand – India – 2018 The ugly face of beauty Jharkhand – India – 2018 The nuclear grave of india Indonesia- Kawah Ijen volcano – 2014 The Devil\u2019s gold Varanasi – India – 2017 The dark side of India Kigali-Rwanda – 2014 The forgotten Batwa Nouakchott, Mauritania – 2013 Haratin, the mask of modern slavery Nouakchott, Mauritania – 2013 Haratin, the mask of modern slavery – portraits Temuco, Chile – 2013 Mapuche, people of the land Dhaka-Bangladesh – 2010 Life in the slum of Dhaka Bani-Burkina Faso – 2010 Gold fever Mongla-Bangladesh – 2010 The Island of forgotten women Jharkhand – India – 2018 The ugly face of beauty Jharkhand – India – 2018 The nuclear grave of india Indonesia- Kawah Ijen volcano – 2014 The Devil\u2019s gold Varanasi – India – 2017 The dark side of India Kigali-Rwanda – 2014 The forgotten Batwa Nouakchott, Mauritania – 2013 Haratin, the mask of modern slavery Nouakchott, Mauritania – 2013 Haratin, the mask of modern slavery – portraits Temuco, Chile – 2013 Mapuche, people of the land Dhaka-Bangladesh – 2010 Life in the slum of Dhaka Bani-Burkina Faso – 2010 Gold fever Mongla-Bangladesh – 2010 The Island of forgotten women Economically dependent on shifting cultivation and supplementary trade in forest products and local handicrafts, Degar or Montagnard people live in scattered settlements, and are about to be forced to leave their native lands in the highlands of Vietnam, where they had been living for centuries defending their land from foreign penetration. They claim the status of autonomous Nation. Even during the 60 years of colonialism the Vietnamese presence in this region was scarce. Montagnards, as the French used to call them, are mostly Roman catholic, as a result of early French missionary activity in the mid-XIX century when France established colonial authority over Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, collectively called Indochina. The Montagnards have always been considered the newcomers, both by colonial officials and Vietnamese merchants, and unwelcome intruders. Even though the number of French colonialists and planters in the highlands increased, the presence of ethnic Vietnamese remained minimal throughout the 1920s and 1930s. The situation changed with the bloody Indochina War, when the defeat of the French in 1954 led to a new design of the Region\u2019s borders and consequently to Montagnards\u2019 fate; the 17\u00b0 parallel determined the division of communist North Vietnam whilst its Highlands became part of the American supported South Vietnam. Central Highlands became a strategically important region where Americans built military camps, recruited and trained Degars to fight Vietnamese communist forces. Since then, Degars have been considered Vietnamese enemy\u2019s allies and a threat to Vietnam re-union into one Nation. The fall of Saigon in 1975 ended American participation in the Vietnamese war; Central Highlands left isolated from the outside world, with Vietnam Government pushing for its \u201cvietnamisation\u201d. Many Degars left the Country; the Degars who stayed, have been suffering from from political, economic and religious discrimination, often seeking refuge in their churches. These pictures, by Luca Catalano Gonzaga have been taken in the villages close to Kon Tum, the city of Vietnamese Catholicism. Its Roman Catholic Wooden Church has a garden nearby, where there is a replica of Michelangelo\u2019s Piet\u00e0 which stands as a symbol of the Degar\u2019s faith and resilience and their committment to protect their own identity. Other photos include some of the 127 Montagnard families who had to leave the valley at the foot of the Daklin hydroelectric dam where the water has now invaded what once was their land. The central government has granted these families $10,000 as compensation for having been forced to leave their villages, and $15.000 to rebuild a new house plus free water, food and electricity for four years, the time needed to start a new life. Not everybody was prudent; for many families getting so much money has generated an irrepressible push towards unnecessary expenses (home appliances, motorcycles, TV). The small fortune that would have allowed them to start again, often has gone up in smoke and now many of them find themselves without a home or a small piece of land to cultivate.\u00a0(text by\u00a0Luca Catalano Gonzaga). \u00a0 Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Early morning preparations before going to school in the nearest village. Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Young Montagnard women farmer at work for cassava harvesting. The real tragedy of the Montagnards began in 1975, with the unification of the country. From that day on, the Montagnards began to be massacred, exploited and deprived of all rights. A story very similar to that of the Indians in America or the aborigines in Australia. During the French occupation, which began in the nineteenth century, they were a people of 3.5 million persons. Today the survivors do not exceed 800 thousand people. Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Y Dat, 28 years old, takes a moment to rest on a cassava field. Central Highlands became a strategically important region where Americans built military camps and recruited Montagnards to fight the communist forces. The fall of Saigon in 1975 ended American participation in the Vietnamese war. Since then, the Montagnards have suffered political, economic and religious discrimination. Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Young Montagnard farmer harvesting cassava. Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Economically dependent on shifting cultivation and supplementary trade in forest products and local handicrafts, Montagnards people live in scattered settlements, as they were forced to leave their native lands in the Central highlands of Vietnam. Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Montagnard woman at work, picking hay. Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Montagnards harvesting grain. Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Montagnards harvesting grain. Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Y Hai, 20 years old, working along the Dakbla River. Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. Montagnards harvesting grain. Central Highlands, Vietnam 2013. The long path of the Dakhla river that runs through the city of Kon Tum. With the end of the war, the great escape of the Americans and the triumph of Ho Chi Minh, the hopes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stories"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3780"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3780\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8381,"href":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3780\/revisions\/8381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.witnessimage.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}