Refugees fundraiser
Montagnards cannot return to Central Highlands. If they do, they will be silently persecuted by the Vietnam government. They left the Central Highlands because they can no...
$115 USDraised of $20,000 USD1%
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Our refugees fundraiser is open. Every gift helps a family that fled the highlands start again.
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- Bahnar
- Jarai
- Rhade
- Sedang
- Mnong
- Stieng
- Koho
- Katu
- Jeh
- Hre
- Cua
- Chru
- Roglai
- Brou
- Halang
- Rengao
- Chrau
- Ma
What was taken from us
In 1946 the Dega had a country
The decree of May 27, 1946 established the Pays Montagnard du Sud-Indochinois, a federal government for the Dega on the lands of our ancestors. Vietnamese governments took that country from us, and the world now calls it the Central Highlands.
1946our country recognized
The country we lost
The Montagnard Country of South Indochina
Our country reached from the 17th parallel to the borders of Cochin China, and Dega communities reach beyond it into what is now northeastern Cambodia and southern Laos. Choose a number to learn about each place.
Kon Tum Kon Tum
The Sedang country, where French exploration of our homeland began in 1876 and where missionaries opened a mission in the heart of the highlands.
Outsiders arrive
Pleiku Gia Lai
Jarai country on the Pleiku plateau. BAJARAKA's founders were moved here, and here more young people joined the movement.
The BAJARAKA movement
Ban Me Thuot Darlac
Land of the Rhade. The French set up the first Dega administration here in 1899, and BAJARAKA began at Buon Ale A.
Read more
Gia Nghia Dak Nong
The southern plateau of the homeland, between Darlac and the border with Cambodia.
Dalat Lam Dong
The southern highlands. In 1958 the arrested BAJARAKA leaders were held in underground cells in Dalat.
Read more
Cambodia Ratanakiri
Dega communities in present-day Cambodia, about a quarter of the historical homeland.
Cambodia Mondulkiri
Dega communities in present-day Cambodia, many of them pushed westward over time.
Laos Attapeu
Dega communities in southern Laos, beyond the homeland's western border.
Laos Sekong
Dega communities in southern Laos, in the mountains north of Attapeu.
At a glance
A people rooted in the highlands
3.5M
Dega under French rule
Estimated at 3 to 3.5 million during the colonial period.
32
Tribes and languages
From the Bahnar, Jarai and Rhade to the Sedang, Mnong and Stieng.
40+
Indigenous groups
Still living in the Central Highlands.
2,000+
Years in the highlands
Our villages stood here long before any modern border.
Our history
How the Dega lost their country
From free highland villages to a country recognized in 1946, then taken by Vietnamese governments.
-
01 Before 1800 Free highland villages
For more than two thousand years we farmed, hunted, travelled and worshipped by our own customs. Our people once held most of southern Indochina, until the coast was taken and we joined those in the mountains.
A peaceful life -
02 1815 to 1899 Outsiders arrive
Missionaries reached Kontum, and from 1876 the French explored our lands. In 1899 they created an autonomous Dega administration in Darlac, in the land of the Rhade.
Welcomed outsiders -
03 May 27, 1946 A country of our own
France established a federal government for the Montagnard peoples of southern Indochina: the Pays Montagnard du Sud-Indochinois. Our people were full of hope.
Dega government -
04 1950 to 1951 A promise, then a handover
The highlands became the Crown Domain under Bao Dai, with a charter promising free development by our own customs. We were never asked.
Read more -
05 1954 to 1957 Our country taken
Vietnam was divided at the 17th parallel. President Ngo Dinh Diem merged our country into South Vietnam, named us minorities in our own homeland, and resettled 850,000 people from the north in its heart.
Pushed off our land -
06 1957 to 1964 BAJARAKA
Young leaders named the movement for the Bahnar, Jarai, Rhade and Kaho. After its demonstrations in September 1958 its leaders, Y-Bham Enuol among them, were imprisoned until 1964.
The BAJARAKA movement -
07 1975 to today Still fighting for our country
Hanoi's government took control of the highlands and kept the same policies. The Dega still fight for the Montagnard Country of South Indochina, and for the few hundred thousand of our people who remain there.
How we died
Who we are
We are the Dega. The Montagnard Country of South Indochina is our country, and we have never given it up.
Dega Central Highlands Organization
Who are the Dega 
Why we fight
Millions once. A few hundred thousand today.
Under French rule the Dega were estimated at 3 to 3.5 million. War, and the rule of those who took our country, have left a few hundred thousand in the highlands.
How we died
01 Given by the French
Montagnards
The French called us Montagnards, the mountain people, because for centuries we had been driven from the coast into the mountains.
What we do
Four ways we fight for our people
For our country, for those still in the highlands, and for Dega families wherever they live.
Speak for our country
We bring the cause of the Montagnard Country, and reports from Dega communities, to governments, human rights bodies and the press.
Latest news
Keep our culture alive
Gong music, brocade weaving and our many languages, passed from one generation to the next.
Dega culture
Stand with refugees
Families who fled the highlands get help to rebuild their lives far from home.
Help a family
Bring our people together
Congresses, conferences and services keep Dega families connected wherever they live.
See our eventsPassing it on
Carrying our culture to the next generation
At home and abroad, elders pass our stories, music and crafts to the young.
Stories
Learning our history
Elders tell the young about the country we lost, so they know where they come from and what we fight for.
Read our history
Our heritage
A living culture
Music, crafts and daily life in the country we call home.
Give
Help families who fled the highlands
See how far we have come. Every gift is counted here as soon as it is paid.
Latest news
News from the highlands
Reports from the Central Highlands and from Dega communities around the world.
Get involved
Three ways to stand with the Dega
- 01
- 02
- 03
Give to the Dega people
Help a family find safe ground
Your gift helps refugees from the Central Highlands rebuild their lives and keeps their story heard.
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