2022
During a secret nine-year campaign from 1964 – 1973 the USA carried out more than 580,000 bombing missions over Laos, dropping over 2 million tons of ordnance in the process. The purpose was to disrupt supplies and traffic through the ‘Ho Chi Minh Trail’, which ran along the Laos–Vietnam border. Laos became – and still is – the most bombed country in the world per capita in history.
Some 270 million ‘bombies’ – sub-munitions distributed from cluster bombs – were deployed over Laos during this period. It’s estimated that 30% of these devices failed to detonate. The consequences? Approximately 80 million tons unexploded bombies remain scattered throughout the country. Half a century later, Laos remains a labyrinth of explosive danger-zones.
“The United State military … heavily bombed Laos with 2 million tons of explosives, which equates to a planeload of ordnance being dropped onto the country every 8 minutes for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for a terrifying duration of 9 years.” Said Nathan Ang of the Shiok Travels blog
Remember that Less than 1% of bombs that did not detonate have been cleared!
Since the bombing missions ended in 1973, over 20,000 people in Laos have been killed or injured by incidents involving unexploded ordnance (UXO). One of the most harrowing consequences is that many of the victims are children. The small, round explosives appear like toys to innocent young eyes. Other common victims include farmers who unwittingly detonate devices when striking the ground with pickaxes, and families cooking meals outdoors, with heat from fires causing underground ordnance to explode.
The victims of unexploded ordnance today
COPE is a non-profit based in Vientiane, part of the organization’s National Rehabilitation Centre, is a medical rehabilitation the main source of artificial limbs, walking aids and wheelchairs in Laos offers myriad interesting and informative multimedia exhibits about prosthetics and the UXOs that sadly make them necessary also provides services for people with disabilities. It trains local staff in prosthetics and orthotics, The services are not limited to UXO victims. COPE also helps those who have been in traffic accidents or been affected by polio, leprosy or club foot, with services specific to children, sometimes providing housing and schooling for young UXO victims whose families cannot afford their care. The COPE Visitor Centre is also a museum that tells the story of UXO – the main reason there is such a need for prosthetics in the country. Their motto is “helping people move on”.
The COPE Visitor Centre educates about the devastating consequences of war, the country’s unfathomable UXO problem, the impact and struggle survivors face and the work that COPE does to give them hope. The centre includes a permanent exhibition, a small cinema room to watch documentaries, shop and cafe.
The exhibitions at the COPE Visitor Centre contained within two small rooms, the museum recounts the war and its legacy through the stories of the victims.
The smallest room screens a documentary film exploring the repercussions of UXO. In one clip, a teacher tells a classroom of young children how to identify unexploded bombs and explain to children why these terrible devices are there in the first place?
In the main room we can learned some victims’ stories. A wooden chamber displayed children’s drawings of family tragedies. Plaques on the wall told of UXO incidents.
Step into the centre and you will see a display of bombies dangling from the ceiling. These small round balls look like toys but they kill and maim – they are the main cause of UXO casualties and are considered the greatest risk. The majority of the bombs dropped by the US were cluster munitions – bomb casings containing around 200 smaller “bombies” which were designed to explode upon impact with a hard surface. The extensive vegetation covering the countryside was often not firm enough to trigger explosions. Now contamination threatens 25% of villages throughout Laos.
Several powerful documentaries are shown on a rolling basis in a theatre, and there's a gift shop and cafe, 100% of the proceeds of which go to supporting COPE's projects in Laos. It was one of the most valuable educational experience that everybody visiting the country should see.
A display explained how cluster bombs are designed, and their intended effects. The fact that human beings manufacture these monstrosities is a tragedy in itself. We’ve seen parts of bombs used as flower pots, decorations and recycled into useful objects all over Laos.
Local and international efforts on cluster munitions
The COPE Visitor Centre also described the measures being taken to clear Laos of UXO, and worldwide efforts to avoid future situations of a similar nature.
Approximately a quarter of the villages in Laos are still contaminated with UXO, including 41 of the 46 poorest districts. To address this, surveys are carried out systematically, and village by village, hazardous areas are mapped to be cleared based on local and national priorities. But at the current pace, this work will still take decades.
On an international level, the Convention of Cluster Munitions is a global treaty that was adopted in 2008. As of March 2018, it is signed by 108 countries. There has been recent progress with Laos–American relations, however. In 2016, Barack Obama became the first US president in history to visit Laos. His visit focused largely on the ramifications of the Vietnam conflict. He announced that US aid spending in the country would be doubled for three years. But as US priorities have refocused from international to domestic issues with the recent change of administration, the future of this support is less certain.
How to get to the COPE Visitor Centre
The COPE Visitor Centre is located on Khouvieng Road in Vientiane. It’s about a kilometer away from the central bus station, and easy to reach by foot or tuk-tuk from city centre accommodation. Here is link from Maps https://goo.gl/maps/taZQiHaokghUz3FJ9 and read more than thousands reviews from visitors why this small museum must be in the list when you visiting Vientiane, Laos.
There is no entrance fee, but donations are welcome. If you’re in Vientiane in November/December, check to see whether you’ll be there for their popular annual fundraising concert which usually includes the talent of UXO’s victims, disabilities person, local bands and B-boy groups putting on a great show, with food and drink.
You can find out more on the COPE Visitor Centre’s website. and more detail processing of clearing UXO in Laos :
- https://laos.opendevelopmentmekong.net/topics/sdg-18-lives-safe-from-uxo
- https://www.maginternational.org/what-we-do/where-we-work/laos/
- http://www.la.one.un.org/sdgs/sdg-18-lives-safe-from-uxo
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