I am writing this from the visitor centre of an organisation called COPE in Vientiane, the capital of Laos.
I have spent the last few hours exploring the centre and learning about COPE, UXO (unexploded ordnance) and the Secret War on Laos. Before I planned my trip, I had never even heard of Laos, let alone been aware of the war crimes that have been commited against the country and its people. Most American citizens still have no idea, but in 1964 the US began a nine year bombing campaign on Laos and it was bombed more heavily than China and Japan put together in WW2; in fact Laos is the most bombed country in the world, per capita.
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| Provided by COPE |
260 million cluster bombs were dropped on Laos in this nine year period, and around 30% of them failed to explode. This means there were around 80 million unexploded bombs (UXO or bombies as they are called here in Laos) littering the landscape, mainly in Southern Laos, across the Ho Chi Minh trail in the South and across large parts of the North.
Cluster bombs work by firing missiles from the sky containing thousands of toy sized round bombs, filled with ball bearings that explode on contact, firing the ball bearings out at lethal speeds. They specifically target civilians, not tanks or warcraft which makes the story even more tragic as it was, and still is, almost solely Lao citizens who were attacked. The Cluster Munition Coalition are working to ban the Cluster bomb at present. The next meeting of State parties is in Vientiane, between 9th and 12th November 2010. For more information visit their website, www.stopclustermunitions.org
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| Example of unexploded cluster bombs |
I have just watched a documentary on the Secret War here at the COPE centre. One of the narrators was a former American fighter pilot who served in the Vietnam war, and participated in the bombing of Laos from airbases in Thailand and North Vietnam. He talked about the fact that there were primary and secondary targets in Laos. When the bomber failed to deploy bombs on the primary target due to heavy defense fire or impaired visibility, instead of going through the process of making the plane safe and returning to the airbase, they were instructed to deploy on ‘secondary targets’ which basically meant they dumped the bombs anywhere in a certain area, with no military target and little reasoning. The Lao people fled their homes to the caves, and some lived like this for several years, with hardly any food and no way of sustaining themselves as their rice paddy’s had been destroyed. There was mass exodus to the capital of Vientiane and hundreds of thousands of refugees stayed there in squalid camps, separated from their family and everything they had once known. The US broke rules of engagement by bombing Laos, and kept it a secret from US citizens and the rest of the world and legally there are still unresolved questions over who should bear primary responsibility, the US government or the private companies who produced the weapons, for UXO victims and other legacies of the war in Laos. Legacies of War are an organisation created to raise awareness about the bombing of war. Here at the COPE centre, they have provided poignant pictures and original text from Lao refugees in Vientiane, depicting the destruction to their lives when the bombs hit.
Unfortunately, the tragedy continues today as only 387,645 (0.49%) of the bombs have been removed by bomb disposal teams (as of December 2009) and more than 35 years later, 300 Lao people are injured or killed by these bombs per year. Young boys are the highest casualties, finding the old bombs and thinking they are toys, or trying to take them apart to use the ball bearings inside in their slingshots. Many adults also try to collect the bombs to use them for scrap metal, which is a lucrative income in poverty stricken Laos. Programmes are currently in place, educating local people on the dangers of UXO and the documentary showed local school children watching puppet shows and learning songs. One of the worst case studies here is from 17th January 2008 when four children died and five were badly injured after discovering an un-exploded cluster bomb. All the children were under the age of nine.
COPE is working in partnership with the National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) to provide those affected by UXO with access to medical services, prosthetic limbs and medical care. They also provide training to those affected and their families, as well as transport costs and daily allowances for those who have lost limbs and are unable to provide for their families. They have created the COPE visitor centre here in Vientiane as a sustainable way to advocate and fundraise. If you are ever in Vientiane, definitely make sure you pay a visit, there are hundreds of great resources, a cinema, museum and friendly and helpful staff. I have just spent the best part of a day here but it has been one of the most touching and eye-opening experiences of my trip so far. I’ll leave you with one more shocking statistic:
The US currently contribute $3 million per year to bomb removal in Laos. For nine years they spent $2 million per day!
To find out more or donate, visit http://www.copelaos.org/
COPE
C/O National Rehabilitation Centre, Khouvieng Road
P.O. Box 6652
Vientiane, Lao PDR
+856 (21) 218427
