If you were asked "What country do you think might be the most heavily bombed on the planet” would you answer “Laos?”
Probably not. Nor did I, until after I’d visited the UXO Museum in Luang Prabang, which gave me a fascinating new insight into a US covert mission in this part of South East Asia, in 1965, which began in 1965 and lasted over eight years. In this time, approximately 2 million bombs were dropped on Laos - the impact so devastating that it is still being witnessed today.
I might have watched Ken Burn’s ten part (18 hour) documentary series on the Vietnam War, but I remained shameful ignorant of the impact it had on Laos, the landlocked country next door that ended up ‘caught in the crossfire’ of a desperate attempt by the US to keep communism at bay, however many deaths it took. And that’s why I went to this small but incredibly informative place, to find out more.
It’s a complicated history lesson but let’s try to sum it up - in the midst of the Cold War, with China led by Mao Tse Tung and the US terrified of ‘red philosophy’ spreading throughout Asia, in 1961, President Eisenhower gave the CIA approval to begin training anti-communist forces in the mountains.
The aim? To cut off weapons and ammunition being transported along the Ho Chi Minh trail (home to dense jungle and high mountains) from northern Vietnam’s communist supporters in the south, as well as Communist sympathisers named Pathet in Laos itself.
No matter that in 1962 a peace treaty had been signed in Geneva, with all signatories promising to maintain Laos’ neutrality in the region. For nine years, US pilots made no fewer than 580,000 bombing runs over Laos, dropping over more than 2.5 tonnes of weapons on the land. The mission was was named ‘Operation Barrel Roll.’
Today tens of thousands of UXO (‘unexploded ordnance’ aka explosive weapons that did not detonate) remain, continuing to maim and kill people.
As I wander the small museum, there are examples of these weapons everywhere - including ‘cluster bombs’.
These exploded before they hit the ground, opening up and throwing out smaller bombs named ‘bombies’.
Around 30 percent never exploded.
And since these bombs are still live, 20,000 Laotians have died since 1973, with it being estimated two weeks someone in Laos is killed (or horribly maimed) as a result of accidentally stepping on a UXO.
The human cost is immeasurable, I realise, as I watch a harrowing documentary on young children who’ve lost arms, legs and eyes after accidentally coming into contact with these weapons. Some of their friends and siblings were less ‘fortunate’ - they were killed on the spot.
The government, today, along with the help of charities has set about educating rural people (especially sending workers into schools, to speak to children about the dangers of these ‘bombies’). It’s fair to say that it’s a good effort, and far more Laotian youth now understand that if they see a munition not to touch and to immediately find an adult.
Unfortunately, Laos is so impoverished that many local families, desperate for income, rent or purchase metal detectors, in a valiant attempt to locate scrap metal which they can sell to feed themselves.
So, as always, it comes down to money. As long as there’s economic desperation (most rural people in Laos work as rice and buffalo farmers and make meagre wages), the possibility of discovering a haul of scrap metal (which can sell for 10-20 cents a kilo, letting them earn the equivalent of a year’s wages in a day) means they will take risks they shouldn’t be taking.
The terrible truth is that whilst few strike it rich; far more lose limbs or their lives. The harsh reality of living in one of the poorest spots on the planet.
If I had my way, I’d force every tourist in Luang Prabang to come to this museum, educate themselves and make a donation to the charity involved in trying to rid the country of these terrible bombies. As for me, I came away wiser and more sober - not to mention the proud owner of a pair of earrings that have been made out of metal from a munition. I’m wearing them regularly as I continue my Asian journey and not only are they pretty, they’re a constant reminder of the horrors of war and poverty.
Go and visit this small but incredibly informative museum and buy a piece of ‘Peacebomb jewellery’ - all profits go to clearing the country of these horrors. You won’t regret your time spent there - and your purchase really will make a difference.