Watch Where You Step!

Alright kiddies, we are going to do a fun little exercise using our imaginations- ready?
I want you all to close your eyes and clear your mind.  All clear?  Now I want you to picture your life over a 9 year period.  It can be from birth to age 9 or maybe 10 years old to 19 years old, I am sure you get the picture.  For ease of writing I am going to choose from my birth until my 9th birthday.  Can you remember your first teacher, or your best friend growing up?  Maybe you moved houses, maybe your parents split up or you had your first kiss.  Were you in scouts, did you go camping, or to Disneyland?  Oh, how about sleepovers- those where the best; remember going to a friends house and being able to eat junk food or watch the inappropriate movies your parents didn’t allow you to watch?  Seriously, I want you to reflect for a minute on some of your favourite childhood memories, your experiences and all that you did over the 9 years you chose.  A person can sure do a lot in 9 years can’t they?
Now, I want to give you something to think about.  Can you imagine spending 9 years living in a cave, while bombs are being dropped outside- all day- everyday?!  Maybe you were lucky enough to have the bittersweet experience of leaving your entire family to go get an education in a neighbouring country because it was no longer safe to go to school in your own.  These are some of the thoughts that run through my head as I spend time in Laos, learning about the CIA's 'Secret War' that raged for 9 years.  Because of Laos' geographical location, their internal political instability and that they got sucked in by proxy into it’s neighbouring country- Vietnam's war, it was secretly the target of an indiscriminate bombing campaign by the USA, making it the most heavily bombed country per capita in history! The US used a wide variety of bombs to terrorize Laos, many of those being cluster bombs.  Unfortunately, when a cluster bomb is dropped, approximately 30% of the munitions, or 'bombies' inside do not detonate, resulting in the devastating aftermath that still affects the Laos people to this day.  Hundreds of people, most of them children, are killed every year when they are unfortunate enough to plough over a cluster bomb while farming, pick it up because it looks like a ball, or attempt to salvage it for scrap metal- a lucrative trade for one of the poorest countries in the world.  Often the temptation for money outweighs the risk of death when talking about feeding your family.  I could go on forever about the horrors of a “war” that consumed and confused the Laos people for 9 years, but it just makes me too angry.  I have attached some reading materials if you are interested in learning for yourself about the secret war in Laos. Knowledge is power, so feel free to google for more info.

A brief article explaining the 'secret war'.

Mines Advisory Group - An international group that clears unexploded bombs from war zones.

COPE - Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise. COPE and the NRC (National Rehabilitation Centre) together are the only provider of prosthetic, orthotic and rehabilitation services in Laos PDR.

Below are some photos of a few attractions and centres we have visited in an effort to better understand and support the Laos peoples unwavering spirit and to learn about the many organizations set up to help heal their country.

This picture was taken at the COPE (Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise) centre in Vientiane, the capital city of Laos.  The centre provides limbs, wheelchairs and rehabilitation for the victims of UXO (Unexploded Ordinance) or people that have congenital deformities such as club foot. 

The permanent exhibit at the COPE centre was a fantastic blend of artwork, literature, videos and interactive displays that outlined and explained the huge demand for prothetics in Laos.

This was a specially designed mirror box that helped with the 'phantom pain' from a lost limb.

Dan, standing next to some bombs outside a restaurant called Craters in the town of Phonsavan.

This town in particular had loads of bombs on display since it was the sight of one of the heaviest bombed areas in all of Laos.

Dan and I were lucky enough to take a tour of a Hmong villiage outside of Phonsavan.  Our driver was born and raised there before he went to the city to find work.  People use cluster bomb casings for many things such as troughs for their animals, fences (as pictured below), fire pits or as stilts for their houses.  The picture above is actually a pigeon house.

This is a photo of one of the numerous bomb craters that scar the northern provinces of Laos.  We are here in the rainy season so it is full of water.  There are so many of them that villagers use them as pools for fish or water fowl.

A monument remembering the numerous villagers that died when a missile was shot into a large cave that had become their home for many years.  Over 350 bodies were uncovered and buried in mass graves surrounding the sight, though it is thought that many more could rest indiscovered, buried under the rubble after the blast.

A couple shots of the cave from the inside.  This sight in peticular was really sad and eerie to visit.

I refrained from taking too many shots as it is likely the graves of many peasants that were never recovered.

One thing that helped cheer me up after visiting the sight was a legend that our tour guide shared with us.  Apparenty, the Hmong people believe that dragons roam the earth to this day, because they are magical creatures they are able to change form.  It is believed that many of the natural caves that dot the moutains in the north of Laos are in fact dragon dens.  Cool!  This cave had to be a dragon den as it was massive and would make a perfect home for a dragon ;)

This is a shot of one of the many mass graves that are in the area outside the opening of the cave.



This was a marker set up by MAG or the Munitions Advisory Group, a organization specializing in the removal of UXO or Unexploded Ordinance.  Since Laos is slowly becoming a more popular tourist sight they are doing their best to clean up various sites to make them safer for tourists and locals alike.  The marker above is white, letting us know that both above and below the surface has been cleared of UXO.

There were also red markers indicating that only surface UXO has been cleared, making it unsafe to trample.  Freaky!!  It kinda makes peeing on the side of the road a little more risky.