COPE

Day 14, April 4^th

This morning was the most interesting and educational experience of the trip thus far. 

Display of disarmed UXOs.

We hopped in a tuk-tuk and rode out to a center called Cope (www.copelaos.org).  It is a place that helps the citizens of Laos who are victims of unexploded ordinance (UXO) left over from the U.S.’s Secret War in Laos.  The center helps fit the victims with prosthetic limbs and gives them the chance to put their lives back together and be happy and productive.

There is a section of the center where the victims are that is closed off to the public, and for good reason.  No one would want to be stared at while trying to deal with the emotional and physical challenges of losing a leg, an arm, a hand or several limbs.

Another part of the center educates the visitors on what the center does, why it is necessary and what created that necessity.  Within the educational part of the center is a documentary on UXOs in Laos and their removal as well as photos of the people affected by UXOs and actual recovered and disarmed UXOs.

Scrap metal from the UXOs.

Mom, dad and I had no idea about how Laos was affected by the U.S.-Vietnam War.  It was never publicized.  Never talked about.

The U.S.-Vietnam War was public, the whole world knew about it.  Therefore, there were rules of engagement.  However, the Viet Cong used overland routes through Laos and Cambodia to transport supplies to the south to fight the South Vietnamese and the U.S.  Once that was discovered, the U.S. began the Secret War and did bombing runs in Laos and Cambodia in an attempt to cut off those supplies lines. 

Since it was not a publicly acknowledged war, there were no rules of engagement.  One U.S. Air Force member stated in the documentary that from the elevation of the bombing runs you couldn’t tell if you were looking at a Viet Cong soldier, a child or a cow.  So, if it moved, it was bombed.  The number of bombing runs, number of bombs and types of bombs dropped on Laos during the Secret War is horrifying.  Not all of the bombs exploded.  Now Laos is littered with an estimated 80 million UXOs.  These munitions are found by farmers, children, innocent people.

Display of prosthetic limbs.

To add to the problem, UXOs have created a deadly scrap metal industry.  The metal from the bombs, called bombies by the locals, can be sold for a lot of money.  Which means, when people find the bombs, they are less likely to stay away.  They just see money and don’t know the dangers.

Assuming the estimation of UXOs in Laos is correct, at the rate they are being discovered and removed, it will take 1040 years for Laos to be UXO free.

On a positive note, all three of us have noticed Laos’ progress as a country.  For a country that does not receive much global help and has suffered so much in recent years, they have come a long way.  They have done more with less in such a short amount of time compared to countries that have had access to resources and the time to utilize them. 

Learningly yours,

Humbled

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