#laotians

Thame is a small village in Laos that lies on the banks of the Banghiang river. It's home to just over 560 people.

The main access to the village is by boat, onto a stretch of sandy beach that sits beneath the school. Here you will find local children playing in the river and families washing their clothes. It's also where HALO discovered a 500lb aircraft bomb.

Thame is located Sepon district, an area that suffered heavy aerial bombing during the Vietnam War, which at its height, saw a plane load of bombs dropped on Laos every eight minutes. Bombing and survey data indicates the likelihood of hundreds of unexploded items being scattered in and around the village. For local families, living with the risk of accidents is a daily reality. In recent years, twelve accidents have been recorded—all involving children. In 2019, two young boys were injured when they unknowingly built a fire for cooking on top of an explosive.

Thousands of people in Laos, whose homes were swept away when a dam burst, are sheltering in areas contaminated by landmines, humanitarians said, as floods and mud hamper aid delivery.

The United Nations said this week that 34 people were reported dead, 97 were missing and 6,000 had been evacuated due to flash floods that followed the collapse of a hydropower dam in Laos last month.

Attapeu Province in southern Laos is “highly contaminated” by unexploded ordnance, it said, with almost 320 hectares (791 acres) in Sanamxay district, where people are sheltering in camps, “confirmed hazardous areas”.

Eh. It's a lot more complicated than that...

There's the City Asians, Countryside Asians, Mountain Asians, Jungle Asians, Plateau/Grassland Asians, Islands Asians (Filipinos), etc. etc.

And then they split between Regions, Dialects, Clothing Styles, Class and Religions.

In Thailand/Laos, they differentiate ethnic groups as Highlands, Midlands and Lowlands. In China, it's by regional differences, like Northern, Southern, Coastal, Southwest, Northwest, etc. etc. and differ by dialects/accents/languages and food.

Like Northern Chinese people are weird for eating "millets" (Wtf is that still?), Cantonese people are Coastal Asians that are into Seafood, Noodles and Dumplings, Southwest Chinese people are the Mountain Asians who eat Spicy & Sour foods (And also very famous for being the first Rice Cultivation of Asia). And then Tibetans & Mongols drink milk or some shit like that...

And then the fucking Noodle Asians, like the Southern Chinese and the Vietnamese. Like egg noodles & rice noodles, and I don't know how they can eat that everyday without dying. Like I go to a Korean/Japanese restaurant, and always gotta order extra rice.

The strong hatred/rivalries between Regions and Cities/Countryside. A prime example is like North Korea/Vietnam/China and South Korea/Vietnam/China, that has just been historically different. I've heard so many Asians representing their regional hometowns and call other places shit. Especially Beijing people, "Oh, we own you guys in the South."

Finally, the second most discrimination I've seen either your parents were born in the City or in the Countryside, which regarded your class status, because only the Rich & Educated live in the city, and the Poor Farming Class lived in the Countryside. Back in the 80's in the U.S.A, City Asians didn't even associate themselves with Countryside Asians, because they were considered a downgrade, and even in the West it has prevailed and evolved to how much Wealth and Status your family has. They evaluate your worth by your house, car, education and job.

No Enclave: Exploring Laotian Los Angeles

California has by far the largest population of Laotian-Americans of any state, 58,424 as of 2010. There are large communities in both northern and southern California, with roughly 7,120 living in the Los Angeles area. There they maintain a relatively discreet profile, reflected mostly by the presence of a handful of restaurants either specializing in Laotian food or offering Lao dishes.

LAOTI…