Unexploded Ordinances (UXOs) in Laos
Laos has one of the most tragic histories of any country I know. During the Vietnam War, the US dropped over two million tonnes of ordinances - more than all of World War II combined - giving it the unwanted distinction of being the most bombed country in the world. There were more than 580,000 bombing missions on Laos from 1964 to 1973. That's equivalent to one bombing mission every eight minutes, 24 hours a day, for nine years. And they weren't even directly involved in the war! The US were trying to cut off supplies to the Viet Cong. Of course, the US then denied this for a number of years. 30 percent (80 million tonnes) of explosives failed to detonate so, to this day, there are millions of UXOs that kill or maim at least one person daily. Approximately 25 percent of the villages are contaminated and 40 percent of casualties over the last decade were children. Children see a shiny object thinking it's a toy until it blows up and they lose their arm. What has this world come to that seven-year-old children are taught about UXOs in schools? That a child is taught to not run around or dig deep in case they are maimed? These scraps of metal also make money when sold on the market and in a country this poor, some purposefully dig up the UXOs, risking their lives for just $2. And yet, US citizens get a visa on arrival at the border and one has to really look to find the museums that document these atrocities. I asked the guide at the COPE Museum here why it's so easy for US citizens to get a visa on arrival and why we are so welcomed here. His answer: Buddhism teaches us to leave the past in the past and move on with the present.
