Lao lives still threatened by war legacy

AS a result of its close proximity to the Indochina war, for more than
30 years the Lao people found
themselves embroiled in deadly conflict, which saw fighting across the
country and over two million tons
of bombs dropped onto villages. The war in Laos came to an end in
1975, but the suffering borne from the
war did not stop. The Lao landscape was and still is littered with
thousands of tons of left-over
munitions, bombs and landmines. These items of unexploded ordnance
kill and injure people and are a huge
impediment to development in this country. In the last three decades
more than 12,000 people, many of them children, have been killed or
injured in Laos by unexploded ordnance. Most of these deaths were
caused by bombies, small tennis-ball sized anti-personnel devices,
dropped in huge casings called cluster bombs. An estimated 90 million
bombies were dropped on Laos. With an average 10-30 percent still on
the ground, they make this country one of the most heavily ordnance-
contaminated places in the world. Worse still, bombies make
attractive toys for children playing in shallow dirt, and are also
frequently struck by farmers tilling the land.

But perhaps the most important aspect of this legacy of war is the
effect it has on development. Rural
communities, who are already some of the poorest people in Laos, and
indeed the region, cannot boost their
food security or income levels because their fields are still
deadly.Construction and much-needed
infrastructure development cannot take place without costly and
timeconsuming bomb clearance work. The
bitter irony for many rural Lao is that often households are reluctant
to expand agricultural production when
this is necessary because it is too hazardous to clear the land. One
quarter of villages in Laos report that
unexploded bombs threaten their physical safety, food security and
livelihoods.The problem continues.
However, much good work has been completed by UXO Lao and itspartner
organisations. Since 1996,
over 375,000 bombs or pieces of munitions have been recovered from the
countryside and destroyed, much
land has been cleared for agricultural use and 850,000 people have
been educated in bomb awareness. The
death toll is dropping but it is still too high. Nearly one death or
injury from unexploded weaponry from the war
is reported in Laos every other day. The fight is far from over. Much
of the reduced number of deaths can be attributed not to a massive
decrease in the number of bombs in the ground, but to increased
national understanding of the issue.Education and community awareness
programmes, which tell villagers to steer
clear of unexploded bombs, are obviously doing their job. One only
needs to visit any classroom in the
country to see colourful UXO posters,illuminating the fact that
unexploded ordnance is a way of life in Laos. Thanks to UXO Lao and
its partners, awareness of the dangers of unexploded ordnance are as
familiar to Lao people as the warnings on cigarette packets are to
people in my country of Denmark. Although Laos has had nearly 30 years
of peace, this legacy of war is a battle that is far from won.
.

Relevant Pages