Laos’s Secret War still hurts after 50 years 

Today, I went to the UXO visitor centre in Luang Prabang, a city in Laos; there I learnt about how Lao ended up involved in the Vietnamese war and how it still affects them to this day. Inspired, I decided to research further and write an essay about this “Secret War”.

On November 1, 1955 the Vietnamese-American war broke out between Vietnam and the USA – A devastating conflict that would last 20 years and eventually end up killing over an estimated 1.3 million people across both sides. Many of the killed Vietnamese were ordinary civilians including children, whom the killing is explicitly against the Geneva Conventions, an agreement that the US ratified the same year they sent their military “advisors” to the scene. This had terrible consequences to both sides like killed civilians and the people affected by Agent orange which impacts are still felt to this day.

Meanwhile in Laos, a Vietnam’s neighbor that was not affiliated with the Vietnamese conflict, ended up being the target of a large US military attack. During which over 2,000,000 tons of bombs were dropped on Laos killing an estimated 200,000 innocent people and injuring many more. But why?  They went against an international treaty in 1962 that said that no country was allowed to invade or set up military bases in Laos as an attempt to dismantle the Ho Chi Minh Trail, a military supply route that went through parts of Laos. Although that was the mission, the pilots did not discriminate between civilians and their targets, a textbook war crime.

This war ended over 50 years ago yet it is still a big problem for Laotian people due to the millions unexploded bomblets – the little tennis ball bombs held with cluster bombs; There are still an estimated 80 million unexploded ordnance (UXOs) left to be discovered. Many people in Laos don’t fully understand the danger of picking these devices up and thus are often seriously injured or are killed when they do so, here is an account of someone who has seen this happen:

“When I was little, my cousin picked up what he thought was a ball. It was a bombie. It exploded and killed him instantly. Many of us have stories like this.”

– Channapha Khamvongsa

And since the war, an estimated one person a day has been killed by the UXOs left from the “Secret War; but there is hope for the future as in 2016 there was a major improvement to the situation when on a visit to Laos, President Obama said this:

“The United States has a moral obligation to help Laos heal… The United States dropped more than two million tons of bombs here — more than we dropped on Germany and Japan combined during World War II.”

Today, programs funded by countries such as the US, Japan, the EU, Australia and more are helping clear the land to make it safe again. It will take lots of time and effort, but every cleared bomb means more land for farming, fewer tragedies, and a safer future for the Lao people. With continued global support, Laos is finally beginning to heal its old wounds.