Project Phongsali 2011: We go where UXO threatens people even if it means a day-long hike.
Following a villager who is cutting trail, we climb hand over hand to the place where he found two old mortars. We tell villagers that we'll go wherever they have a problem with UXO.
Week Four
Day Twenty-Three
One important lesson for anyone who has a job that requires following a Lao farmer into the forest to look for ordnance (or bamboo shoots, or a lost water buffalo, or anything else). If the farmer starts out, takes a few steps, stops, contemplates, and then returns to his house to collect a machete, you should immediately smear your body with an extra dollop of mosquito dope, and hitch another bottle of water to your belt.
Every hike we take to look for UXO is, ultimately, two treks. First we walk with the villager (man, woman or child) to the site and confirm that there is, indeed, ordnance present. While there, we cut brush or clear debris around the item so we can properly identify the device. Then, we hike back to inform the full team and gather all the equipment that we’ll need to render that particular item safe.
Experience has taught us that its inefficient for the full team to drop other tasks in order to make first contact with suspected ordnance. If it turns out that the reported item is not actually UXO, time has been wasted.
Of all the people who lead us on searches, the group most likely to lead us through misery are…
Little girls.
Consider: Boys in the family usually work close to home. Girls range far and wide foraging for firewood and edible plants; their boundless, youthful energy always makes them underestimate distance and the rigors of a hike. And… they are so short and lithe that they glide under and through vegetation that grabs at, tugs at, slaps at the adult struggling to keep up.
Never trust a little Lao girl who tells you that the ordnance is just an easy walk from home. And, if she picks up HER machete… You best hitch TWO MORE WATER BOTTLES to your belt. You could be headed for a genuine monkey drill.