Ban Mai - Boualapha District - Khammuan Province - Lao Peoples Democratic Republic When I sat down to talk with the family in Ban Mai about the death of their son the week before, I was mentally prepared for the conversation to go in one of two directions. One possibility was that the family would express regret...
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Mai Village - Boualapha District - Khammouan Province - Lao Peoples Democratic Republic During my recent trip to Boualapha District to observe scrap collectors and interview villagers associated with the trade, I heard bold comments from the children and teenagers that I found searching for scrap. All described ordnance that I knew to be deadly; all were...
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Boualapha District - Lao Peoples Democratic Republic Over fifty percent of the Lao people wounded or killed by unexploded ordnance (UXO) have been injured while intentionally handling the stuff, often while collecting bomb fragments and other war material to sell to scrap dealers who, in turn, sell the metals to foundries in Laos and Vietnam....
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Nakai District - Khammouan Province - Lao Peoples Democratic Republic Last year I was down in Nong District in Savanakhet Province during the rainy season and just missed crossing paths with an American military team that was in the Laos looking for the remains of American service personnel missing since the end of the Indochina War. ...
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Nakai Tai Village – Khammouan Province - Lao Peoples Democratic Republic A guy from Nakai Tai drowned last evening. We didn’t know about the accident when we stopped by the village to inquire about unexploded ordnance reported in the area, and to make a social call on my friend Soon, but when we stepped out...
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Lao Luong Village - Hin Boun District - Khammouan Province - Lao Peoples Democratic Republic Yai and I often meet villagers who have health conditions that have lingered for months or years without treatment. We meet long-suffering people who could have relief from pain if they only knew where to find therapy and rehabilitation. We meet people...
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Nakai District - Khammouan Province - Lao Peoples Democratic Republic My friend Ta once tried to open a cluster bomblet with a stick. He had hopes of harvesting the 85 grams of high explosive contained inside and using the stuff to construct several homemade bombs that he’d use for fishing. The plan was simple: explode a...
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Nakai Tai Village - Khammouan Province - Lao Peoples Democratic Republic We work long days here with little feedback that our work truly makes a difference. Its one thing to have a job where you build something or make an event happen, and at the end of the day you can see change and measure progress. ...
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Mahaxai District – Khammouan Province - Lao Peoples Democratic Republic Ninety-five per cent of schools in Laos have no books or other printed material for students to read. In those schools all reading instruction takes place at a chalkboard with the teacher constantly writing and erasing words and phrases for the children to read. When...
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Nakai District - Khammouan Province - Laos Peoples Democratic Republic The theatrical release of the movie, Rescue Dawn, may renew discussion of the treatment of Vietnam War era prisoners of war. This movie graphically depicts the wartime experiences of Dieter Dengler, a German-born, American navy pilot who was shot down over Laos in 1966 and held...
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