From 1964 to 2008, more than 50,000 Lao people were victims of accidents involving unexploded ordnance (UXO), according to the first survey report of the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) for UXO/Mine Action Sector in Laos. NRA representatives, senior officials from government and international organizations, donors and NGO operators gathered at the...
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During Project Phongsali we found numerous cluster bomblets designated the “M-83” in and around Sop Houn Village. This device has three fuses: an impact fuse, a mechanical timing fuse, and an anti-handling fuse. Containing over 200 grams of high explosive, they pack greater destructive power than most other, more frequently encountered, cluster munitions. The...
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Day 54 Yai and I woke up this morning with the clearance team breathing down our necks. They have caught up with us, and unless we come up with more ordnance, they’ll be standing idle, waiting for an assignment. Then, after breakfast, Mr. Deng walked into camp and asked us to deal with a...
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Day 53 We were back out to Mr. Khambao’s rice field today. We’ve nicknamed him “Mr. Magnet” for his propensity for attracting ordnance. We’re finding numerous American rockets and cluster bombs on the hills above his farm, but also a few Vietnamese weapons. Obviously his farm was a hot spot during the war —...
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Day 52 It came as no surprise to us that the cluster bomb on the hill above the school has gone missing. Its disappearance ends the controversy over our plan to demolish it. It was located near an old cemetery, and to some people in the village the device posed a danger of angering...
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Day 51 We spent all of Saturday and Sunday clearing the schoolyard, taking advantage of the students being gone for the weekend. It was slow going, but the fellows stuck with it. With the sun beating down on them and the ground as hard as cement, the work was a grind. And boring! Hour...
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Day 50 We’ve got a little cultural conflict going here. The fault line runs between a conservative (mostly elderly) faction within the village and a less traditional, more progressive (mostly younger) segment. The issue is related to our earlier discussion with village elders over clearing the land next to the school that is also...
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Day 49 Two American friends are due to arrive today. Karen Coates and Jerry Redfern, wife and husband, now live in New Mexico, but Karen is originally from Brookfield, Wisconsin, and Jerry grew up in Montana. They spend as much or more time in Asia than they do in New Mexico, making that state...
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Day 48 I continue to make purchases for our museum collection back home. I’ve picked up several child-made toys, a wooden rice steamer, a skein of raw silk, and some wedges for splitting firewood. The wedges are wood themselves but feel as hard as steel. (What species of tree?) Then today I came upon...
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