Phonsavan; Discovering The War

After a hellish twelve hour ride from Vientiane we pull into a provincial bus station after 8 am and I am more than elated to step into the cool fresh air of Phonsavan, as a lone traveler. Stepping out into the dusty streets I find it not to be a glamorous town or even very attractive but it has a warm outback feeling to it and I spend the day wandering its streets and markets.

Having heard a little of the dark history of this region I pay a visit to MAG; Mines Advisory Group to learn more. Mag is an organization working in Laos to clear UXO (unexploded ordnance) i.e. bombs that were dropped during the war, from land particularly which is useful to communities. It is estimated around 30% of the 2 million tons of bombs dropped on Laos during the second Indochina war did not explode on impact leaving them littering the country; from farmland to temples to school yards. I am amazed to discover that Laos is the most bombed country in the world (per person).
They call it ‘the secret war’ and I find myself engrossed discovering the history of the soil I stand upon even more so because its effects are still destroying lives today. Hundreds of people are still being maimed, blinded and killed by bombs they disturb both accidentally; perhaps while ploughing a field, and purposefully; to sell the metal for scrap. Many of the victims are children who search for scrap metal to support their families or innocently pick up a colourful ball-like cluster ‘bombie’.
MAG are on an inspiring mission to clear land of hazardous 'bombies' to make it safe for farming, developing and simply living on so some of the poorest communities may have a hope to help themselves and rise from the ashes of somebody else’s war. So innocent lives do not continue to be lost more than 3 decades after the country was carpeted by the deathly showers.
I’m so fascinated by what I learn that I go to a local restaurant which is screening a documentary where I learn more about the actions of the USA and CIA whose covert operations in Laos were hidden behind a smokescreen of humanitarian aid. All the while their agents worked with a general Vang Pao to train a secret army of Hmong fighters to battle communism in the country. The following day I visit some large bomb craters which scar the land as stark reminders of the power of the bombs, some of which still lie in wait. A large portion of the land at the crater site has been cleared of UXO but not all of it and my guide shows me a 'bombie' from a cluster bomb which idly lies half buried in the dry soil. It’s quite shocking to see and really emphasizes the everyday dangers that the people who live here face. I’m instilled with the deepest sympathy for the country I am in which is still suffering from a waged war and suffering in silence from the rest of the world.