While we were in Luang Prabang, we visited the UXO museum of Laos. It gave us a deep insight into the war remains and how it effected the country's economy and people. Here is a bit of what we learned.
Laos is considered the most bombed country in the world. During the Vietnam war, over half a million American bombing missions dropped more than 2 million tons of ordnance on Laos, most of it being anti-personnel cluster bombs. Each bomb shell contained hundreds of individual "bombies" about the size of tennis balls. About 30% of these did not detonate. 10 of the 18 Laotian provinces have been declared as severely contaminated. Due to these undetonated explosives, agriculture has suffered significantly in Laos. There is an extreme threat especially for children who mistake them for toys and suffer the damage.
Laos had a supply route to the fighters in the north of Vietnam during the war. This made Laos and people in Laos supporting the north of Vietnam target for American forces. About 288 million cluster munitions and about 75 million unexploded bombs were left across Laos after the Vietnam war ended. Between 1999 and 2008, there were 2184 casualties (including 834 deaths) from these unexploded munitions. According to a 2012 report from UXO, there were a total of 29 people effected by UXOs and 10 people died. This is still a very active problem in Laos and many countries are providing funds and resources to clear the unexploded munition, to help farmers find safe ways to farm, and help alleviate people from poverty.
If you ever get a chance to go to Luang Prabang in Laos, please visit the UXO museum to understand the recent war history of Laos.
This is a documentary on Youtube that gives some insight into this issue.
Laos is considered the most bombed country in the world. During the Vietnam war, over half a million American bombing missions dropped more than 2 million tons of ordnance on Laos, most of it being anti-personnel cluster bombs. Each bomb shell contained hundreds of individual "bombies" about the size of tennis balls. About 30% of these did not detonate. 10 of the 18 Laotian provinces have been declared as severely contaminated. Due to these undetonated explosives, agriculture has suffered significantly in Laos. There is an extreme threat especially for children who mistake them for toys and suffer the damage.
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| An unexploded bomb replica at UXO museum. Image Source |
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| Recovered UXOs. Image source |
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| UXO shells outside the UXO museum in Luang Prabang |
Laos had a supply route to the fighters in the north of Vietnam during the war. This made Laos and people in Laos supporting the north of Vietnam target for American forces. About 288 million cluster munitions and about 75 million unexploded bombs were left across Laos after the Vietnam war ended. Between 1999 and 2008, there were 2184 casualties (including 834 deaths) from these unexploded munitions. According to a 2012 report from UXO, there were a total of 29 people effected by UXOs and 10 people died. This is still a very active problem in Laos and many countries are providing funds and resources to clear the unexploded munition, to help farmers find safe ways to farm, and help alleviate people from poverty.
If you ever get a chance to go to Luang Prabang in Laos, please visit the UXO museum to understand the recent war history of Laos.
This is a documentary on Youtube that gives some insight into this issue.
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