VIENTIANE, LAOS: About three million square metres of land will be cleared of unexploded ordnance, or UXO, in Saravan province this year, an official from the province said on this week.
"Saravan ranks third out of the nine provinces severely impacted by the presence of UXO," said an official from UXO Lao's operations in the province, Somphone Duangphachanh.
The ordnance is mostly in the form of small sub-munitions (bombies) from cluster bombs, although some large explosives and mortar shells remain. Villagers have reported UXO throughout rice fields, village centres, and forest areas.
Saravan province was once part of the Ho Chi Minh trail area and was also the site of other major military campaigns on the Boloven Plateau in 1974.
The eastern districts of the province are very mountainous and difficult to traverse but were the sites of intense military traffic during the Indochina war and thus the target of constant bombing, Somphone said.
The effects of heavy bombing were concentrated around provincial roads, important population centres, and the suspected Ho Chi Minh trail, he added.
UXO teams in Saravan province last year cleared 298 hectares of land for development projects such as schools, roads, irrigation and new villages, he said. The teams found and destroyed 7,852 items, (25 big bombs, 5,170 bombies, five mines, and another 2,652 other forms of UXO).
Saravan has a total land area of more than 10,600 square kilometres with a population of about 327,000. It has eight districts, 724 villages, and around 53,000 households.
According to UXO Lao, teams working in nine provinces cleared about 2,300 hectares of land during the first quarter of 2007. They found and destroyed 30,811 items, (303 big bombs, 16,048 bombies, 53 mines, and 14,407 other forms of UXO).
Laos was one of the most heavily bombed countries in the world, suffering from intense ground battles and aerial bombardment during the Indochina War. Over 580,000 bombing missions resulted in more than two million tonnes of bombs being dropped by American war planes during the 10 year period of conflict.
This has left more than 87,200 of the total 236,000 square kilometres of land in Laos contaminated with deadly weaponry. More than 12,000 square kilometres are classified as high risk, while more than 74,700 are described as being of moderate risk.
UXO Lao was established in 1996. Its aim is to reduce the number of casualties caused by unexploded ordnance, and increase the amount of land available for food production and other socio-economic development activities. (By KHONESAVANH LATSAPHAO/ The Vientiane Times/ ANN)
Laos was stupid to stay neutral during the Vietnam war. They should have declare war to those commies for using Laos as their highway to transport soldiers and weapons down to the South to fight the American.
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"Because I criticized Laos government and it policies, it does not mean I want Laos to remain poor nor do I think Lao people are lazy or uneducated."
laos should ask the UN to help clearing all the dangerous scrap from our land financed by the US government... or exchanging it against american soldiers missing in Lao, it would be fair.
LETS KEEP CLEARING THOSE BOMBS AND STOP TALKING. ITS TOO LATE TO TALK ABOUT THE PAST. THE BOMBS WAS DROPPED, LET CLEAR THEM OUT SO OUR PEOPLE CAN CULTIVATE OUR LAND. JAPANESE HAD A NUCLEAR BOMB DROP ON THEM, THEY ARE STILL ALIVE AND A MAJOR PLAYER IN THE WORLD STAGE. REMEMBER THE PAST, BUT DONT DWELL ON IT.
DONT CALL PEOPLE WITH LESS MEAN STUPID. LAOS AND THE PEOPLE OF LAOS IS NOT STUPID, WE JUST HAVE LAST OPPITUNITY. IF EVERY LAOS CHILDREN CAN BE EDUCATED LIKE THE AMERICAN. OUR LAOS CHILD REN SMARTS WOULD RIVAL THAT OF JAPAN, CHINA, OR AMERICA. SO LET SEND SOME MONEY AND SPONSOR OUR CHILDREN ,SCHOOL, AND THIER TEACHER AND YOU WILL SEE.
I HEARD SOME PEOPLE SAID THAT THEY WOULD NOT SEND MONEY TO LAOS BECAUSE OF THE CURRENT GOVERNMENT. I THINK THAT IS SELFISH AND WRONG. IF YOU THINK THAT WAY, 10 YEARS FROM NOW OUR CHILDREN IN LAOS WOULD BE IN THE SAME SITUCATION. NOT STUPID, BUT LESS OPPITUNITY.
It is like someone borrowing my car to be used as a transportation when they go rob a bank.
Why Laos allow Vietcong to use our land to conduct their war. Why didn't they use their own land. And if they can't use their own land then why didn't they use the ocean. Don't use my land for your benefit. I am neutral. No they go a head and go into our land with Vietcong soldiers. Yea Laos was stupid to allow that. It is was me I would declare war on VietCong.
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"Because I criticized Laos government and it policies, it does not mean I want Laos to remain poor nor do I think Lao people are lazy or uneducated."
STILL TALKING ABOUT THE PAST ARE WE?. LET GO AND MOVE ON. HATE DOES NOT SOLVE LAOS PROBLEM.
LAOS HAS ALWAYS BEEN A POOR COUNTRY TO OUR NEIGHBOR. WE CAN NOT STOP VIETNAM, EVEN THE AMERICAN CAN NOT STOP VIETNAM. ITS A CIVIL WAR AND PEOPLE IN LAOS AT THAT TIME ALSO WANTED CHANGED. THAT IS WHY THE CURRENT GOVERNMENT IS IN CHARGE.
LAOS IS LIKE A LITTLE FRIENDLY KID, THAT IS BEING SURROUNDED BY BULLIES. WITH NOBODY HELP, ITS TRYING TO BE FRIENDS WITH THE LESS MEAN BULLIES.
IF THE AMERICAN WON THE WAR, TODAY LAOS WOULD BE PART OF THE KINGDOM OF THAILAND. IT MIGHT NOT BE BAD, WE PROBABLY BE BETTER OFF. BUT I'M LAOS AND I LIKE TO HAVE TO OWN COUNTRY CALLED "LAOS"
STILL TALKING ABOUT THE PAST ARE WE?. LET GO AND MOVE ON. HATE DOES NOT SOLVE LAOS PROBLEM.
LAOS HAS ALWAYS BEEN A POOR COUNTRY TO OUR NEIGHBOR. WE CAN NOT STOP VIETNAM, EVEN THE AMERICAN CAN NOT STOP VIETNAM. ITS A CIVIL WAR AND PEOPLE IN LAOS AT THAT TIME ALSO WANTED CHANGED. THAT IS WHY THE CURRENT GOVERNMENT IS IN CHARGE.
LAOS IS LIKE A LITTLE FRIENDLY KID, THAT IS BEING SURROUNDED BY BULLIES. WITH NOBODY HELP, ITS TRYING TO BE FRIENDS WITH THE LESS MEAN BULLIES.
IF THE AMERICAN WON THE WAR, TODAY LAOS WOULD BE PART OF THE KINGDOM OF THAILAND. IT MIGHT NOT BE BAD, WE PROBABLY BE BETTER OFF. BUT I'M LAOS AND I LIKE TO HAVE TO OWN COUNTRY CALLED "LAOS"
Again, I agree with you 1000% CANADIANS' friend. Let forget the PAST, move on the new lives !!!!!!! Concentrate to put and get our ASSSS togather like One Lao's Blood. No matter where WE are, where WE live we still LAO !!!!!!
ONLY LAO'S PEOPLE CAN UNDERSTAND LAO'S PEOPLE IF YOU ARE TRUE LAO!!!!!!!
YEAH, PRETTY STUPID. BUT THAT IS HOW I FEEL AT THE TIME. I WAS YOUNG GROWING UP IN CANADA, I GOT TEASED BECAUSE I WAS LAOTIAN. EVEN TODAY MY OLDER SISTER, WHO WORKS AT A MAJOR BANK IN CANADA STILL TELL PEOPLE SHE IS THAIS. BUT I'M TRYING TO CONVINCE HER TO PROUD OF WHO SHE IS AND WHAT LAOS HAS TO OFFER. I DONT HATE THAI PEOPLE, WE ARE LAOS.
What is there to be ashamed of? No wonder no one know where Laos is ...cuz alot of you laotian tell them you are Thai .....they know vietnam, cambodia, burma ...these people are not ashamed of their birthplace/country.... today, I still see alot of people who claimed to be THai ...even some of the people i know ...If asked ..where i come from ...without hesitate ....LAOS !! other would say THAI ....I LOL!!! It's weird for those that say they are THAI and claimed they speak THAI ...but dont speak at all.....kakakaka LOL!!!
I dont see Hmong people they say they Thai or LAo ...I'm Hmong ..no Shamed...
What is there to be ashamed of? No wonder no one know where Laos is ...cuz alot of you laotian tell them you are Thai .....they know vietnam, cambodia, burma ...these people are not ashamed of their birthplace/country.... today, I still see alot of people who claimed to be THai ...even some of the people i know ...If asked ..where i come from ...without hesitate ....LAOS !! other would say THAI ....I LOL!!! It's weird for those that say they are THAI and claimed they speak THAI ...but dont speak at all.....kakakaka LOL!!!
I dont see Hmong people they say they Thai or LAo ...I'm Hmong ..no Shamed...
Kudo to you. me too I don't hesitate to say that I was born in Laos and I am lao even tho I am half thai/lao. When I was visiting my family in thailand I always be defensive when people say negative thing about laos or lao. I always proud to be lao I won't let people talking crap about my birth place if i hear someone talking shiet about it.
people need to learn to be proud of who you are and don't forget where you're coming from...
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If your left leg is Thanksgiving, and your right leg is Christmas, can I visit you between the holidays?
First, I think we need to STOP talking down to each other and STOP Calling each other STUPID.
Example: This is why? others country said bad things about Laos peoples. Especially, THai peoples always looking down on us.
Did you know why? they did that. Because we let them, by we putting each other and calling each other name.
If you are really truely Laos blood, you shouldnt never speak that way to your own kind. No matter what peoples judging us or said bad things about us we all should always stand up for each other.
Remember, our true enemies is us, dont look for ahead. It is right here close to you, it's yourself.
REspect, respect each other and respect yourself!!
Here is my quote:
No One saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We our selves must walk the path.
Let be positive and helping each other to be a person and growth.
