Legacies of War Amidst a Promising Future in Laos

Riding through the countryside of Laos’ remote Xieng Khouang province, we spied verdant rolling hills, villagers of all ages escorting livestock on the dusty roadside, and giant craters disfiguring the landscape. For an instant, these cavities in the red earth evoked images of sand traps on golf courses. However, with Laos’ unfortunate distinction of being the world’s most bombed country per capita, not much golf is being played here.

Guided by a local father-and-son team, we had embarked on a day trip to visit the country’s mysterious archaeological treasure: the Plain of Jars. We would also visit two villages: Ban Naphia and Ban Tajok, nicknamed ‘Spoon Village’ and ‘Bomb Village’, respectively.

Before we could continue, however, we would have to wait until a temporary roadblock was cleared. A Laotian man with a grey megaphone in hand motioned for our vehicle to stop. Our guides explained that it was a safety measure, as the man’s teammates working out in the nearby countryside had likely encountered a piece of unexploded ordnance (UXO).

About a minute passed, then we heard a thunderous explosion in the distance. As the rumbling noise settled, and the area’s serene soundtrack returned, we were told the good news: a piece of UXO had just been successfully destroyed. The man on the roadside ushered our driver to proceed, and as our van rumbled ahead, the dirt road’s red dust danced in the air. Everyone in the van was quiet. I had goosebumps, thinking about the triumph of that moment, contrasted with all the tragic accidents that had come before it.

A History of War, Hope for the Future

From 1964-1973, it is estimated that American military forces dropped more than two million tons of bombs on Laos – even eclipsing those dropped on Germany and Japan during World War II. For nine years, bombs rained down on Laos every eight minutes. The United States Air Force flew almost 600,000 bombing missions over Laos. (This one and a half minute video shows the extent of the bombings, with each dot symbolizing a bombing run.)

Thirty percent of the cluster munitions used, or ‘bombies’, failed to detonate. Tragically, it is often Laos’ youngest and poorest citizens who are still killed and maimed today when coming into contact with this UXO. Accidents also occur as citizens try to ready land for farming. Scrap-dealers, trying to make a living from the plethora of war scrap are also at risk. So too are children, attracted by the shiny, metallic appearance of the bombs. According to the book, Eternal Harvest: The Legacy of American Bombs in Laos, there have been 20,000 deaths and injuries since the end of the Vietnam War. As we would learn, there are many dedicated people and organizations working in Laos trying to make all the country’s land safe again.

From Bombs to Fences, Flower Pots & Spoons

It’s estimated that 60% of the Laotian population lives on less than $2 USD/day. With that statistic in mind, one can imagine why the prospect of war scrap collection can be appealing. Resourceful Laotians gather it either to swap it for cash, or repurpose it into utilitarian items such as herb planters, animal troughs, fences – even supports for stilted homes.

Perhaps the most unique use for war scrap that we’d see was as material for spoons, bracelets, and decorative charms. In the so-called ‘Spoon Village’, we watched as a good-natured Laotian man extracted metallic liquid originating from a melted bomb tail, poured it into a wooden mold, let it harden and cool, and then unveiled a glimmering spoon. At the end of the visit, we swapped a handful of Laotian Kip (the equivalent of a few U.S. Dollars) for a trio of these homemade spoons.

We were reassured to learn that an organization had tested the metals for safety, not because we’d planned to eat with the spoons, rather because we were concerned about the man who works with the molten metal on a daily basis. Apparently, the agency’s tests showed that it was not harmful. Additionally, we heard that the war scrap used for the spoons had not been collected by an independent war scrap collector who could be putting himself at risk; instead, it had been given to the Spoon Villagers by organizations after it had been disarmed.

The Intriguing Plain of Jars

Situated in a remote region of Laos and eclipsed by enchanting Luang Prabang’s gleaming temples, the Plain of Jars are often regrettably left off of one’s list of places to explore while in Laos. The fields on which the jars are strewn are challenging to access by land, given Laos’ poor, mountainous roadways. And, to make matters worse for those in this region so hungry for tourism, Xieng Khouang was one of the worst-hit provinces during the so-called American ‘secret war’ in the country.

Instead of arriving via the Phonsavan Airport as many visitors do, we came overland via a remote and mountainous Vietnamese / Laotian land crossing. Welcomed into Laos with heartily spoken ‘sabaidees’, our route from the border to Phonsavan consisted of serpentine roadways that were framed by lush foliage, stunning views and steep drop-offs.

No one is certain why the megalithic jars – thousands of them – are scattered about the Laotian landscape on approximately 90 different sites. One legend is that they were made to brew rice wine to celebrate a triumph over barbaric leaders. More recent studies have concluded that they were burial urns. The jars are believed to date back to between 500 BC and 200 AD.

Only a handful of the 90 jar sites have been cleared of UXO, thanks to admirable clearing work completed by NGOs and their Laotian male and female employees. Some funding has been provided by international development agencies too.

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While in the Phonsavan area, our guided day trip to the Plain of Jars and Spoon and Bomb Villages were coupled with independent excursions to the province’s former capital, UXO education centers, and even a morning spent shadowing a Japanese team training to clear UXO. These experiences filled us with the greatest respect for the resilient citizens of Laos and the fearless men and women working hard to rid it of UXO. In fact, our days spent in the quiet province of Xieng Khouang provided many of our Southeast Asian trip’s highlights.

To learn more about how to help make Laos free from UXO, and to see Shawn’s video, please continue to the bottom of this post.

A man on the roadside tells our vehicle’s driver to stop, as a bomb-clearing team successfully detonates a piece of unexploded ordnance (UXO) off in the distance. Laos is, per capita, the most heavily bombed country in the world. The country was bombed largely to disrupt traffic on the Ho Chi Minh Trail during the Vietnam War.

A makeshift sign in front of a home in Ban Naphia Village advertising spoons for sale. The utensils are unique in that they were fashioned out of repurposed war scrap from American bombing raids during the Vietnam War.

Our local guide holds an 81 mm mortar round, with newly-made spoons in the background.

A tool of war (left) and the contagious smile of a man preparing to unveil a newly-minted spoon (right).

Putting the mold into the fire, as finished spoons cool on the shelf beside him.

Laotian locals not only sell spoons made out of bombs, but also bracelets, chopsticks, and even ornamental trinkets in shapes such as fish. We purchased souvenir spoons for ourselves, as well as our parents.

The wooden mold.

Ensuring the liquid metal is setting appropriately inside the mold.

Bundled spoons, ready for purchase, are displayed on a traditional piece of Laotian fabric.

Our host gets creative, fashioning spoons into new configurations.

Bomb craters dot the Laotian landscape. It’s estimated that one planeload of bombs was dropped on the country every eight minutes, for nine years.

Off in the distance: Plain of Jars Site 1, where more than 300 prehistoric stone megaliths dot the landscape. The jars’ origins are mysterious. Some think that they were burial urns, while others theorize that they were carved to brew and hold large amounts of alcohol, known locally as Lao Lao. There is hope that the Plain of Jars sites may someday be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Unfortunately, the site was heavily bombed during the Vietnam War. There are 90 such jar sites in the area, but only a handful have been cleared.

A sign at the site’s entrance highlights that 127 pieces of UXO were found and destroyed at this jar site alone!

Signs informing visitors of safe and dangerous zones. The MAG marker on the right, installed by a nonprofit, the Mines Advisory Group, is white – indicating that the soil’s sub-surface has been thoroughly cleared of UXO. On the contrary, red markers symbolize that only the area’s surface has been cleared of UXO.

Staying between the lines. As we explored the site, while mindful of the markers, I couldn’t help but think of the locals who regularly work in unmarked fields despite the possibility of such mortal danger.

Ladies, sporting vibrant-colored traditional skirts, called sinh. It’s believed that the jars were placed here about 1,500 to 2,500 years ago.

A spirit house (left) located near the Plain of Jars Site 1, and a jar interior (right). Having just been to Vietnam prior to arriving in Laos, we had a colorful bundle of incense that we’d picked up from a roadside vendor near Hué. We thought this was a fitting place to burn the incense.

Today, it’s rare to find a jar with an intact lid, as many were apparently broken or cracked through the ages. Some of the jars are up to nine feet tall (2.7 meters).

Our group, comprised of travelers from Hong Kong, Israel and the United States, poses with domestic tourists.

Next, we journeyed to the Plain of Jars Site 3. It’s known for being more picturesque than its counterparts. The area is surrounded by rice fields, rolling hillsides, and livestock.

To get to the jars, we crossed a rickety wooden bridge with missing planks. Lest I sound mighty brave, it wasn’t very high up! :)

The more intimate Plain of Jars Site 3.

After a tasty noodle-soup lunch, we made a brief stop to watch traditional Laotian whisky being made by this woman (left).

Villagers in the so-called ‘Bomb Village’ use cluster bomb casings as planters for vegetables and herbs, as makeshift fences, and even as posts for their stilted homes.

On the right, a pet monkey tethered to a bomb casing.

Cluster bomb casings used as posts for a stilted home.

A makeshift fence made of bomb casings.

About 30 km. (20 miles) from Phonsavan in the town of Muang Khoun is Wat Phia Wat, a Buddhist temple destroyed by the French during the first Indochina War in 1953, and again during American bombing raids in the 1960s.

Worshipers continue to pray at the enduring Buddha statue, even today.

Miniature Buddha figurines sit in the palm of the giant statue.

Phonsavan’s main street, with silhouettes of bomb casings in the foreground.

The faces of Laos.

The MAG Center in Phonsavan offers visitors the chance to better understand the types of bombs that were dropped on the country between 1965 and 1973. Posters there explain how UXO is cleared by male and female employees.

It’s hard to imagine these raining from the sky – every eight minutes – for nine years.

For a modest donation, you can pay to have a section of land cleared of UXO, paving the way for locals to safely farm there. We offered this service as a Christmas present to our parents, along with these t-shirts.

An illustration on the wall of Phonsavan’s UXO Survivor Information Center drawing on an expression that’s common with merchants in the region, “Same same, but different.”

With names like Bamboozle, Bombie’s and Craters, Phonsavan’s restaurants feature themes related to the country’s unfortunate history. Bomb shells decorate exteriors alongside potted plants, and some restaurant interiors feature collections of ordnance found in the province.

Phonsavan’s monks participate in an early-morning almsgiving ritual, collecting food given to them by residents. The act is intended to spiritually connect followers and the monks.

In Laos’ capital city, Vientiane, the COPE (Cooperative Orthotic & Prosthetic Enterprise) Visitor Center gives visitors an overview of the country’s struggle with UXO. Displays showcase homemade prosthetic limbs, and documentaries further explain what’s being done to make a difference. In this picture, note the planter fashioned out of a halved bomb casing.

Monks visiting the COPE Center look at bombies suspended from the ceiling, as well as a map showing the extent of the bombing.

A homemade wooden prosthetic (left) and a sculpture of a mother and child crafted using bomb components.

A prosthetic limb bears a sticker: ‘Ban Cluster Bombs.’

The COPE Center features a café (right), as well as merchandise for sale such as this t-shirt (left), reminding visitors of the horrors of cluster bombs.

Over breakfast in Phonsavan, we met a team from the Japan Mine Action Service (JMAS) working to clear UXOs from the surrounding countryside. Using his limited Japanese, Shawn struck up a conversation with one of the employees, who kindly offered for us to visit one of their morning sessions, at which they were training to remove the landscape’s UXOs.

This million-dollar machine, made by the Japanese manufacturer Komatsu, plows through the soil during a test run. JMAS had used this vehicle to successfully remove landmines from the Cambodian countryside, but at the time of our visit, they were unsure how well the vehicle would work negotiating Laos’ different topography.

Our JMAS host holds a model of a ‘bombie.’ Cluster bombs would contain about 300 of these handheld-size bombs, known informally as bombies. When the cluster bomb’s shell separated, its bombies were released, spreading across a wide swathe of land. The bombies exploded on their own, and in doing so fired miniature ball bearings up to 200 meters (600+ feet) in all directions when they hit the ground. The bombies were designed to kill, and tragically, still continue to do so four decades later.

In addition to clearing land of deadly UXOs, an added benefit of the process is that soil is tilled and readied for agriculture.

Hope for the future: A farmer walks with his livestock in a safe zone, not far from the JMAS testing site.

Where in the World?

Learning & Doing More:

• Several organizations work to help victims, and remove UXO from the landscape.  COPE, for example, offers donors the chance to buy a prosthetic leg for $75 USD, even $10 developmental toys for children with disabilities. Or, for about $45 USD, the nonprofit organization, MAG, can clear 20 sq/m of land, making it safe for agricultural or community use.
• So far, more than 115 nations have signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions, an international treaty that addresses the harm caused to civilians by cluster bombs. In 2010, this Convention became binding international law. The United States, Israel, Russia, and China are among those countries that have not signed the Convention. The Cluster Munition Coalition is a global campaign aiming to eradicate cluster munitions.

Planning Pointers:

• The Plain of Jars are located in northeastern Laos. The town of Phonsavan, where we stayed, makes a good launching point for exploring the various Plain of Jars sites. Phonsavan has a bit of a wild west feel in that it’s somewhat remote, but there are good basic tourist services there including tour operators, guesthouses and restaurants (Laotian, Western, and even Indian food). The Mines Advisory Group (MAG), which does noble work around the world to clear landmines, has a visitor’s center in Phonsavan that is well worth a visit. There is also a UXO Survivor Information Center (just two buildings away from the MAG Visitor’s Center) which has informational films, as well as handicrafts to purchase. The proceeds go to help UXO survivors.
• To get to Phonsavan, we traveled from Vinh, Vietnam. An early-morning bus took us close to the Laotian border, then we hired a driver to take us to the border. From there, we walked into Laos, and had the fortune of meeting a travel agent who was shuttling another passenger to Phonsavan. We hear that many visitors to Phonsavan avoid the country’s infamous curvy roads, and instead fly into the nearby Xieng Khouang Airport. Buses also link Phonsavan to Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, and the capital city, Vientiane.
• While in Vientiane, we found that a stop at the COPE Visitor Center was also a must to better understand the country’s battle with unexploded ordnance.
• There’s more to do in the Phonsavan area aside from the Plain of Jars and UXO-related sites. We enjoyed visiting Mulberries Organic Silk Farm, a weaving co-op in the town’s outskirts. On several occasions, we also strolled Phonsavan’s outdoor produce market. Vong, a friendly Laotian employee at our guesthouse, who happens to teach English on the side, also invited us to come to his classes one evening.
• See the Highlights of Xieng Khouang website for more details.
• Need more inspiration? This link contains an index of all my posts from Laos.

Photography & text © Tricia A. Mitchell. All Rights Reserved. The video was created by my husband, Shawn.