Weapons of long-ago conflicts still haunt the people of Laos

https://p.dw.com/p/5Gep3More than 2 million tons of explosive ordnance were dropped on Laos between 1964 and 1973, making it the most heavily bombed country in the world per capitaImage: Julian Ryall/DWAdvertisementThong Phet was an 18-year-old novice monk when the swing of a machete altered his life irrevocably.

The blade came down on an unexploded weapon that he had not noticed, detonating the device. "A friend took me to the hospital. I was conscious the whole time.

They had to amputate my left arm below the elbow and my right hand was badly injured as well," he told DW as he watched a team from the Lao National Unexploded Ordnance Program methodically work their way across one of his pastures on the outskirts of the village of Ban Napia, in northeastern Laos. The year 1973 was extremely dangerous across Xiangkhouang Province, Phet said, as the war was still raging in Vietnam, approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles) to the east. And while Laos was not officially involved in that conflict, North Vietnam had established the "Ho Chi Minh trail" through eastern Laos to funnel weapons, supplies and troops into South Vietnam.

That — combined with the fact that Xiangkhouang Province was the stronghold of the communist Pathet Lao movement — made it a target for US bombs. More than 2 million tons of explosive ordnance were dropped on Laos between 1964 and 1973, making it the most heavily bombed country in the world per capita. The weapons ranged from incendiary rounds to rockets and 2,000-pound (907-kilogram) bombs, but the device that caused — and continues to cause — the most fear among local people is the cluster bomb.

Cluster bomb threats Designed to break apart in mid-air, cluster bombs delivered up to 600 bomblets, each smaller than a fist, to contaminate an area of several football fields. It is estimated that 270 million of these sub-munitions — known locally as "bombies" — were dropped on Laos, but that 30% failed to detonate. Many lie where they fell half a century ago and continue to pose a threat to local people.

"I remember the bombs being dropped very well," said Phet. "I remember seeing aircraft coming and hiding in caves near here with my parents when I was a boy." Now, Phet hopes the unexploded ordnance (UXO) team can finally confirm that one of his pastures is safe.

The rolling fields are marked with bits of red tape that flutter in the wind. Two women in UXO Laos fatigues carry a large-loop detector above a stretch of unremarkable grass, but halt when a signal is detected. They leave a marker and continue along their track.

Behind them, another team member follows with a smaller metal detector and more precisely locates the target. Very carefully, she excavates around the site until the source of the signal can be identified. Sometimes it can be a scrap of metal, on other occasions it is the remains of a weapon that exploded long ago and is safe.

But often it is a bombie.Clearing cluster bombs in LaosTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Destroying a danger Each target is carefully surrounded by sandbags, a small explosive charge and warning signs bearing a skull and crossbones motif. And at the end of each working day, an alarm is broadcast over loudspeakers, rolling down the valley and warning local people of what is to come.

There is a sharp crack and three plumes of smoke rise simultaneously in the air from the day's finds. In the space of one week, this seven-strong demining team has made safe 19 bombies and five large-caliber bullets recovered from 10,594 square meters (around 114,032 square feet) of farmland. The area that is yet to be cleared, however, is vast.

The village covers more than 23,000 hectares (about 56,834 acres) of land, with previous search efforts turning up five large bombs and more than 6,000 individual bombies. And there is a clear need for the effort to continue, as the village has lost five people to unexploded ordnance. There is also a risk to the demining teams, with two UXO Lao experts killed in a blast in 2002.

As soon as Phet's field is declared clear, however, this team will move on to the next polygon marked out with red tape. 'Obstacle to development' "UXOs are a huge obstacle to development in Laos because they make everything more costly and slower because land has to be surveyed and cleared to make sure there is no risk," said Martine Therer, resident representative of the United Nations Development Programme in Laos. Speaking to DW in her office in Vientiane, Therer points out that Laos is one of only a handful of nations in the world to adopt an 18th Sustainable Development Goal, that of "Lives safe from Unexploded Ordnance," focusing on attaining measurable targets so that UXOs no longer hinder human development and poverty reduction efforts in rural provinces.

"If you look at a poverty map, it is clear that these areas are mostly layered on areas with high levels of UXO contamina