Exploring the ancient Plain of Jars in Laos
Justine Tyerman learns about ‘bombies’ and sticks to the path as she explores the ancient Plain of Jars in Laos…
We stood in Tham Thonghai Neung cave in the Xieng Khuang province of Laos, once home to many families. They sheltered there during the Vietnam war from 1964-1973, and 20 of them died there when US bombs struck their hiding place.
A shaft of light shining through an opening in the roof of the cave illuminated a Buddhist shrine erected in memory of those whose lives were lost in the attack. The Kiwis in our small tour party stood in stunned silence as our Innovative Travel guide Fhan explained that Laos had the unenviable distinction of being the most heavily-bombed country in the world, per capita. Our knowledge of Lao history was sketchy at best and most were shocked and moved at what he told us.
For nearly a decade, Laos was subjected to intensive bombing by the United States as part of the wider war in Indochina. Xieng Khuang province, being close to the Vietnam border and the headquarters of the Pathet Lao (the Lao communist movement), was one of the prime targets. Bombs fell every eight minutes, 24 hours a day, “like rain from the sky,” said Fhan.
Justine at the Plain of Jars, a vast archaeological site in Xieng Khuang province, Laos, dotted with mysterious 2000-year-old stone urns.
In another cave, Tham Piew, about 50km away, 374 people died in a US rocket attack.
Based on US bombing records, at least two million metric tonnes of ordnance was dropped on Laos between 1964 and 1973. Included in this figure were 270 million submunitions — the bomblets dispersed by cluster munitions — known in Laos as “bombies”.
An estimated 80 million, 30 percent, failed to detonate and remained potentially dangerous after the end of the war. Some were dropped at so low an altitude, the fuse didn’t have time to arm, and some simply malfunctioned. These are called UXO (unexploded ordnance.)
As a result of extensive ground fighting during the war, some parts of Laos are also littered with other types of UXO such as artillery shells, anti-tank rockets, mortar rounds and grenades.
More than 40 years after the bombing ended, UXO continue to kill and maim people as they go about their everyday work. There have been more than 20,000 casualties since 1974.
The green countryside is littered with bomb craters, a reminder of the pounding the area suffered from 1964-1973.
UXO incidents
Most UXO incidents in Laos are caused by impact — farmers who hit an UXO beneath the soil’s surface while digging, ploughing or planting. Other causes of accidents include lighting fires over hidden UXO, building houses, collecting food from the forest or breaking open bombies in order to sell the scrap metal or explosives inside. Bombies are sometimes trapped in bamboo plants as they grow and explode if disturbed.
Children are highly at risk. In recent years, more than 40 percent of casualties have been children. Bombies are the same size and shape as tennis balls, and sometimes bright yellow in colour so they are tempting to play with.
Tragically, in this impoverished country where 44 percent of the population live on less than $1.25 a day, many children are involved in the scrap metal trade, most of which is war-related scrap.
It’s like playing Russian roulette but they take the risk to help generate an income to buy food in times of shortage.
Working in paddy fields can be a dangerous occupation in heavily-bombed areas of Laos like Xieng Khuang province.
There is a strong link between UXO contamination and poverty — 41 out of the 45 poorest districts in Laos are those most affected by UXOs. Many rural communities cannot grow sufficient food for their needs because the land area they farm is too small — but they are frightened to expand it. Experience has told them that ploughing new fields can be lethal. The land best suited to agriculture is often the most heavily contaminated.
Communities would often benefit economically from basic infrastructure such as irrigation systems that would help them grow more crops, and roads and bridges that would make it easier to transport and sell any surplus — but the risk from UXO prevents them from building such things.
We also visited the MAG (Mines Advisory Group) Centre in Xieng Khuang where our guide Vieng described the work of the bomb disposal teams.
MAG, an international non-governmental organisation founded in 1989 with headquarters in the UK, has been operating in Laos since 1994. Working alongside community liaison teams, MAG chooses project areas based on a comprehensive assessment of what difference UXO clearance will make to communities in that area.
Inside Tham Thonghai Neung cave in the Xieng Khuang province of Laos, Innovative Travel guide Fhan explains that the area was one the prime US bombing targets.
Land to benefit community
This ensures that priority is given to clearing the land most likely to directly benefit the community, and therefore most likely to alleviate poverty. MAG hires and trains members of rural communities and actively recruits women because of their dexterity in handling delicate and unstable UXO.
According to the most recent figures, MAG has destroyed 212,455 explosive items; cleared 58,526,823 square metres of land and surveyed 58,482,966 metres of land thereby helping 954,978 people.
Needless to say, when Fhan and Vieng told us to stick strictly to the pathways as we explored the nearby 2000 year-old Plain of Jars, we did precisely that.
Working in conjunction with UNESCO, MAG has cleared seven of the most important archaeological sites to ensure the safety of both local people and tourists. However, I was not prepared to take the risk. I followed exactly in their footsteps, passing many huge bomb craters that still scar the peaceful, green landscape.
The clearance of such a significant site is an important achievement as it will enable the Lao government to apply for World Heritage status. This will boost tourism and reduce poverty by providing more employment for local people.
The clearance work has also increased the amount of land safe to use for agriculture, enabling farmers to grow sufficient food to meet their needs and even generate a surplus to sell.
At one of the three most important archaeological sites, we Kiwis were immensely proud to see a NZAID sign alongside the UNESCO one.
It read “MAG cleared UXO from site 3 in 2005 with funding from NZAID.”
I was immensely proud to see this NZAID sign alongside a UNESCO one saying MAG cleared UXO from the Plain of Jars site 3 in 2005 with funding from NZAID.
Emotional and sobering
While the experience was emotional and sobering, it was also uplifting to see the international community getting behind such organisations as MAG and COPE (Co-operative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise), a rehabilitation service offering orthotic devices, prosthetic limbs and wheelchairs to those disabled and injured by UXO.
COPE assists 1000 people a year but there are many who are not even aware that help is available. They struggle by using homemade wooden or bamboo stumps to replace limbs lost in explosions. Our Innovative Travel-Singapore Airlines tour group combined to donate a lump sum to help fund COPE’s work.
During our 12 days in Laos, the information enabled me to reflect on, admire and respect the indomitable spirit of the Lao people, who — despite having to live with the ongoing lethal legacy of a war that ended four decades ago — are joyful, positive and incredibly hospitable.
A bomb casing has been recycled as a foundation on this house.
I loved the irony of their recycling efforts, using war scrap as building materials — turning deadly into useful. We saw many houses propped up on bomb-casing foundations with tank tracks for fences. And outside Meaung Khoun Restaurant and Guesthouse in Phonsavan, Xieng Khuang, where we lunched one day on delicious local dishes, there was a display of bomb art.
I’ve never encountered such universal good humour, warmth and cheerfulness. Without exception, we were greeted everywhere with smiles and genuine affection. In response, I found myself beaming all day long. Very therapeutic… and sorely missed when we left Laos and returned home to the somewhat sombre faces of our fellow Kiwis.
Have you ever been to Laos?
Image credit: Justine Tyerman
*Justine Tyerman travelled with Innovative Travel, a Christchurch-based boutique tour operator with 27 years’ experience offering travellers the opportunity to explore historically and culturally unique destinations worldwide that provide a challenge but with the security of a peace-of-mind 24/7 wrap-around service. Travel Companions’ Club creating new horizons for social travellers.
Getting there:
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