Beating the time bomb in Laos
Case Study
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The Problem with Unexploded Ordnance (UXOs)
Imagine what it would be like if every time you walked out of your house and went into your backyard, or down to the park or to your friend's house you worried about every step you took. Or, if every day, when your mum and dad went to work, you wondered if they would come home again.
This is what it is like to live in the South-East Asian country of Laos today. People live in fear of their lives because of the unexploded ordnance, or UXOs as they call them, that have been scattered around the country.
Unexploded ordnance are bombs dropped from aircraft, or mortar and artillery shells, landmines, sub-munitions and projectiles that are used in ground warfare that have not exploded at the time of use. That means they are like sitting time bombs that are activated by people or other objects applying pressure to them, prodding them or throwing them.
Accidents from UXOs occur, on average, once every two days. Most accidents occur when people are working on their farms or collecting forest products to help gain more income. More than half the victims die almost immediately following an accident.
Those that survive often receive shocking wounds that result in amputations and trauma. Survivors can also suffer from blindness, deafness and burns. Because their injuries are so severe, victims often cannot go to work again. This puts an added strain on families who are already struggling to survive.
Children are also particularly prone to accidents with UXOs. They contribute to almost one third of the national casualty figures from UXOs.
The Extent of the Problem
A survey completed by the Lao Government in 1997 discovered that out of the 18 provinces in Laos, ten were severely contaminated by UXOs and five moderately contaminated.
The contamination occurred during the Second Indochina War, where between 1964-1973 the people of Laos experienced the heaviest aerial bombing in history. During this time 5000 bombing missions were launched against Laos, the equivalent of one plane-load of bombs every eight minutes around the clock for nine full years. There were also long and intense ground battles.
Such contamination contributes to the growing number of poor people in the country who have been directly affected by UXOs, or who can not farm their land because it is so badly contaminated.
Most people in Laos live a subsistence lifestyle. That means they produce nearly everything they need themselves - food, clothing, housing, fishing gear and means of transport. What they cannot grow themselves, they collect in nearby rainforests. They often collect extras that they use to trade at the local market for iron products, kerosene or salt. With that lifestyle gone, most families have resorted to begging in the market place.
UXO also affects the services the Government can afford to provide. Hospital services are stretched to the limit, not only with the initial recovery for UXO victims, but with the ongoing medical needs that result from these types of injuries.
It also means Government building projects such as roads or irrigation schemes, become more expensive due to the added cost for clearing the land of UXOs before a project can begin.
The Laos Government decided to act before these sitting time bombs destroyed the nation.
Finding a Solution
The Government's first step was to organise a national UXO clearance programme called UXO LAO. Although it had allocated some of its own money for this, it was also helped by a United Nations trust fund. The money for this fund comes from many countries around the world, including Australia who is presently one of the largest donors.
It then decided that in the ten severely affected provinces, offices would be established that would provide technical assistance for clearing UXOs and also focus on community awareness programmes that would work to reduce the number of UXO accidents. The five general areas of messages used in teaching UXO awareness are prohibitive messages, cautionary messages, recognition of lethal ordnance, explanatory messages and positive action to be taken when a UXO has been identified.
For those provinces that were moderately affected, roving teams were established. These teams visit the provinces periodically, also focusing on clearance and community awareness activities.
A national office was also established. Its job is to coordinate the national project. It constantly reviews and updates the national strategy for UXO community awareness. It also provides training courses for locals in all aspects of the UXO project from UXO Clearance to Medic, Community Awareness and Staff Coordination.
UXO Lao then approached a variety of non government organisations such as World Vision and UNICEF regarding the possibility of becoming technical advisors/partners in the provincial offices.
World Vision has provided trained staff, including a project manager and two Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians to assist in training locals in the detection and safe removal of UXOs and to help educate communities on the dangers of UXOs in the Khammouane province.
UNICEF has worked with the Ministry of Education to implement a nationwide UXO awareness safety programme aimed at school aged children, their families and ethnic minority groups. An important part of this was developing a national in-school curriculum for UXO awareness. UNICEF is also involved in the ongoing development of radio and television messages and a UXO general campaign called 'Facts for Life' which aims to reach children at the village level and out-of-school children.
AUSTCARE will soon be supporting four roving UXO clearance teams to support the UXO Lao program in Khammouane province. The teams will undertake data collection, reporting, data analysis and UXO clearance.
The time bombs are still there. Removing all of them will be a slow and tedious process. But with the government and overseas help there to support them, the people of Laos know they can beat them - for good.
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