In Vientiane we visited the COPE visitor centre, a memorable outing. The nonprofit centre documents the devastating impact of unexploded ordinance (UXO) left over from the Vietnam War.
I couldn’t face taking pictures of the displays but was glad Barry did.
Top left: various single bombs, bottom left: bombies, top right: map of bombings, bottom right: used prosthetic limbs.
The U.S.’s secret bombing campaigns left Laos, a country not even at war, littered with unexploded “bombies”. Read some of the stats below. Unbelievable.
Below is a link to an interesting article regarding Obama’s visit to Laos in September 2016 and the announcement of a big infusion of funds over the next three years. The hope is faster headway will be made in detecting and removing remaining UWOs. Hopefully this commitment doesn’t unraval!
Kerry Travels 