Vientiane, Laos: COPE

We left Vang Vieng, Laos, the morning of June 7th and took a 4 hour bus ride to Vientiane, Laos.

When we arrived in Vientiane we went straight to the COPE (Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise) Visitors Center. This visit was a complete eye-opener for me, and it made me aware of a piece of history that is not normally told in the history books in Canada/America.

Did you know that Laos is the most heavily bombed country per capita in the entire world? During the Vietnam War (from 1964-1973) the US Air Force dropped a planeload of bombs on Laos every EIGHT minutes for NINE years! There were more than 260 million cluster bombs dropped on Laos, and about 30% are still unexploded, scattered around the country, waiting to be discovered by an innocent child or passer-by. Currently there are at least 78 million unexploded bombs contaminating Laos today, and every year about 300 people are killed or injured by these bombs.

The worst part about all of this is that Laos wasn’t even involved in the war! They were dragged into it because Laos allowed North Vietnam to use it’s land as a supply route against South Vietnam. The United States initiated a bombing campaign against the North Vietnam people and bombed their route through Laos. The United States dropped more ordnance on Laos during this period than was dropped during the entire Second World War. I bet you didn’t learn that in your American history lessons…

This has continued to be a huge and devastating problem for the country of Laos, especially for children who are not educated on how to detect a cluster bomb, and the dangers of it. These unexploded bombs are laying around forests, they are on the side of roads, under rivers and in the bushes. They can be discovered by anyone at any time. And most of them are unstable, and could explode the moment they are touched. Also, during heavy rainfall the bombs are moved and shifted around when areas flood, or they are discovered and detonate during home renovations, area development, or farming practices because they are buried in the ground and are disturbed during these activities. 

The main problem are the cluster bombs. They are dropped out of planes in large canisters, and each canister contains about 680 individual cluster bombies, each with a killing radius of 30 meters. The canister breaks apart in the air, and the cluster bombies are disbursed over a large area.

Each individual cluster bombie is actually quite small, and after many years in the forests, they rust or they start to grow plant matter on them and become disguised, so children sometimes mistake them for fruit or other small objects.

Since the country is so poor, people (especially children), search for scraps of metal to sell for a week’s worth of food for their family. There are hundreds of children who have come across bombs, not realized they were dangerous, and were killed or seriously injured (losing limbs or their eyesight) while trying to collect them to sell.

COPE is an incredible not-for-profit organization that provides rehabilitation services for people injured as a result of these bombs. They provided artificial limbs (prosthetics) and supportive devices, in addition to physiotherapy and occupational therapy for those impacted. They cover the costs of devices, surgery and treatment for people who can not afford to pay, in addition to proving allowances for patients and their caregivers. They also work very hard to increase awareness of the services they offer, and to educate people on the dangers of the bombs and their impact.

We also had the opportunity to watch the documentary: Bomb Harvest. If you haven’t seen it then I would strongly recommend watching it (see www.bombharvest.com/ for more information on the documentary. It can also be watched on YouTube, it has been uploaded in 4 parts, search “Bomb Harvest” on www.youtube.com).

It is a documentary that follows an Australian bomb disposal specialist unit through Laos while they train locals in how to detonate bombs safely, and strategically deal with the detonation of a bomb discovered next to a school in Laos.

Watching the documentary brought me to tears. It is so devastating what the innocent people of Laos have been through these past 40 years. It is especially sad that they were not involved in the war, and were innocent bystanders, and because of this they have become the most bombed country in history. It is also devastating to think that the impacts of these bombs will continue through the country for many, many years to come as more innocent people are killed and seriously injured.

Many people in Laos are so poor they can not afford prosthetics, so they make their own prosthetic arms and legs out of wood, or any other object they can find.

While visiting the COPE center we were given the opportunity to make a donation to buy someone a prosthetic leg or arm, or donate money to provide services for these impacted people. I donated a prosthetic arm ($150 USD) to a patient in need.

I strongly urge you to visit the COPE website and make a donation to help this amazing cause. The donation process is very easy. Visit http://www.copelaos.org/ and click “Buy a Leg”. You can donate online using Pay Pall in any increment you want, even if it’s only $10, it makes a huge difference for the impacted people. $10 USD will buy a developmental toy for a child with a disability, or $15 USD will provide food for a whole week. For $75 USD you can buy someone a prosthetic leg, or for $150 you can buy them a prosthetic arm (the arms are more expensive because they require more movement in the joints).

We are so privileged, and I think that sometimes we forget how lucky we are. Please think about it, and remember that you can make a huge difference to someone in need for a mere $10 USD.