The Secret War

Phonsovan, Laos

After much debate and studying of timetables, maps we decided that we definitely didn't have as much time as we'd thought and would have to leave Northern Laos - the Luang Nam Tha Province for another trip. Instead we were going to head over to Phonsovan to see the Plain of Jars (Laos's stonehenge) and also an area whose claim to fame was being the most heavily bombed area in the world

During the 60's as America was going to war with Vietnam it learned of a 'secret' Ho Chi Minh Trail from northern vietnam over Route 7 to Phonsovan near 'Site 1'of the Jars which has also a base for the Communist group in Laos.

Officially Laos was a neutral country and based on the Geneva convention was off limits. The US government of course found a way to get around by sending over CIA agents and soldiers as civilians. For 9 nine years the US conducted this 'secret war' dropping over 1 million bombs in 10,000 missions. These missions were funded by US taxpayer dollars, and it cost them approximately $2,000,000 a day!

Agent Orange was also used at this time. You can still see the affects of this and other chemicals such as herbicides that were used throughout the province.

The biggest problem at the moment is that the people of Laos are still suffering. There is still an enormous amount of UXO (unexploded ordinance) through out the Plain of Jars and the region. Farmers who don't have the equipment such as metal detectors are often killed when trying to cultivate new areas. The Laos government has established orphanages for the children whose parents have been killed or severely affected by the UXO and can no longer take care of their young. An organization called MAG from the UK has been working on clearing out the Plain of Jars, which by next year will be an official UNESCO World Heritage Site, but they haven't received much funding and it takes a lot of money to be able to detect the UXO that cannot be seen.

What amazes me is that the first time I ever even heard of this was a few years ago when my friend Sylvia had decided to start a program to help children of a village called Ban Kiukacham go to school ( www.chiki.ca for more info). Of course this is not something that would be taught in your US History class.

The U.S government to this day has denied the extent of their involvement and will not offer money directly to the Laos government. Instead a small amount is given to the UN which in turn filters its way to other groups. This is yet another example of how the US government does not take any responsibility for being the world's super power but instead abuses it.

With all that they've been through, the people of Laos are still so friendly, willing to offer you anything they may have. They make the best of what they've got, like selling the scrap metal from old russian tanks or using the casings and shells as building material, even planting in them.

Its a very sad but very real war that took place - if you're interested in more info, one of the books i plan on reading is called 'Shadow War: The CIA's secret war in Laos' by Christopher Robbins.