Laos is not just one bombed country but it is the most bombed country in the whole world.
Laos is a country surrounded by five neighbouring countries: China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar. An interesting fact is that the Mekong River, Asia’s third-largest river, which spans nearly 5,000 kilometres starting from the Tibetan Plateau in China, flows through all of these six countries, including Laos.
But how did the neutral country in the Vietnam War become the most heavily bombed country in the world?
History of Most Bombed Nation
The Vietnam War took place from 1955 to 1975. It was a disastrous war that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union escalated the conflict. The Vietnam War resulted in over 3 million casualties, with a majority being Vietnamese civilians.
Laos, situated in the middle with Vietnam as one of its neighbouring countries, officially remained a neutral country. However, the Vietnam War made it a victim, subjecting it to heavy bombing that led to its status as the most heavily bombed place per capita due to US bombings.
Story of Laos’ Unexploded Bombs
The US dropped over 2 million tons of cluster bombs across Laos from 1964 to 1973 – more than all the bombs dropped during World War II combined. This unfortunate distinction makes Laos the most heavily bombed country in history per capita. Alarmingly, around 30% of these bombs did not explode, leaving vast areas of land unusable for farming and posing a significant danger to the people of Laos.
Research states that there were 63 accidents in 2021 alone because of the unexploded bombs. Even though the numbers are falling, a conflict that ended fifty years ago is still causing deaths and injuries to Laotians, with nearly half of them being children.
After the war ended, Pathet Lao (officially the Lao People’s Liberation Army) took control over Laos for the next 20 years, isolating the country from the rest of the world. It wasn’t until 1994, after two decades, that Laos allowed bomb-clearing organizations like the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) to enter and clear the bombs. Today, MAG operates in Laos with teams of deminers dedicated to clearing the bombs scattered across the country’s land. There are currently 1200 MAG employees working in Laos.
If you love exploring the histories of countries like Laos, you should consider visiting the country, specifically the COPE Centre in Laos where there are numerous exhibits to see and to learn from.
You should visit the uncommon museum located in the city of Luang Prabang in northern Laos called the UXO Museum. At this museum, they display remains of unexploded bombs that bomb disposal experts have successfully defused.
‘Laos’ translates to the ‘Land of a Million Elephants.’ I would say it is a beautiful meaning to the name ‘Laos’ to have such a heart-shaking history which still has negative effects in the country.
