Bombs Still Kill

Bang

LUANG PRABANG, LAOS “The cluster bombs still hang in the trees near the Ho Chi Minh trail. They kill on average thirty people per year.” My guide, Bang, a former Buddhist monk tells me. “In 1968 and 1969 the U.S. Air force conducted 200 sorties a day — the United State’s so called ‘secret war’ in Laos — not very secret now as many countries are involved in the cleanup. We don’t like to focus on the past. It only creates anger and resentment. Our schools hardly mention it. Since the arrest of the once CIA backed Hmong leader General Vang Pao in San Francisco, the country has been at peace, and that’s the way we want to keep it. Our communist government is doing a good job and has turned the focus from the civil unrest to creating economic opportunities. It’s not perfect though, two years ago our prime minister got the boot on corruption charges involving a railway the Chinese wanted to build through Laos to Thailand. We may be communist, but we have free elections every four years and ever since 1992 when the new communist government took over on the death of Prime Minister Kaison, the people of Laos have had their property rights restored. Kaison was not a bad person. He had the difficult task fighting the CIA backed Hmong and the Royalty family in a civil war that lasted from 1954 to 1975. The Hmong insurgency, however, moved to the jungles and didn’t end until the arrest of General Vang Pao. Today we’re communist in name only.”