Effects of past MCC bomb clearance work in Laos continue

Mennonite Central Committee
Saturday, 10 June 2000

XIENG KHOUANG PROVINCE, Laos -- A cluster bomblet laid concealed in the ground for more than 30 years. One day, it was struck by the digging tool of a man working to raise his house on stilts. The bomb exploded, tearing the man's left arm and leg to shreds. Shrapnel flew, hitting a can of gasoline that ignited and burned down his house. Inside was money he had been saving to buy land.

During wars in Indochina, 1964-1973, the U.S. dropped tons of cluster bombs on Laos. Millions of these bombs failed to explode and remain, each one, potentially life-threatening.

Beginning in the 1970's, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) workers developed experimental equipment to safely remove and destroy the bombs. Along with the American Friends Service Committee, MCC imported shovels that turned the soil gently, reducing the risk to agricultural workers.

However, none of these projects seemed to adequately deal with the scope of the problem.

Then in 1994, MCC signed an agreement with the Lao government to begin a large-scale cluster bomb removal project. The Mines Advisory Group, a British de-mining agency, provided technical assistance and expertise, while MCC provided connections with local people and organizations. After working with communities for nearly 20 years, "we knew people there," said Betsy Headrick McCrae, director of MCC East Asia department.

Through MCC's support, the first 20 bomb clearance technicians were trained. MCC remained involved and provided some financial support until 1996. By that time the project had outgrown MCC.

"We knew when we went into it that it was too big of a project for MCC to sustain over the long term," said Titus Peachey, who currently directs MCC U.S. Peace Education. He volunteered in Laos from 1980 to 1985. "We hoped other funders and governments would pick it up, and that in fact is what happened."

A government agency known as UXO Lao is now responsible for bomb clearance work throughout the country. The agency, sponsored by various governments and organizations, clears roughly 100,000 pieces of ordnance each year and employs nearly 1,000 people to do clearance work and community education.

Peachey recently returned to Laos to assist a documentary film crew in the production of a film about the air war. His work with the film gave Peachey an opportunity to visit villages, hospitals and ordnance removal sites. "It was gratifying to see the effort being made, but sad it couldn't have happened 25 years earlier," he said. "One thing that impressed me was that the level of casualties hasn't dropped much over the years, despite efforts." Casualties from live bomb accidents continue to occur at the rate of at least one every two days, a rate that has remained nearly steady since 1986.

"As population pressures increase, new land is opened up for agricultural and construction purposes, increasing the likelihood that buried ordnance will be disturbed," explains Peachey. "In addition, erosion continues to expose ordnance every year, even in areas which may have been sight-cleared previously. These factors, coupled with the vast amount of ordnance dropped during the nine-year air war, guarantee that bomb removal teams will be busy for many years to come."

MCC involvement in Laos currently centers around rural development work, part of which is developing and distributing educational materials on cluster bombs and UXO Lao removal projects.

The issue of bomb removal is not a thing of the past for MCC, however. MCC Europe is currently exploring possibilities to sponsor mine clearance projects in Kosovo. The Mine Action Co-ordination Centre in Prishtina reports that 3,200 cluster bombs and 3,150 landmines were destroyed between June 1, 1999 and April 30, 2000. During that time, 387 injuries and 100 deaths were reported due to mines and unexploded ordnance.

"[MCC involvement with removal projects] will move around geographically as do the wars that plant the mines," explained McCrae. "Although MCC is no longer involved in bomb clearance work in Laos, we can be very proud in the role we played. We really mobilized interest there."

For more information, or to contact Mennonite Central Committee, see their website at: www.mcc.org