Eternal Harvest : The Legacy of American Bombs in Laos by Karen J. Coates (ThingsAsian Press)
Many people do not know where Laos is located nor do they know its official name. It is the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia bordered by Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, and Myanmar. It’s a beautiful and serene country. The people are very friendly and open but Laos is also a very dangerous country due to the amount of unexploded ordnance (UXO) that remain in the ground, left over from the Vietnam War.
“The U.S. military and its allies dumped more than six billion pounds of bombs across the land - more than one ton for every man, woman, and child in Laos at the time. American forces flew more than 580,000 bombing missions across the land, the equivalent of one raid every eight minutes for nine years.” “To this day, Laos remains, per capita, the most heavily bombed country on earth.”
Eternal Harvest brings to light a problem still facing Laotians today. One of the most common types of munitions used were tiny bombs, called “bombies” which were designed to open in midair releasing smaller explosives over a large area to cause a maximum amount of damage.
No one knows the exact numbers but even forty years after the end of the Vietnam War, many of these “bombies” didn’t explode on impact. “Millions of these submunitions fell into forests, where many lodged into treetops and scrub brush.” These bombies are the most common form of unexploded ordnance (UXO) and are very dangerous as well. Every year, around 100 to 150 people are injured or killed by UXO.
Coates travels throughout Laos interviewing people who live with this constant everyday threat. She talks to farmers who have to work in their fields to grow food for their family. She meets people who search for UXO to make money from the scrap metal business and she interviews members of various bomb-disposal teams.
Coates introduces us to Noi who was working in a field when a bomb exploded sending shrapnel into her face. She meets Lee Moua who makes utensils out of old bomb casings. She talks to Joy, a young boy with a metal detector he uses to look for scrap metal which could kill him. Coates also meets Jim Harris, a former elementary school principal from Wisconsin who gave up his job and now blows up bombs in Laos.
This is one of the most fascinating books I’ve read about Laos, a country I had the opportunity to visit a couple of times. Coates makes me care about the people and the country. This would make a great compliment to people interested in learning more about America’s secret war in Laos and the effects it still has on the country today. It also makes you question why the United States government refuses to sign and ratify the Convention on Cluster Munitions which puts an international ban on the use of these weapons. As the country becomes more accessible to tourists, this book will make visitors more aware of the dangers of traveling off the beaten path. ~Ernie Hoyt
Available at ThingsAsian Books