Source: Overseas Network
A Lao woman stands in front of her home, where bombs dropped by U.S. troops during the Vietnam War are used to prop up the gate of her home. (Source: Reuters)
From May 12 to 13, local time, the ups and downs of the United States-ASEAN Special Summit was held in the United States. In order to win ASEAN closer, the White House has said no less beautiful words, US President Biden declared that the summit represents the opening of a "new era" in bilateral relations, and the relationship between the United States and ASEAN "represents the future" in the coming years and decades. However, as long as you take a picture of the "mirror" of history, the vicious face behind the beautiful words of the United States will be revealed. The numerous crimes committed by the United States in Southeast Asia in the past few decades are still shocking to this day, so what does the United States want to talk about the "future" with ASEAN?
Not long ago, Cambodia found a heavy American bomb weighing about one ton and filled with about 500 kilograms of explosives across from the royal palace in Phnom Penh. In fact, not only Cambodia, during the Vietnam War, the United States used cluster bombs and biological and chemical weapons in many Southeast Asian countries to commit countless crimes. This not only caused a deep disaster to the local people at that time, but also a huge threat to the large number of unexploded bombs today.
In Laos, for example, when U.S. President Barack Obama visited Laos in 2016, he acknowledged that between 1964 and 1973, the United States dropped more than 2 million tons of bombs in Laos, more than all the bombs dropped on Germany and Japan during World War II combined. Today, Laos is the country that has suffered the worst per capita bombardment in history. CNN reported in 2016 that about 80 million unexploded were scattered across Laos. The U.S. NGO Legacy of War reported that less than 1 percent of these bombs were destroyed.
Laotians who accompany bombs, if they are not careful, will be injured or even killed. The American Public Broadcasting Corporation (PBS) reported that 20,000 people in Laos were killed or disabled by unexploded bombs after the war. This is not a cold number, but a blur of flesh and blood, a shocking tragedy: according to the British newspaper "The Guardian", a dealer who buys scrap metal accidentally bought an unexploded bomb, when he tried to remove some parts, the bomb exploded, his face was blown away and died on the spot, a woman next to her was blown off a leg, one of her two children lost her left eye, one shoulder was injured, and she had to sell all the cows in the market for treatment; according to CNN, a villager was burning garbage when a bomb suddenly exploded. One of his eyelids, upper lip and one ear was destroyed, and one of his arms was broken...
Suffering also falls on children, with "Legacy of War" noting that in recent years, about 50 people have been killed or injured by unexploded bombs in Laos every year, 40% of whom are children. Of the 2 million tons of bombs dropped by the United States, many were cluster bombs. According to CBS, when a cluster bomb is dropped, it will crack in the air, and about 670 tennis-sized bombs will rain down. CNN quoted the founder of "Legacy of War" as saying that this tennis-sized weapon is always used as a toy by children, picked up and thrown around, which is the main reason for the bomb explosion.
According to NPR, one victim recalled seeing unexploded bombs as children, much like balls they usually play, which is simply "irresistible" for children. The bombs didn't seem dangerous either, but when he picked up one of them, it exploded, and he still has scars on his arms, legs, and neck. According to Reuters, a 10-year-old child accidentally hit an unexploded bomb with a shovel, causing an explosion that blinded him in both eyes and was amputated...
The U.S. bomb not only scarred Laotians, but also dragged down the Lao economy. Of the 47 poorest areas in Laos, 46 are located in areas where unexploded ordnance is concentrated. According to PBS, 25% of Laos' land is contaminated with unexploded ordnance. The BBC reported that even though the number of casualties due to unexploded ordnance had decreased in recent years, villagers were still afraid to go to their farms until unexploded ordnance was completely removed, rendering large tracts of farmland useless. Large tracts of uncultivable land have led to widespread malnutrition and poverty, hampering Laos' economic development, and "you often see 14-year-olds looking more like 10-year-olds," CNN reported.
Sadly, the Guardian reported that some farmers, believing that starvation was more painful than being killed by a bomb, carefully planted food near the bomb, while others collected bomb fragments to sell as scrap metal, all of which were extremely dangerous, but "despite the danger, they had no choice". Another Guardian report pointed out that unexploded bombs also restricted the emerging tourism industry, and the presence of unexploded bombs led to many places becoming "forbidden areas" and scaring off tourists.
Even after the unforgettable damage of the American bomb, the Lao people are still strong enough to make a living, and an absurd landscape emerges. According to Yahoo News, Laos build homes from unexploded bombs or bomb fragments, some use bomb shells as seeders, and others melt bomb fragments into tableware... One villager told The Guardian, "It was very difficult after the war and we had to use any resources we could use, even bombs. ”
In the face of all the sufferings of the Lao people, one cannot help but ask, where is the United States, which single-handedly caused the tragedy?
Of course, the United States is not without aid, according to "War Legacy", between 1993 and 2016, the United States assisted an average of $4.9 million per year for the clearance of unexploded ordnance in Laos. That may seem like a lot, but it's ironic when compared to another set of data: During the nine years that the United States bombed Laos, the United States spent $13.3 million a day. In other words, in just 10 days of the U.S. bombing of Laos, the United States spent $130 million, which is more than the $118 million that the United States aided Laos in 24 years to clean up the unexploded ordnance.
At a 2010 hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives, one lawmaker bluntly said that the money spent on U.S. aid to Laos to clear unexploded bombs was "meager," as shameless as the compensation paid in January 1968 when the United States accidentally bombed the Laotian village of Ban Long, killing 54 civilians, when the U.S. compensated each victim with $55. In 2016, then-US President Barack Obama announced $90 million in aid to Laos, but this was still a drop in the bucket and there was still a big gap. Bombing is extravagant, and aiding is a bargain, and this is what the United States has done.
The difficulties facing Laos also reflect the plight of Vietnam, Cambodia and other Southeast Asian countries bombed by the United States. The New York Times reporter believes that it will take 300 years to completely remove the bomb from Vietnam. Before the United States talks about a "new era" in bilateral relations with ASEAN countries, it is better to first repay the accumulated blood debts owed by the United States in Southeast Asia, take more practical actions to eliminate the countless unexploded bombs left by the United States, and return the people of Southeast Asian countries a piece of safe land.
(Text/He Suoyi)