AS IT IS 2016-08-12 Unexploded Bombs Still a Problem in Laos

AS IT IS 2016-08-12 Unexploded Bombs Still a Problem in Laos

Officials in Laos estimate that the country has about 15,000 people who have been injured by unexploded ordnance¹, also called UXO.

The ordnance landed in the countryside, but failed to explode over 40 years ago. They were dropped as part of a secret American bombing campaign during the Vietnam War.

Today, there are few support services available in Laos for people injured by the bombs.

One of those people is Houng Phomma Chak. He was severely² hurt one day in 2004. He and two friends went out into the countryside to look for scrap³ metal to supplement their family's earnings⁴. They found a piece of metal partly buried in the ground.

The three recognized it as a piece of an old bomb casing. They thought it was no longer dangerous. Instead, it was a live cluster bomb, known in Laos as a “bombie.”

The device exploded.

Bomb shrapnel ripped through Houng’s body and those of his two friends. They were killed. Houng was blinded in one eye and lost both his lower arms.

Now, his wife depends on the support of neighbors to help with the family’s rice field. His eldest⁵ daughter spends much of her time caring for the needs of her disabled father.

A lack of money means most survivors⁶ do not get the medical treatment they need. Many lack disability services, like physical therapy, mental health support, prosthetic equipment and job training.

It is difficult for families affected⁷ by unexploded ordnance. These families have to care for a parent or child while trying to work and earn a living.

Laos is one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia. Most of the population lives in rural areas, making it more difficult to provide assistance.

Colette McInerney is with World Education, a U.S.-based group that provides training and assistance for teachers and schools. It is one of the largest of the few aid providers in Laos.

“There are still people that fall through the gaps that we don’t hear about until many years after their accident,” said McInerney.

World Education has enough money to support just 250 survivors a year.

McInerney says there is a need for more non-governmental organizations and non-profit groups.

“For INGOs (international non-government organizations) and NPAs (non-profit associations), there really is a serious gap in funding to provide a comprehensive support to survivors no matter where they live. And for survivors themselves, the financial burden on a family once someone is injured or killed, is quite significant,” she said.

The Laotian government has a plan to deal with the problems of unexploded bombs. But most of the government’s energy is currently centered on the work of disarming⁸ and clearing the explosives. This effort, too, largely depends on foreign aid.

More U.S. funding is expected

Between 1964 and 1973, the U.S. military dropped more than 2 million tons of bombs within Laos. The campaign was part of a secret operation during the Vietnam War. The goal was to cut off the supply lines of North Vietnamese forces.

Some estimates say nearly one third of the 270 million explosives that were dropped did not explode. Today, more than 40 years after the war, deadly explosives are still found across the mountains and rice fields of Laos’ Xieng Khouang province.

Next month, Barack Obama will become the first U.S. president to visit Laos while in office. He is to attend a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in the capital, Vientiane.

The U.S. Embassy in Laos confirmed that Obama plans to announce an increase in financing for UXO groups. But the details have yet to be finalized⁹.

The activist¹⁰ group Legacies¹¹ of War says that the U.S. government gave more than $4 million a year to the UXO clean-up effort in Laos between 1995 and 2015. Most of the money went toward efforts to clear away explosives.

Titus Peachey is an official with Legacies of War. He said, "U.S. contributions to the UXO sector¹² have increased many-fold over the past 10 years, reaching $19.5 million in 2016. Most of this increase has gone to clearance¹³ operations and an improved survey methodology, which will improve the efficiency of the clearance work.”

Peachey added that the need now is to provide aid for the thousands of people affected by the bombs. He said many of these people will require long-term medical care.

Words in This Story

ordnance – n. military weapons including explosives and ammunition¹⁴

scrap – n. material from unwanted or broke things, often used with metal

supplement – n. something in addition to

prosthetics – n. an artificial replacement¹⁵ for a body part such as and arm or leg

comprehensive – adj. complete or nearly complete, including all or most parts of something

methodology – n. a detailed¹⁶ plan for carrying out a task or a method

gaps – n. a hole; a space between two things; a missing part

1 ordnance   

n.大炮，军械

参考例句：

• She worked in an ordnance factory during the war.战争期间她在一家兵工厂工作。
• Shoes and clothing for the army were scarce,ordnance supplies and drugs were scarcer.军队很缺鞋和衣服，武器供应和药品就更少了。

2 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

3 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

4 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

5 eldest   

adj.最年长的，最年老的

参考例句：

• The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
• The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。

6 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 disarming   

adj.消除敌意的，使人消气的v.裁军( disarm的现在分词 )；使息怒

参考例句：

• He flashed her a disarming smile. 他朝她笑了一下，让她消消气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We will agree to disarming troops and leaving their weapons at military positions. 我们将同意解除军队的武装并把武器留在军事阵地。 来自辞典例句

9 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

11 legacies   

n.遗产( legacy的名词复数 )；遗留之物；遗留问题；后遗症

参考例句：

• Books are the legacies that a great genius leaves to mankind. 书是伟大的天才留给人类的精神财富。 来自辞典例句
• General legacies are subject to the same principles as demonstrative legacies. 一般的遗赠要与指定数目的遗赠遵循同样的原则。 来自辞典例句

12 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

13 clearance   

n.净空；许可(证)；清算；清除，清理

参考例句：

• There was a clearance of only ten centimetres between the two walls.两堵墙之间只有十厘米的空隙。
• The ship sailed as soon as it got clearance. 那艘船一办好离港手续立刻启航了。

14 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

15 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

16 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。