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The Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), an international treaty that bans the use, production, stockpiling, and transfer of cluster munitions, enters into force on August 1. Although the CCM is an important step, the ban has not lessened the need for unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance to continue. Millions of bomblets still plague communities around the world, and many innocent people are still injured or killed from these leftover submunitions each year.
Ti, an 11-year-old boy from Nathong village in Xieng Khouang province, is one of the latest victims of a bombie explosion in Lao PDR. While working in his family's paddy field in June, Ti struck a cluster bomb submunition known locally as a bombie.
Ti was severely injured by the tragic explosion. When the bombie detonated, most of his teeth were knocked out, and metal fragments similar to ball bearings were sent tearing into his right arm, stomach, and legs.
Ti explains, "One day, a few weeks ago, my father asked me to go to block off the stream that brings water into our paddy field. After I finished that, I went back to digging our vegetable plot. I tried to remove a small bush by pulling it out, but that didn't work. So, then I used my spade to dig it out. Suddenly, I heard an explosion; and, at the same time, I fell down unconscious."
As Ti's family has no vehicle, it took them more than two hours to get him to the provincial hospital in Phonsavanh. Once there, Dr. Somsavay, the head of the hospital, helped to save his life. However, while Ti is amongst the 60 percent of accident victims who survive, his injuries are extremely serious. "Ti only has a small chance of keeping his arm, but we will do our best," said Dr. Somsavay.
Although Ti will likely survive his tragic accident, many are not so lucky. According to Laos PDR's National Regulatory Authority, there were around 300 UXO casualties each year for most of the last decade. Dr. Somsavay says that his staff alone deal with an average of 2 UXO casualties every week.
It is a sad fact that Lao PDR is the most cluster bomb-contaminated country. In the 1960s and 70s, it is believed that more than 260 million bomblets were dropped in the region, which is roughly the size of the United Kingdom. Some estimates suggest as many as 80 million of these bomblets still litter the land.
"People in Laos have been living with the legacy of one of the heaviest and most under-reported bombing campaigns in history for 30 years, and although serious efforts to clear the land are being made, there remains a huge amount of work to do," said Lou McGrath OBE, Chief Executive of MAG.
In many ways Lao PDR has recovered from this violent past; but the threat of cluster munitions still looms for Laotians in poor, rural areas. The people of Laos will never fully recover from the threat of death and injury without continued clearance work.
Fortunately, MAG has been working in Lao PDR for nearly twenty years, helping to clear deadly cluster munitions and other dangerous remnants of conflict that threaten people's safety and prevent their development for years following a war's end. Find out how you can help MAG continue this life-saving work.
MAG thanks the following donors to its Lao PDR operations: Office of
Weapons Removal and Abatement, US Department of State; World Vision;
AusAID; UK Department for International Development (DFID) / UKaid; and
the European Commission.
Reporting by Linthong Syphavong, Communications Coordinator, MAG Lao PDR.
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What Are Cluster Bombs?
Cluster bomb units are deadly weapons that release bomblets (known locally as bombies in Laos PDR) when they are dropped from the air, peppering an entire area with explosives.
Many of these bomblets fail to explode on impact; so, years after wars and conflicts end, the threat of death or injury still lingers (unexploded bombie near a home in Lao PDR, left). Even worse, these brightly colored munitions look like toys to children, who can be severely injured or killed when they touch these items.
Cluster munitions were heavily used in Lao PDR, Cambodia, Sudan,
Lebanon, and Iraq, and cluster munition contamination still affects daily life in
countless communities. In addition to the threat of loss of life and limb, the presence of bomblets means a lack of access to safe land, limiting agricultural development, the reconstruction of vital infrastructure, and the work of relief and development agencies. So, where these hazardous items remain, land remains unusable - and dangerous.
