For generations, families in Phon Village in Khammouane Province, Laos, have lived with the deadly legacy of war.
Unexploded bombs scattered across farmland and around homes have shaped everyday life, restricting where people farm, where children play, and how families use their land.
In August 2022, MAG, with support from the Government of Norway, cleared 20,362 square metres of land in the village, safely destroying 27 explosive items. The clearance made land safe for seven households, directly benefiting 30 people.
This work has brought lasting change to families who had lived for decades with fear, loss, and uncertainty.
The stories of two households show how life has transformed now the land around them is finally safe…
Village Chief Mr Thongchan
For Village Chief Mr Thongchan, 48, contamination was a normal part of his childhood. Cluster munitions – known locally as “Ka don” or “bombies” – were so common that children played with them as improvised toys. “We folded up the bottom of our shirts to carry them,” he recalled. “We threw them around while playing ‘war.’ We didn’t understand the danger”.
As an adult, the risks became impossible to ignore. When he first acquired the land that MAG later cleared, nobody else wanted it because of the contamination. "Everyone knew there were many bombs on this land,” he said.
For years, he worked cautiously, avoiding certain areas and worrying about his family’s safety. Clearing the vegetation meant cutting slowly and stepping carefully. He often found items while burning off brush, and he warned teachers and road surveyors to keep children and workers far away. “When the fire started, it ignited a mortar, and it flew over their truck. They didn’t believe me until they saw it.”
Even more dangerous were the practices he saw among neighbours in the 1990s, when scrap metal prices rose. Villagers – many with no protective equipment – bought their own metal detectors and dug for bombs. Right in front of his land, three young men were killed when they attempted to cut open a bomb for the metal inside.
Parts of Thongchan’s land had been cleared once before in the early 2000s. But other sections remained contaminated, so he continued to be extremely cautious avoiding digging deep holes, burning rubbish slowly, and keeping his children away from the uncleared forest edges where unexploded items were still known to remain.
The most recent clearance happened in 2022 after his wife found a bomb near the creek on the boundary of their land. “I can’t imagine what would have happened to her if it exploded,” he said.
He remains concerned for areas that have not yet been cleared and worries about his children and others who forage in the forest.
Today, however, for the land around his home, fear has been replaced by relief. As he put it: “Clearance has made our lives much easier, but what means the most to me and my family is the safety of everyone.”
Mr Atta
For Mr Atta, 45, unexploded bombs affected daily life from the moment he moved to Phon Village.
As a father of three, he was constantly concerned about where his children played and how the family used their land.
Those fears became real when he found a bombie on his land, just metres from where his children often played. Not knowing what to do and afraid of leaving it on the surface, he dug a deep hole and buried it. “I knew it was dangerous, but I didn’t know who to call back then,” he said.
For years, he worried he might accidentally hit it again while planting or building. When MAG arrived in 2022, he immediately asked the team whether they had found the item he buried. They not only found it but also safely destroyed it along with the other items located on his land.
Once the land was declared safe, everything changed. The family planted over fifty pineapple pits, expanded their kitchen garden, planted mango and longan trees, built rice storage, and added structures for livestock. They also opened a small shop selling snacks to students from the nearby school and prepared the foundations for a new house.
For the first time, Atta felt confident enough to leave his job as a long-distance truck driver, which had kept him away from home for long periods. Looking ahead, he hopes to raise new cattle and eventually open a small roadside restaurant.
Thanks to the support of the Government of Norway, families like those of Mr. Thongchan and Mr. Atta now live and work on land free from fear. Clearance has restored safety, stability, and opportunity in Phon Village, allowing parents to farm, build, and ensure their children grow up in a safer environment than previous generations.
