Laotian Time Bombs: A war’s explosive environmental legacy (Sierra Magazine, Feb. 2011)
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Our risk was nothing compared to the average Laotian farmer, wandering children, firewood gathering women, who know their next footstep can mean death, or for some worse, maiming, in a poor country where everyone must contribute.

Some facts: 270 million of these bombies were dropped on a country the size of Utah. Of the more than 50,000 people killed or maimed by the bombings, 20,000 have occurred after the end of the war. An average of one person a day is killed or maimed in Laos now, nearly 40 years later. Read the rest of this article…

A Slice of Lao Life
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This woman was selling fresh pineapples in a roadside market in Laos. We bought one, and she expertly peeled and sliced it in finger friendly pieces and put it in a bag so we wouldn’t get our bicycle sticky. It was a pineapple I will remember forever, because it was so perfectly ripe. Our interaction was fun with the few Lao words we know, but smiles go a long way when language is short. The price was a few cents, and sustained us on a long hot day. I hope our small sale helps that bun in the oven get an education one day, something few Lao children get. Read the rest of this article…