Laos Trip: A Reflection from the Peacheys

From the desk of Titus and Linda Peachey

We went to Laos in March of 1981 to work with Mennonite Central Committee as peace and development workers.  As we got off the plane in the early evening darkness, we heard the sound of hundreds of frogs chirping along the runway. Immediately we knew that we had come to a welcoming place that reminded us of our own rural roots.

Since our first sojourn there (1981-1985), we have returned to Laos many times and witnessed extraordinary changes over the years. Each time we visit, we remind ourselves that we have made a profound journey of the mind and heart. We leave behind the world’s economic and military superpower that dominates the world stage, and arrive in a small nation that seeks to find its way among the competing influences of larger powers. Laos’ 7.5 million people are striving to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. This task is made much harder due to the long and lethal aftermath of a terrifying air war unleashed by the United States against Laos between 1964 and 1973.  And so Laos has become a place for us to slow down, listen and learn from a strong and resilient people.

In February of 2024, we were pleased to accompany Legacies of War to Laos to renew personal acquaintances and get an update on the work of unexploded ordnance (UXO) removal. We visited with Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), one of several clearance organizations, in the southern province of Champasak.  We spent several days with their very accomplished team of administrators and welcomed the opportunity to learn about their work in a land still littered with unexploded U.S. bombs.  

Working in 4 different provinces, NPA employs over 800 national staff and now fields a total of 42 clearance teams. Last year, these teams cleared 9.3 sq. kms and safely destroyed over 10,400 pieces of UXO while Risk Education teams conducted over 400 safety sessions in 50 villages. The destruction of all this UXO completely eliminates the possibility of over 10,000 casualties from ever happening and the Risk Education teams help people live safely until the UXO can be cleared.

One of the most remarkable things we noticed was something that appeared to be perfectly normal. The standard uniform shirts worn by the NPA staff each carried a small U.S. flag stitched into the shoulder. It’s hard to over emphasize how unthinkable this would have been in 1981. U.S.-Lao relations were severely strained after the war, and there were only 10-12 U.S. citizens living in the country.  Indeed it was not until 1994 that sustained humanitarian demining began, and that initial effort was all funded by private donations through Mennonite Central Committee (MCC).  

This year (2024) marks the 30th anniversary of the UXO clearance project initiated by MCC. On behalf of MCC, Titus worked with the Lao National Committee for Social and Veterans Affairs, and the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) to establish the project. The opening ceremony for the work was held on September 28, 1994. At the end of our recent visit, we were so pleased to be able to meet Donald MacDonald, part of the original MAG team, who had just returned to Laos to do some additional training.  In the intervening years, that first team of 20 deminers and community awareness staff has now grown to over 4,700 which destroys an average of 300+ pieces of UXO each work day!

Also, thanks to years of advocacy initiated by Legacies of War, the U.S. government contribution to UXO clearance in Laos grew from $2.5 million in the early 2000s to $45 million in 2024. In recent years, casualties have averaged fewer than 50.

We were pleased on this trip to be accompanied by current Legacies of War staff persons and friends, including Taryn Sebba.  Taryn was the recipient of the Titus and Linda Peachey Peace Fellowship made possible by an anonymous donor. It is awarded each year to a young person whose commitment to peace and the mission of Legacies of War is exemplary. We welcomed Taryn’s enthusiasm for cross-cultural learning, her respect for the strength and resilience of the Laotian people and her passion for helping to heal the wounds of war. And we were inspired by her clear understanding of the need for policy advocacy, a need stressed to us by a Lao farmer in 1981.

On her first trip to Xieng Khouang Province, Linda visited with a family whose mother had been killed the day before when her hoe struck a buried cluster bomblet in their garden. Midst the grief and trauma of that moment, the woman’s husband took Linda to the spot in the garden where the accident had happened.  Giving her the shattered hoehead he said: “Take this back to your country. Please tell our story so that it won’t happen again to other people.”  This Lao villager had a profound understanding of the power of advocacy and the imperative to prevent violence. It has guided and inspired our work these past 40+ years. 

Advocacy has had a profound positive effect on the U.S. government’s readiness to provide funding for the UXO sector in Laos. But there are important U.S. policy changes still desperately needed. The U.S. has not yet acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions which bans the production and use of cluster bombs. Cluster munitions are still a part of the U.S. arsenal. The U.S. has sent 5 shipments of cluster munitions to Ukraine since July of 2023. U.S. cluster bombs are now resting on Ukraine soil alongside cluster bombs from Russia. Together, these indiscriminate weapons await the hoe of a Ukrainian gardener or the innocent play of a young child.  

Laos is a tragic 50-year mirror for U.S. policy on cluster bombs and the persistent trauma which they inevitably cause. Our trip left us filled with gratitude for all that has been accomplished in the enormous task to make the fields and gardens of Laos safe. Yet our government has not yet heard this plea from the Lao villager that the trauma he experienced should not be visited on others. Surely the people of Laos have much to teach us. Thank you, Legacies of War, for helping us hear their voices.

Titus Peachey

Linda Gehman Peachey