Visiting the COPE Visitor Center in Laos

Visiting the COPE Visitor Center in Laos opened my eyes. Like most Americans, for most of my life I had a pure affection for my country. In my eyes, America was the flawless beacon of humanity, moral righteousness, and good will for all other nations. I believed in this ideal because this is what had always been taught to me for much of my life in the public school system. In terms of the United States’ foreign affairs, I believed the nation had a long history of always conducting itself with the utmost morality. 

My visit to Laos several years ago was the catalyst for the most profound paradigm shift of my life. Writing this now, I realize how embarrassingly naive that first paragraph sounds. However, I always strive to write the truth. During my visit to Laos, I began to see that while I have so much love and adoration for my home country, it has not always been that shining beacon of morality. I had the honor of visiting the COPE Visitor Center in Laos.

I visited the capital city of Laos – Vientiane and had the opportunity to spend the day at the COPE Visitor Center. There, I learned the profound and heavy impact of the United States’ hidden war against Laos. 

All Americans learn about the Vietnam war in high school. However, I’d dare to say most Americans graduate high school and go out into the world knowing nothing about the affected countries around Vietnam. I’m sure if you mentioned Laos to many Americans, they might think you were talking about a bug in your hair. 

America’s Secret War with Laos

Before I go over my time visiting the COPE Visitor Center, let me give some quick background. The United States was at war with Vietnam roughly from 1955 to 1975. America believed communism anywhere in the world to be a huge threat. The USA subscribed to the Domino Theory. If one nation falls to communism, so do the others around it, and we would find ourselves with no allies. Vietnam was torn in half. The north of the country was led by Ho Chi Minh and was communist. The south had support from the USA and was a capitalist republic. There are many other factors to this war, but for the purposes of this blog – this information is adequate.  

So, where does Laos factor in? From 1964 to 1973, the United States dropped an estimated, “plane load of bombs every eight minutes, 24 hours a day, for nine years on Laos.” There were 580,000 estimated bombing missions in total. It was thought that a Viet Cong spy trail lay partly within the country of Laos. So, this was the result. The Viet Cong were a guerrilla group from the North of the country that had trails into the South. Moving on, the United States was not officially at war with Laos, so this event is often called the “secret war.” 

You can imagine who pays the price for war – innocent people. I hope I do not have to paint a picture of what happens when a bomb drops on a country. However, what of the bombs that do not explode? According to the Pulitzer Center, 80 million of the bombs (2 million tons) that were dropped did not detonate upon arrival. Instead, they are pervasive and hidden within Laos. Laos is a largely agrarian society. As such, when Laotians work in the fields for any number of reasons, they often come into contact with one of the unexploded ordinances, better known as UXOs, and either lose their life or lose their limbs. 25% of villages in Laos have unexploded mines. At least 20,000 Laotians have been killed or maimed by UXOs since the end of the war. 

Source: Lao government’s National Regulatory Authority & CNN

I learned all of this information while visiting the Cope Center. My visit there has sparked an interest in ongoing research in this area for me, and I have also been following this story in the news. Shortly after my visit to Laos, then-president Barack Obama’s administration announced they would be giving 90 million dollars to help clean up Laos’s UXOs. While this is undoubtedly good news, let’s be clear: Laos won’t be able to get rid of all the UXOs for at least the next 100 years – possibly longer. No matter how much money and time a nation invests, there are 2 million tons of bombs within the country. This gesture will at best make only a dent in the recovery efforts. 

How COPE Helps

The COPE Visitor Center provides orthotic services and prosthetic limbs to those in need, free of charge. Those who receive help through COPE receive surgery and rehabilitation. COPE also works so that these people may receive surgery, transportation, accommodation and food during their treatment and rehabilitation. This is possible through donations. While all Laotians, regardless of how they came about their injury, may benefit from COPE’s services, the majority of those helped are those who have fallen victim to UXOs. 

The COPE Visitor Center is small, and offers a sobering experience. It is definitely a must to plan on visiting the COPE Center in Laos. There is a film which plays on a loop to inform visitors of all of the history I have outlined above. Maps and diagrams are also on display to aid in better understanding the history. 

There are chilling exhibits which introduce visitors to “cluster bombs” and their impact. 

Visitors can also see displays of the types of prosthetics COPE provides for its beneficiaries. Just as well, you can see orthopedic tools which help those whose limbs are damaged from the effects of UXOs. There are some stories of real people and the impact that both UXOs and COPE have had on their lives.

As of 2019 entry is still free, but of course you should donate to the center. The cause is so very worthy. There is also a small shop on sight, as well as a cafe that serves great ice cream.

Visiting the center allowed me to learn about this very important piece of not only Laos’ history, but the history of my own country. In the beginning of our excursion, our tour guide began talking about the dropping of the bombs. I do not remember if I asked this aloud, or only to my husband. However, I definitely remember asking, “who would do such a thing?” When I found out that the answer was my own country, I felt a wave of emotions. Even though I personally had nothing to do with this event, I felt ashamed and embarrassed. 

I know that NONE of my tour group friends thought ill of us. But some of them seemed to make a face as if to say, “typical.” Somehow, some of them seemed to already know how imperfect my country had been throughout the course of history. I was angry. Anger overcame me because I felt that I had been lied to in some ways about the truth of my country’s history. I was angry that some people who have never been to America knew more about its true history than I, an American, did. This was one of my very first trips outside of my own country. 

What I Learned

The more I travel, the more I continue to learn about being both a citizen of the USA, and also a citizen of the world. I have learned so much about history, society, and the impact humans have on both. Traveling has helped me to become an observant, intentional, and open listener and learner. I can sincerely thank the COPE Center for kick starting this endeavor of learning so purely for me. 

As a New York City public school teacher, I try to incorporate all that I have learned into my classes. I teach English, and my goal has been to teach literature from places like southeast Asia while making real world connections to society, history, and politics. For those concerned, I never teach with any type of “agenda.” I give the facts and let the chips fall where they may. I want my students to be citizens who are aware of their country’s history. They should want to know the “why” of history and how that history influences literature.

I desire for them to know what responsibilities they have as Americans when they go out into the world. I’m proud of the hundreds of students who have walked out of my classroom at the end of the year understanding the impact that UXOs have had on the people of Laos, our responsibility to help, and an understanding of why places like COPE matter greatly to society. Having the opportunity to see the COPE Visitor Center in Laos has impacted my life tremendously.