When people visit Laos, officially known as Lao People's Democratic Republic, they often remark how nice people are and how beautiful it is. According to the Travel and Tour World (TTW) website, Laos is the world's most budget-friendly destination for 2025. I can buy a bowl of noodles from the local stall for a couple dollars. And if you are ok with sleeping in a backpacker hostel, you only need $7 per night. 

However, this small landlocked country in Southeast Asia has endured trauma. Between 1964 and 1973, over two million tons of bombs were dropped on Laos during the Second Indochina War, making it the most heavily bombed country per capita in history. That is equivalent to one planeload of bombs every eight minutes, 24 hours a day, for nine years. People are still experiencing the aftereffects of this since it is estimated that 30% of these bombs (unexploded ordnance- UXO) failed to detonate. These UXOs don’t just kill during wartime, they remain live for decades, so when farmers clear land to grow crops or children from villages go and explore, they sometimes stumble upon these undetonated bombs/UXOs. HALO Trust and several NGOs reported that an estimated 20,000 people, mostly children, have been killed or injured since the war ended due to these UXOs. Many NGOs are still doing the work of clearing these UXOs that are scattered throughout 15 out of 18 Lao provinces. 

What does this have to do with us? 

Many of us have not heard of the Second Indochina War, because we know it as something else: the Vietnam War. This war was not just in Vietnam but also involved Laos and Cambodia. And the country that dropped the bombs, well… that would be the United States. Many of us did not know about it because it was the “secret war”.  

More than half a century has passed since the last bomb was dropped. While we may have forgotten about this, the seven million people that live in Lao PDR are still living with the reality of it. 

We as Christians are called to be peacemakers. 

Matthew 5:9 - 'Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.'

In a world that is becoming more divided, us against them, some are quick to use violence to solve our differences. Violence in the form of our words or action; our quick comebacks and our desire for revenge when wounded. I hope we will be peacemakers. Not just with our actions, but also in our hearts with our words and thoughts. Violence endures and multiplies. The action taken during a 10-year period between 1964 and 1973 is still being felt half a century later. What about the micro violence we spew out or allow around us? 

May we continue to strive to be peacemakers; children of God. May we be people who pray for peace around us, but also inside of our hearts.