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Improving livelihood, public health, access to medical care and education, and more ...
For over fifteen years, the CIA conducted the “Secret War” in Laos. This war’s devastating impacts are still felt today by the poorest Laotians, even nearly 50 years later.
Laos found itself the target of an aerial war, the likes of which had never been seen before. As a result, the Secret War gave Laos the tragic distinction of being the most heavily bombed country on earth. The CIA also directed the spraying of vast amounts of herbicides over the countryside. Very few know of this history and the ongoing impacts of the war in the country.
Our dedicated team is traveling throughout southern Laos to gather and archive eyewitness stories of ordinary Lao who experienced pre-war, wartime and post-war Laos. In particular, this digital storytelling project takes us to where the Ho Chi Minh trail passed through Lao territory, a region which to this day remains one of the poorest in the country.
Untold Stories Project: The Secret War in Laos
WHAT WE DO
Our digital storytelling project
We hope to bring the untold stories of an unknown and devastating war in Laos to light, to the global community at large, so that we can develop a greater understanding of war’s true costs and long-term consequences—and put an end to them.
Our goal is to consolidate and finalize our digital video and photo collections from our on-the-ground interviews currently underway in all parts of Laos and archive them in the U.S. , as well as in an archive with the government of Laos. Excerpts of our efforts will also be edited and available on-line.
You can help by donating to this project! Or, if you spent time in Laos during the war or postwar era, contact War Legacies Project at laos@warlegacies.org and share your story.
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