Laos (2) - The Bombed People 老挝（2）－ 被疯狂轰炸的人民

Digging for the truth  發掘真相

Link to previous episode: Laos (1) 

鏈接到上回：老撾 （1）

Nothing much happened in the ensuing centuries; just the usual merging and splitting, rebellions and suppressions. From 1893 to 1945, Laos was a French colony. After WW2, it declared independence but the French promptly returned. Independence? Not so easy mon ami. Finally, in 1954, France receded from Indochina. But guess what, the Americans were starting to pivot everywhere, including Laos. Irritated by the prospect of peace and unity in the Laos People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), a constitutional monarchy, the USA supported a pro-American faction to overthrow the coalition government, a subversive tactic which would become commonplace in the decades to come.

跟著的幾百年，老撾人民過著樸實單純的生活。政治上則離不開分分合合，侵略抵御等陳年老調。在十九世末，殖民地霸權興起。當時亞洲科技落後，當然難逃一劫。由1893 到 1945年，老撾成了法國殖民地。二戰後，據說「二等民族」可以「自治」，老撾不懂霸主們說一套做一套的慣技，誤以為真，宣佈獨立，隨即被法國禁止。到1954年，殖民地時代疲態畢露，法國撤出印支。誰料一雞死一雞鳴，大美「民主」帝國隨即補上，在乳牙未出的老撾人民民主共和國支持親美力量，推翻聯合政府。「顏色革命」這玩意，當年名義上雖未上色，卻已經開始猖獗，到處蠱惑人心，破壞和平，禍害人間。

What?   吓？

Hope there isn't a bomb underneath...  希望她腳下沒有未爆炸彈吧...

During the Vietnam War, Laos supported the north. Uncle Sam responded by dropping “more than 270 million bombs in Laos as part of a CIA-run, top-secret operation in the little country” (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/31/laos-deadly-aftermath-us-bomb-campaign-vietnam-air-attacks). It should have been enough to kill everyone of the three million or so inhabitants many times over. Miraculously, Laotians still exist today, thanks partly to arbitrary targeting by stoned pilots, and shockingly inferior quality control. More than one-third of the bombs landed with a thud rather than kaboom. Selling bombs has always been good business, without any warranty or refund policy.

Being so happy without shoes and capitalism is obviously a threat to the American way of life. 

No wonder they became an extermination target！

沒鞋穿，沒電視，沒有電子遊戲，還那麼開心，

這分明是對美國和自由經濟的一種挑釁行為，怪不得差點兒給滅族了！

老撾跟泰國在文化和語言上是近親，與越南是曾經患難的戰友。而中國則是近年最大的投資者和貿易夥伴。越戰期間，老撾支持北越。滿口「人權民主」的 霸主大怒，九年間在老撾投了兩億七千萬枚炸彈(http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/31/laos-deadly-aftermath-us-bomb-campaign-vietnam-air-attacks)，算起來大概人均一噸，足夠把老撾夷 平，和一共三百多萬的男女老幼滅絕多次。在軍事超級大國瘋狂轟炸之下，老撾人竟然沒有絕種，可能要多謝靠大麻維持濫殺情緒，無目的投彈的大兵。還有是美國 軍工工業縱使利潤豐厚，質控卻明顯不過關。胡亂投出去的炸彈，超過三分一沒有爆炸，埋在地上，而錢則照收。炸彈是沒有保證期或退款安排的貨品。

Hungry?  餓了嗎？

Something smells good!  什麼東西好香喔！

Rice!  白米飯！

As of today, only a tiny percentage of the country has been cleared. Two out of five Plain of Jars sites (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain_of_Jars) are still off limit to tourists because of unexploded bombs. Since the war ended half a century ago, an average of 500 Laotians per year, mostly kids and farmers, are blown to gruesome bits by the delayed terror. Well, only 40% of the victims are children — brown communist children for that matter. Besides blowing up curious kids, unexploded bombs also retard development projects. Laos has close linguistic ties with Thailand. A strong sense of camaraderie with Vietnam was fostered by a painful history. China is now the biggest investor.

What next?  下一步怎麼走？

Take a bath first   先洗個白白再算

直到今天，五個Plain of Jars 古蹟還有兩個未曾清理，謝絕遊人(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain_of_Jars)。越戰結束半世紀以來，老撾每年平均有五百人因為誤碰埋彈喪命。大部分都是農民和在田野嬉戲的小孩。不過對美國來說，都是些黃黑皮膚，有社會主義傾向的亞洲小孩，不值得大驚小怪。未爆的炸彈陣，也對當地的基建發展造成嚴重障礙。

Collecting Broom-grass for export  掃草是主要的山區出口之一

Weaving is a key industry, at least to tourists 對遊客來說，編織肯定是老撾的主要工業

The way to the future  努力學習，明天一定會更好！

If you wish to watch a video presentation on what the CIA orchestrated bombing campaign was like, here's one: https://m.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/3rbgh8/jaw_dropping_video_shows_how_many_bombs_were/
以上是一段有關美國瘋狂轟炸老撾的視頻

Update: A truthful report by the CNN on the Laos atrocities. What a rare find.
以下是美國CNN對老挝極難得的如實報導
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/09/05/asia/united-states-laos-secret-war/index.html

Update 11/2018: 50 years later, it's still going on ...
五十年后，仍然在滥杀无辜
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/laotians-killed-50-years-bombing-campaign-181121000620903.html?utm_source=Al+Jazeera+English+Newsletter+%7C+Weekly&utm_campaign=d1c4240677-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_08_13_COPY_02&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e427298a68-d1c4240677-224025977

Next Episode Laos (3) - "Beautiful Laos"

下一回 老撾（3）－ "美麗的老撾"