Lao Ambassador to the United Nations Visits FranklinFranklin students attended a presentation on "Mine Action Awareness" presented by the Lao Ambassador to the United States, Mr. Songkane Luangmuninthone, U.S. State Department Representative Ms. Emma Smith, the Executive Director of Legacies of War, Ms. Channapha Khamwongsa, U.S. State Department Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, Mr. Charlie Stonecipher, and two Program Managers for Mine Action HDI Michael Blood and Matt Stitzer. The students were told of the millions of bombing raids conducted over Lao from 1964 -1973 during the Vietnam Conflict and Lao Civil War. It was explained to the students that many of the bombs did not explode and are still in 14 of the 17 Lao provinces. Each year thousands of Lao citizens are maimed or killed because they uncover a bomb by mistake. Most of those hurt are children who find them by mistake in fields. The Legacies of War organization is dedicated to raising awareness about the unexploded bombs in Lao and helping advocate for funds for their removal. The students were told that the U.S. State Department has allocated 5 million dollars for the removal of the bombs this year. That is twice as much as has ever been allocated to the program but only a fraction of the cost to remove all the bombs. Students were told they could get involved in the efforts if they wished by going to the website: http://www.legaciesofwar.org.
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Revised 3/8/10
