Wednesday, March 27th, 2013

Investigative Journalism - Greetings from Xieng Khuang!

Here in the dusty highlands of Laos we have been most fortunate to meet and interview a range of courageous UXO survivors. Students reviewed their biographies in advance, crafted interview questions, and practiced the nuanced art of eliciting the sought-after story from a willing, but pain-stricken, subject.The results of our split group of six students were most impressive. Kayengs villageUpon arriving… [Read Full Article]

Tuesday, March 26th, 2013

Investigative Journalism - Day Two

We are in the highlands of Laos, landed in Xieng Khuang yesterday. After lunch, we went to the Plain of Jars which was made altogether more eerie by the ambient clouds and fiery sun descending over the valley.Kids are doing great, though we are all a bit exhausted. We will be settled here for a few days so we can… [Read Full Article]

Tuesday, February 19th, 2013

Why Students Need to Learn about the Vietnam War

Fred Branfman, author of a number of books about the Indochina War is our featured guest blogger. Working as the Director of Project Air War in 1969 he wrote about the U.S. bombing in Indochina, which he claimed was directed at civilians.Fred BranfmanBranfman, an American teacher who exposed the secret war to the U.S. Congress and helped stop the bombings… [Read Full Article]

Monday, July 16th, 2012

Reflections on Laos

In March a group of Peace Works Travel World students traveled to Laos, where they visited COPE, an organization that provides prosthetic limbs and orthotic rehabilitation for victims of UXOs (unexploded ordinances). From 1964 to 1973 the US dropped over two million tons of cluster munitions onto Laos. The campaign was part of the CIA's "Secret War," which was intended… [Read Full Article]

Thursday, April 26th, 2012

Looking at "Laos Scarred by Secret War"

Just a few weeks ago a group of our students returned from Laos, where they experienced first hand the ravages of the "Secret War," played out by the CIA during the 1960s and 70s. While the press covered the horors of what was occurring in Vietnam, the millions of tonnes of cluster bombs concurrently dropped on Laos went largely unrecorded. When American… [Read Full Article]