Mission Statement:

Legacies of War was founded in 2004 to educate and advocate for the removal of unexploded bombs in Laos, to provide space for healing the wounds of war and to create greater hope for a future of peace. The organization uses art, culture, education, community organizing and dialogue to bring people together and create healing and transformation out of the wreckage of war.

The goals of Legacies of War include:

Raising awareness in the U.S. and broader international community about Laos and the legacies of the Vietnam War-era U.S. bombings. From 1964 to 1973, Laos became the most heavily bombed country in the world when the U.S. dropped over 2 million tons of ordnance as part of the wider Indochina conflict.  The magnitude of the bombing equated to a planeload of bombs being dropped every 8 minutes, 24-hours a day, for 9 years.  The U.S. “Secret War” in Laos and the long term devastation of unexploded bombs, or explosive remnants of war (ERW), became a footnote in history books, lost to all but a handful of humanitarian organizations.

 

Advocating for increased U.S. and international support for the removal of ERW in Laos and greater assistance to bombing survivors.  Although the war in Laos ended over 30 years ago, the devastation and suffering continue today.  Up to 30 percent of the bombs dropped, primarily cluster bombs, failed to detonate, leaving extensive contamination from ERW in 15 of the 18 provinces. There are as many as 86 million unexploded cluster bomblets, or “bombies” as the local Lao call them.  ERW have killed or maimed an estimated 12,000 innocent civilians since the war’s end.  Every day another innocent victim is struck.  ERW remains a major barrier to people’s safety, livelihood and food security.  The Lao government and international organizations began a national ERW clearance program in 1994, but estimate it may take up to 100 years to complete the work at current funding levels.

 

Engaging communities in discussions of peace and security issues by using the lessons learned from the history and legacies of war in Laos to stimulate dialogue. The use of cluster bombs in recent conflicts in Lebanon, Iraq, and Afghanistan demonstrate that these weapons are not just a problem from long ago. The continued use of these indiscriminate weapons devastates and burdens populations today and long after the bombings cease.

Fiscal Sponsor

Legacies of War is a project of Public Interest Projects (PIP), a New York-based 30-year-old nonprofit. Public Interest Projects brings together and strengthens the work of philanthorpic institutions, nonprofit groups and other public interest organizations sharing a vision of a society that ensures justice, dignity and opportunity for all people. By developing sustainable partnerships among donor, grantees and allied groups, PIP seeks to foster a movement for positive social change resulting in equality, fairness and a stronger participatory democracy. PIP achieves this by:

• Managing strategic and culturally sensitive collaborative funds and initiatives
• Linking and convening partners with similar goals on the local, regional and national levels to collaborate and share knowledge
• Providing expertise and resources—including highly experienced staff—to help build capacity in the field, and
• Nurturing organizations, projects and affinity groups through fiscal sponsorships and other services.