Legacies of War and Center for Lao Studies presents San Francisco/Bay Area Events on April 24th and 25th

 

 

Bombies, an award-winning film about the aftermath of the U.S. secret bombing in Laos.

 

Thursday, April 24th

7pm to 9pm

$10 admission to support Schools Not Bombs Campaign *

 

American Friends Service Committee

and Center for Lao Studies Offices

(Civic Center BART Station)

 

Co-sponsored by American Friends Service Committee, Asia Society, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Mennonite Central Committee, West Coast Mennonite Central Committee, and U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines

 

Bombies, directed by Jack Silberman details the U.S. bombing campaign in Laos and the enduring legacy of unexploded cluster bombs. It is a past winner of the Golden Gate Award at the San Francisco International Film Festival.

 

From 1964 to 1973, the U.S. conducted a "Secret War" in Laos and dropped two million tons of bombs, including 260 million cluster bombs. The U.S. carried out 580,000 bombing missions, equal to one bombing mission every eight minutes around the clock for nine years, making Laos the most heavily bombed country per capita in history. Unexploded cluster bombs continue today to maim and kill villagers, 35 years after the end of the war.

 

A panel discussion will follow the screening, featuring first-hand witnesses to the air war and its aftermath. Panelists include a veteran who participated in the bombing, a journalist who helped to expose it, and a Laotian survivor.

 

*Schools Not Bombs Campaign is a special initiative of Legacies of War and Give Children a Choice to help build schools in impoverished Laotian villages affected by cluster bombs. Our goal is to raise $25,000 by summer 2008 to build the first pre-school in Xieng Khoang, one of the most heavily bombed areas in Laos.

 

Legacies of War and Center for Lao Studies Benefit Performance

 

Based on the stories of Laotian refugees and their decendants.

Written & Performed by Leilani Chan and Ova Saopeng

 

Friday, April 25th

8pm to 9:30pm

Reception follows performance

 

La Pena Cultural Center

3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, CA

(two blocks from Ashby BART station)

 

Tickets: $20 advance, $25 at the door

Order tickets at www.laostudies.org [1]

 

About Refugee Nation

A father struggles to forget a lost war. A mother lives in the darkness of a south Los Angeles apartment. A daughter searches for answers about her community. Refugee Nation is a performance about a young generation struggling to understand their history and the silence of an elder generation still healing from the traumas of the U.S. Secret War in Laos during the Vietnam War-era.

 

Special VIP Benefit Packages available from $500 to $2,000

contact Channapha Khamvongsa at

channapha@publicinterestprojects.org for more information