Visiting the COPE Visitor Centre, Vientiane

COPE, short for Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise, in Vientiane, Laos is a place I’ve wanted to visit ever since I learnt more about the Vietnam War during my Vietnam travels.

My school curriculum in Singapore doesn’t teach about the war, and I wasn’t too keen to self-study the history beyond the shores of Singapore back then. There’s so much to go through for O and A levels already!!

But backpacking and my curiosity led me to explore the culture and history of other countries. Two trips to Vietnam accentuated my keenness to learn more about this most bombed nation in the world.

So what were my takeaways from the COPE Visitor Centre? Read on to find out!

I visited COPE, Vientiane and Laos in Nov 2023. This post may be updated periodically. Cheers!

Why I wanted to visit Laos

Before we jump into COPE, here’s a brief background of why I wanted to visit Laos.

Laos had been on my radar for years before COVID-19, but the trip never materialised until Nov 2023.

Back then, my main intention to visit this mysterious landlocked SEA country was to clear what’s left of SEA.

Having travelled to other ‘exotic’ countries like Myanmar, where I hiked a 3D2N trek through the countryside and slept in the leafy huts of the villages in Feb 2017, and Cambodia, where I DIY visited all three UNESCO sites, from Angkor Wat, to Prasat Preah Vihear and Sambor Prei Kuk in Mar 2018, I wanted to know what’s in Laos, and how different it is to other SEA countries.

But I was naïve then and didn’t know much about the secret war in Laos, the bombies, nor how the war in neighbouring Vietnam affected Laos.

Years later, I visited Ho Chi Minh City in Nov 2022 on a 3D2N escapade and learned a great deal about the Vietnam War through the War Museum and Cu Chi Tunnels.

That later sparked my curiosity to explore the remnants of what’s left from the war, which led me to the mausoleum and museums in Hanoi, and a visit to certain key locations in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) between Phong Nha, where I did a cave expedition, and Hue, a year later in Aug 2023.

The research I did to plan for my Aug 2023 Vietnam trip, combined with the gnawing curiosity from years back, led me to book a solo trip ticket to Laos in Apr 2023. If you haven’t known me yet, I am still trying to enjoy solo trips. But when you’ve waited long enough, you’d eventually get down to doing it.

And that’s how my Laos trip finally came to fruition. And how I’ve finally – somewhat – quenched my curiosity about the aftermath of this war in Southeast Asia.

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The Monstrosities of the Vietnam War

You should probably at least have some inkling of the disastrous effects of the Vietnam War.

Apart from the usual horrors of the war like destruction, torture, rape, and plunder, what made the Vietnam War extra-depressing, at least according to what I’ve read and thought, was the generational impact of the defoliant, Agent Orange.

Imagine being born with deformities just because your grandfather or grandmother happened to be near the forest where Agent Orange was sprayed when they were running away as a kid.

But the Vietnam War did not affect just Vietnam, neighbouring countries like Laos and Cambodia were sucked in as well. There’s a long discussion of why and how the US was involved, which you can read more about it on Wiki, since I’m no history buff.

Anyhow, from my understanding, Laos was involved as a huge tract of the Ho Chi Minh Trail the North Vietnamese Army – identified as the communist – used, went through the mountains and countryside of Laos, and a small portion of Cambodia. They do that as the terrain in Vietnam makes it a challenge, whereas the tract in Laos was forested and offered more protection. 

To thwart the army’s progress, the US set up strategic fortresses and mindlessly bombed that tract. They were so keen to stop their progress that they even rained detergent and soap to make the trail extra slippery. The relentless bombing – 2 million tonnes of bombs! – regardless of civilians was only revealed to the public years after the war. However, compared to the Vietnam War, little is discussed about the war’s impact in Laos or Cambodia.

About a third of the bombs failed to explore, which explains why there is still so much unexploded ordnance (UXO) in a huge part of Laos.

What made the situation even more infuriating was the kind of bomb dropped: A particular cluster bomb designed for maximum destruction. It is jam-packed with hundreds of small bombies the size of tennis balls that cover a large area, about 3 – 4 football fields. One small tennis ball is enough to kill and maim a dozen.

As of now, farmers and children are still getting killed or severely injured by the stray bombies decades later, as they till the land, play in the grassland or cook their food.

Unlike the effect of Agent Orange, a chemical/ carcinogen that has somewhat been diluted or broken down naturally, the bombies reside in the forest or underneath the soil of Laos countryside, waiting to be discovered. It was reported that 80 million active bombies remained after the war!

That’s what made the aftermath of this war even more disastrous, for if no one clears the bombies, the bombies remain, waiting for their next unsuspecting victims, years later.

And this is where COPE, a non-profit organisation, deserves our attention and help.

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About COPE

Since its inception in 1996, COPE has helped many Laotians gain mobility and freedom in their daily activities. COPE isn’t just constrained to only help those hurt by the UXO. It just happened that a third of these people were disabled by the bombies.

While we were at their visitor centre, apart from victims of UXO, we also read and watched accounts of those born with deformities like club feet or bow legs, or injured by traffic accidents receiving help from this organisation.

Most of the funds from COPE come from international cooperation programmes, private foundations, and private donors. The Visitor Centre also contributes funds in the form of donations, from the gift shop, or their café.

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What’s in the Visitor Centre

The Visitor Centre is a cavernous room fitted with several informational boards, screens, a traditional house, and a huge artwork made from bombies.

As we stepped through the gift shop, what greeted us, at first sight, was the sombre artwork of bombies hung from the ceiling, seemingly falling into a metal bowl made from scraps of bombs.

Dedicate at least an hour to reading the boards, listening to the audio, reflecting on the anecdotes, and celebrating those who gained back their freedom and dignity from their new prosthetics.

Special mention to the drawings and accounts of survivors of the war in the house. These illustrations were gathered by the Legacies of War, ‘an educational and advocacy organisation working to address the ongoing impact of the American wars in Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam’.

Admission is free. COPE Visitor Centre is open every day from 8.30 AM to 4 PM.

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Rambles/ Conclusion

The COPE Visitor Centre is a small museum packed with information about the ongoing efforts of the organisation to help those injured by UXO, born deformed or wounded by accident to regain their freedom.

While they do not solely help those hurt by the bombies, COPE just happened to be associated with a museum on UXO, because it is unfathomable that bombs from a war of the 1960s are still killing people born after the war.

Compared to the smaller UXO Laos Visitor Centre in Luang Prabang, COPE is more structured with a flow as the visitor explores its premises.

If Luang Prabang is in your travel itinerary as well, plan a visit to the UXO Laos Visitor Centre, where they detailed the tedious effort of removing the bombies. It is precisely because of these bombies that certain parts of Laos remain relatively poor, as farmers were either too intimidated to farm, or were already impaired and unable to do so.

Visit Laos to learn about the effects of this hidden war on its citizens. Visit Laos not just for the gorgeous waterfalls, panoramic views and adventurous ziplines.