UXO: New reports show progress, but new victims, in Laos

Legacies of War executive director Channapha Khamvongsa issued a new message recently regarding progress but continued tragedies in Laos. According to Khamvongsa:

Three new reports issued by the U.S. Department of State, Lao PDR's National Regulatory Authority, and the Cluster Munition Coalition highlights the progress of the UXO sector in Laos. These reports include data on the decline in casualties, down from 300 in 2008 to less than 60 in 2012. One report, To Walk the Earth in Safety, charts funding received by ten countries over the last 20 years. Of the $62 million directed by the U.S. to Laos since 1993, one-third, or $20 million, was committed during the last three years (2010-2012) as a direct result of Legacies' education and advocacy. The increase in funding helped to enhance the capacity of various organizations working in Laos to clear bombs, support victims, and provide risk education. You can read more below, with links to the full reports.

Despite the declining numbers of victims in Laos over the past several years, one accident can change the lives of so many. At the beginning of this school year in Laos, tragedy struck the Chomphet District, just outside of Luang Prabang Province. Khe (13 years old) and five other boys, Ming (10), Mee (6), Bounngou (5), Lo (12), and Chantee (12) were out looking for bamboo shoots in the nearby woods when they spotted and picked up a bombie. They tossed it amongst themselves, and tried to cut it open in order to see what was inside. The bombie exploded, instantly killing Khe and seriously injuring two other boys in the stomach. The rest of them sustained shrapnel wounds to their legs and feet, and ringing in their ears. Local authorities and various NGOs, including World Education, are providing victim assistance, support, and recovery.

Khamvongsa highlighted 3 keys reports: "To Walk the Earth in Safety," from the US Department of State. This year marks the 20th anniversary since the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement began funding around the world. The report provides a summary of its annual funding over the last two decades.

Also of interest was the report "UXO Sector Annual Report 2012." The most outstanding achievement and remarkable progress in the UXO sector in Laos was a dramatic drop in the number of UXO casualties, from more than 300 per year in 2008 to 56 in 2012.

And finally, the Cluster Munition Monitor Report 2012 was issued, noting that as the most heavily bombed country per capita in the world, support for mine action continues with the U.S. increasing funding to Laos from $5 million in 2011 to $9 million in 2012. Lao PDR continues to play a leadership role in the work of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, and became coordinator of the Committee on Clearance and Risk Reduction Education.

For more information on Legacies of War activities be sure to visit www.legaciesofwar.org

H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival begins!

And as we begin the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, I'll just post this passage from Lovecraft's classic Nyarlathotep:

"And shadowed on a screen, I saw hooded forms amidst ruins, and yellow evil faces peering from behind fallen monuments. And I saw the world battling against blackness; against the waves of destruction from ultimate space; whirling, churning, struggling around the dimming, cooling sun. Then the sparks played amazingly around the heads of the spectators, and hair stood up on end whilst shadows more grotesque than I can tell came out and squatted on the heads. And when I, who was colder and more scientific than the rest, mumbled a trembling protest about imposture and static electricity, Nyarlathotep drove us all out, down the dizzy stairs into the damp, hot, deserted midnight streets. I screamed aloud..."

Full Metal Hanuman and Strange Horizons Fundraiser converge!

Strange Horizons is about to unlock my exclusive poem: "Full Metal Hanuman!" as their fundraiser closes in on $7 thousand dollars this weekend! http://www.strangehorizons.com/fund_drives/2013/special-issue-index.php

Strange Horizons is a magazine of and about speculative fiction and related nonfiction. Speculative fiction includes science fiction, fantasy, horror, slipstream, and all other flavors of fantastika. Work published in Strange Horizons has been shortlisted for or won Hugo, Nebula, Rhysling, Theodore Sturgeon, James Tiptree Jr., and World Fantasy Awards.

This poem sets precedent as the first time the Lao simian bioweapons known as Vanon have appeared in a poem set in the distant future. Or the first formal reference to Laotonium. More details to follow once it's up!

2014 Artist Consultation Service Rates

As we prepare to enter 2014, it's that time of year where I announce my consultation rates for artists. I advise primarily in literary disciplines, although I take a very limited number of clients in traditional dance, folk arts, and visual arts.

These consultation sessions can be used to take a closer look at you and your work, assist you in identifying your professional goals and opportunities, and develop strategies to attain those goals along a realistic timeline.

For individual artists, standard consultations cost $75/hour. If you anticipate needing more than 10 hours or more of consultation time a retainer rate is available. For small informal groups and small non-profit organizations, the standard consultation rate is $100/hour.

The following credentials may assist you when considering whether to retain my services:

I hold the distinction of being the first Lao American to receive an NEA Fellowship in Literature in 2009 for poetry. In 2012, I was selected as the Lao delegate to serve as a Cultural Olympian during the London Summer Games. My poetry is presently on display at the Smithsonian's national traveling exhibit I Want the Wide American Earth: An Asian Pacific American Story.  

I have been cited for my writing in over nine national and international textbooks including the 2012 edition of the Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics and Wenying Xu’s Historical Dictionary of Asian American Literature and Theater. 

Among my 20 literary, academic and professional awards, I hold an Asian Pacific American Leadership Award in 2009 from the State Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans, and a 2002 Many Voices Fellowship from the Minnesota Playwrights Center.  

I am the author of 6 books and my work appears in over 100 international publications around the world including Australia, Canada, England, Scotland, Germany, France, Singapore, China (Hong Kong), Korea, Chile, Pakistan, as well as across the United States. I am the first Lao writer to hold professional membership in the international Horror Writer Association and the Science Fiction Poetry Association.

As in previous years, I only take on between 5 to 15 clients at a maximum, following a brief portfolio review. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly at thaoworra@gmail.com and we can look over your specific needs and how we can best work together.