');$vidEndSlate.removeClass('video__end-slate--inactive').addClass('video__end-slate--active');}};CNN.autoPlayVideoExist = (CNN.autoPlayVideoExist === true) ? true : false;var configObj = {thumb: 'none',video: 'world/2016/09/05/laos-secret-war-andrew-stevens.cnn',width: '100%',height: '100%',section: 'domestic',profile: 'expansion',network: 'cnn',markupId: 'large-media_0',adsection: 'const-article-carousel-pagetop',frameWidth: '100%',frameHeight: '100%',posterImageOverride: {"mini":{"height":124,"width":220,"type":"jpg","uri":"//web.archive.org/web/20190117203916/https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160905125207-laos-secret-war-andrew-stevens-00014124-small-169.jpg"},"xsmall":{"height":173,"width":307,"type":"jpg","uri":"//web.archive.org/web/20190117203916/https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160905125207-laos-secret-war-andrew-stevens-00014124-medium-plus-169.jpg"},"small":{"height":259,"width":460,"type":"jpg","uri":"//web.archive.org/web/20190117203916/https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160905125207-laos-secret-war-andrew-stevens-00014124-large-169.jpg"},"medium":{"height":438,"width":780,"type":"jpg","uri":"//web.archive.org/web/20190117203916/https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160905125207-laos-secret-war-andrew-stevens-00014124-exlarge-169.jpg"},"large":{"height":619,"width":1100,"type":"jpg","uri":"//web.archive.org/web/20190117203916/https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160905125207-laos-secret-war-andrew-stevens-00014124-super-169.jpg"},"full16x9":{"height":900,"width":1600,"type":"jpg","uri":"//web.archive.org/web/20190117203916/https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160905125207-laos-secret-war-andrew-stevens-00014124-full-169.jpg"},"mini1x1":{"height":120,"width":120,"type":"jpg","uri":"//web.archive.org/web/20190117203916/https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160905125207-laos-secret-war-andrew-stevens-00014124-small-11.jpg"}}},autoStartVideo = false,isVideoReplayClicked = false,callbackObj,containerEl,currentVideoCollection = [{"title":"Inside Laos' 'Secret War'","duration":"02:47","sourceName":"CNN","sourceLink":"http:/www.cnn.com","videoCMSUrl":"/video/data/3.0/video/world/2016/09/05/laos-secret-war-andrew-stevens.cnn/index.xml","videoId":"world/2016/09/05/laos-secret-war-andrew-stevens.cnn","videoImage":"//web.archive.org/web/20190117203916/https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160905125207-laos-secret-war-andrew-stevens-00014124-large-169.jpg","videoUrl":"/videos/world/2016/09/05/laos-secret-war-andrew-stevens.cnn/video/playlists/laos/","description":"Over 20,000 people have been killed or maimed after triggering leftover unexploded ordnance in Laos. CNN's Andrew Stevens speaks with one of the victims.","descriptionText":"Over 20,000 people have been killed or maimed after triggering leftover unexploded ordnance in Laos. CNN's Andrew Stevens speaks with one of the victims."},{"title":"Cleaning up leftover Vietnam-era bombs in Laos","duration":"05:11","sourceName":"CNN","sourceLink":"","videoCMSUrl":"/video/data/3.0/video/world/2016/01/29/exp-cleaning-up-leftover-vietnam-era-bombs-in-laos.cnn/index.xml","videoId":"world/2016/01/29/exp-cleaning-up-leftover-vietnam-era-bombs-in-laos.cnn","videoImage":"//web.archive.org/web/20190117203916/https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160129153523-exp-cleaning-up-leftover-vietnam-era-bombs-in-laos-00002001-large-169.jpg","videoUrl":"/videos/world/2016/01/29/exp-cleaning-up-leftover-vietnam-era-bombs-in-laos.cnn/video/playlists/laos/","description":"CNNi talks to Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) about his involvement in pushing for more Congressional money to clean up unexploded munitions in Laos.","descriptionText":"CNNi talks to Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) about his involvement in pushing for more Congressional money to clean up unexploded munitions in Laos."},{"title":"President Obama pushes to clear leftover Laos bombs","duration":"00:47","sourceName":"CNN","sourceLink":"https://web.archive.org/web/20190117203916/http://edition.cnn.com","videoCMSUrl":"/video/data/3.0/video/world/2016/01/25/john-kerry-laos-bombs-obama-vietnam.cnn/index.xml","videoId":"world/2016/01/25/john-kerry-laos-bombs-obama-vietnam.cnn","videoImage":"//web.archive.org/web/20190117203916/https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160124200855-john-kerry-laos-bombs-obama-vietnam-00002421-large-169.jpg","videoUrl":"/videos/world/2016/01/25/john-kerry-laos-bombs-obama-vietnam.cnn/video/playlists/laos/","description":"While in Laos, Secretary of State John Kerry will push to clear up leftover Vietnam War-era U.S. bombs on behalf of the Obama administration.","descriptionText":"While in Laos, Secretary of State John Kerry will push to clear up leftover Vietnam War-era U.S. bombs on behalf of the Obama administration."},{"title":"What's driving Laos' surging coffee scene?","duration":"02:39","sourceName":"CNN","sourceLink":"www.cnn.com","videoCMSUrl":"/video/data/3.0/video/tv/2016/07/21/road-to-asean-coffee-stout-pkg.cnn/index.xml","videoId":"tv/2016/07/21/road-to-asean-coffee-stout-pkg.cnn","videoImage":"//web.archive.org/web/20190117203916/https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160721074825-road-to-asean-coffee-stout-pkg-00014812-large-169.jpg","videoUrl":"/videos/tv/2016/07/21/road-to-asean-coffee-stout-pkg.cnn/video/playlists/laos/","description":"Laos' coffee industry is booming, and farmers are working hard to let the world know about their homegrown beans.","descriptionText":"Laos' coffee industry is booming, and farmers are working hard to let the world know about their homegrown beans."},{"title":"Film fans flock to the movies in Laos ","duration":"02:47","sourceName":"CNN","sourceLink":"https://web.archive.org/web/20190117203916/http://www.cnn.com/specials/asia/road-to-asean","videoCMSUrl":"/video/data/3.0/video/world/2016/07/05/road-to-asean-laos-movie-cineplex-spc.cnn/index.xml","videoId":"world/2016/07/05/road-to-asean-laos-movie-cineplex-spc.cnn","videoImage":"//web.archive.org/web/20190117203916/https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160705054616-road-to-asean-laos-movie-cineplex-spc-00020501-large-169.jpg","videoUrl":"/videos/world/2016/07/05/road-to-asean-laos-movie-cineplex-spc.cnn/video/playlists/laos/","description":"With just 7 million people, Laos is one of the smallest economies in Southeast Asia, but one Thai company is capitalizing on the local taste for pop culture. ","descriptionText":"With just 7 million people, Laos is one of the smallest economies in Southeast Asia, but one Thai company is capitalizing on the local taste for pop culture. "}],currentVideoCollectionId = '',isLivePlayer = false,mediaMetadataCallbacks,mobilePinnedView = null,moveToNextTimeout,mutePlayerEnabled = false,nextVideoId = '',nextVideoUrl = '',turnOnFlashMessaging = false,videoPinner,videoEndSlateImpl;if (CNN.autoPlayVideoExist === false) {autoStartVideo = true;if (autoStartVideo === true) {if (turnOnFlashMessaging === true) {autoStartVideo = false;containerEl = jQuery(document.getElementById(configObj.markupId));CNN.VideoPlayer.showFlashSlate(containerEl);} else {CNN.autoPlayVideoExist = true;}}}configObj.autostart = CNN.Features.enableAutoplayBlock ? false : autoStartVideo;CNN.VideoPlayer.setPlayerProperties(configObj.markupId, autoStartVideo, isLivePlayer, isVideoReplayClicked, mutePlayerEnabled);CNN.VideoPlayer.setFirstVideoInCollection(currentVideoCollection, configObj.markupId);var videoHandler = {},isFeaturedVideoCollectionHandlerAvailable = (CNN !== undefined &&CNN.VIDEOCLIENT !== undefined &&CNN.VIDEOCLIENT.FeaturedVideoCollectionHandler !== undefined);if (!isFeaturedVideoCollectionHandlerAvailable) {CNN.INJECTOR.executeFeature('videx').done(function () {jQuery.ajax({dataType: 'script',cache: true,url: '//web.archive.org/web/20190117203916/https://www.i.cdn.cnn.com/.a/2.134.1/js/featured-video-collection-player.min.js'}).done(function () {initializeVideoAndCollection();}).fail(function () {throw 'Unable to fetch /js/featured-video-collection-player.min.js';});}).fail(function () {throw 'Unable to fetch the videx bundle';});}function initializeVideoAndCollection() {videoHandler = new CNN.VIDEOCLIENT.FeaturedVideoCollectionHandler(configObj.markupId,"cn-featured-7cdyeq",'js-video_description-featured-7cdyeq',[{"title":"Inside Laos' 'Secret War'","duration":"02:47","sourceName":"CNN","sourceLink":"http:/www.cnn.com","videoCMSUrl":"/video/data/3.0/video/world/2016/09/05/laos-secret-war-andrew-stevens.cnn/index.xml","videoId":"world/2016/09/05/laos-secret-war-andrew-stevens.cnn","videoImage":"//web.archive.org/web/20190117203916/https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160905125207-laos-secret-war-andrew-stevens-00014124-large-169.jpg","videoUrl":"/videos/world/2016/09/05/laos-secret-war-andrew-stevens.cnn/video/playlists/laos/","description":"Over 20,000 people have been killed or maimed after triggering leftover unexploded ordnance in Laos. CNN's Andrew Stevens speaks with one of the victims.","descriptionText":"Over 20,000 people have been killed or maimed after triggering leftover unexploded ordnance in Laos. CNN's Andrew Stevens speaks with one of the victims."},{"title":"Cleaning up leftover Vietnam-era bombs in Laos","duration":"05:11","sourceName":"CNN","sourceLink":"","videoCMSUrl":"/video/data/3.0/video/world/2016/01/29/exp-cleaning-up-leftover-vietnam-era-bombs-in-laos.cnn/index.xml","videoId":"world/2016/01/29/exp-cleaning-up-leftover-vietnam-era-bombs-in-laos.cnn","videoImage":"//web.archive.org/web/20190117203916/https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160129153523-exp-cleaning-up-leftover-vietnam-era-bombs-in-laos-00002001-large-169.jpg","videoUrl":"/videos/world/2016/01/29/exp-cleaning-up-leftover-vietnam-era-bombs-in-laos.cnn/video/playlists/laos/","description":"CNNi talks to Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) about his involvement in pushing for more Congressional money to clean up unexploded munitions in Laos.","descriptionText":"CNNi talks to Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) about his involvement in pushing for more Congressional money to clean up unexploded munitions in Laos."},{"title":"President Obama pushes to clear leftover Laos bombs","duration":"00:47","sourceName":"CNN","sourceLink":"https://web.archive.org/web/20190117203916/http://edition.cnn.com","videoCMSUrl":"/video/data/3.0/video/world/2016/01/25/john-kerry-laos-bombs-obama-vietnam.cnn/index.xml","videoId":"world/2016/01/25/john-kerry-laos-bombs-obama-vietnam.cnn","videoImage":"//web.archive.org/web/20190117203916/https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160124200855-john-kerry-laos-bombs-obama-vietnam-00002421-large-169.jpg","videoUrl":"/videos/world/2016/01/25/john-kerry-laos-bombs-obama-vietnam.cnn/video/playlists/laos/","description":"While in Laos, Secretary of State John Kerry will push to clear up leftover Vietnam War-era U.S. bombs on behalf of the Obama administration.","descriptionText":"While in Laos, Secretary of State John Kerry will push to clear up leftover Vietnam War-era U.S. bombs on behalf of the Obama administration."},{"title":"What's driving Laos' surging coffee scene?","duration":"02:39","sourceName":"CNN","sourceLink":"www.cnn.com","videoCMSUrl":"/video/data/3.0/video/tv/2016/07/21/road-to-asean-coffee-stout-pkg.cnn/index.xml","videoId":"tv/2016/07/21/road-to-asean-coffee-stout-pkg.cnn","videoImage":"//web.archive.org/web/20190117203916/https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160721074825-road-to-asean-coffee-stout-pkg-00014812-large-169.jpg","videoUrl":"/videos/tv/2016/07/21/road-to-asean-coffee-stout-pkg.cnn/video/playlists/laos/","description":"Laos' coffee industry is booming, and farmers are working hard to let the world know about their homegrown beans.","descriptionText":"Laos' coffee industry is booming, and farmers are working hard to let the world know about their homegrown beans."},{"title":"Film fans flock to the movies in Laos ","duration":"02:47","sourceName":"CNN","sourceLink":"https://web.archive.org/web/20190117203916/http://www.cnn.com/specials/asia/road-to-asean","videoCMSUrl":"/video/data/3.0/video/world/2016/07/05/road-to-asean-laos-movie-cineplex-spc.cnn/index.xml","videoId":"world/2016/07/05/road-to-asean-laos-movie-cineplex-spc.cnn","videoImage":"//web.archive.org/web/20190117203916/https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160705054616-road-to-asean-laos-movie-cineplex-spc-00020501-large-169.jpg","videoUrl":"/videos/world/2016/07/05/road-to-asean-laos-movie-cineplex-spc.cnn/video/playlists/laos/","description":"With just 7 million people, Laos is one of the smallest economies in Southeast Asia, but one Thai company is capitalizing on the local taste for pop culture. ","descriptionText":"With just 7 million people, Laos is one of the smallest economies in Southeast Asia, but one Thai company is capitalizing on the local taste for pop culture. "}],'js-video_headline-featured-7cdyeq','',"js-video_source-featured-7cdyeq",true,true,'laos');if (typeof configObj.context !== 'string' || configObj.context.length
'My friends were afraid of me': What 80 million unexploded US bombs did to Laos
By Rebecca Wright, CNN
Updated 7:28 AM ET, Tue September 6, 2016
Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds.
Story highlights
Unexploded bombs maim or kill 50 people a year in Laos
It's a horrific legacy of America's "secret war"
Barack Obama is the first US President to visit the country
Xieng Khoung, Laos (CNN)For two years after the accident, Yei Yang refused to leave his home.
"I couldn't farm, I couldn't go to see friends, as they might be afraid of me," Yang tells CNN.
"I didn't want to live."
Yang was just 22 and burning rubbish near his village in the province of Xieng Khoung in north-eastern Laos, when a bomb blast tore off one of his eyelids, his top lip and an ear, mutilated one of his arms, and left him with severe scarring from the waist up.
"I remembered I burned the garbage, but after the explosion I was unconscious for two weeks," Yang says. "I felt extreme pain...all over my body. I still feel pain always."
Read More
His wounds were not caused by a modern day conflict, but by the remnants of a war that was waged more than 40 years ago, and is still destroying lives in this small Southeast Asian nation.
The operation was aimed at blocking Vietnam's supply lines on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in the south of Laos, and also to support the Laos government loyalists in a civil war against communist forces in the north.
In total, between 1964 and 1973, the US dropped more than two million tons of bombs -- one of the heaviest aerial bombardments in history.
Most of the munitions dropped were cluster bombs, which splinter before impact, spreading hundreds of smaller bomblets -- known locally as "bombies."
To this day, less than 1% of the bombs have been removed, according to US-based NGO Legacies of War, which is spearheading the campaign to clear them.
"We were all but forgotten here," says the Laos-born founder of Legacies of War, Channapha Khamvongsa.
But the people of Laos can't forget, as the "secret war" is still claiming victims.
Photos:Clearing unexploded bombs in Laos
The HALO Trust is the world's largest humanitarian mine clearance organization. It works in Laos to clear unexploded ordnance. Here, two HALO technicians use a Large Loop Detector to clear a hazardous area.
Hide Caption
1 of 6
Photos:Clearing unexploded bombs in Laos
HALO prioritizes land which will be used for community development projects and agricultural land.
Hide Caption
2 of 6
Photos:Clearing unexploded bombs in Laos
A HALO team walks through a paddy field to get to work. Dense vegetation and a very wet rainy season can make the job difficult.
Hide Caption
3 of 6
Photos:Clearing unexploded bombs in Laos
A HALO Technician uses a detector during the clearance of a Confirmed Hazardous Area (CHA).
Hide Caption
4 of 6
Photos:Clearing unexploded bombs in Laos
Ms Toyota, one of HALO's team leaders, prepares what she needs to conduct the demolition of a cluster munitions.
Hide Caption
5 of 6
Photos:Clearing unexploded bombs in Laos
A HALO supervisor shows where the organization has found items of unexploded ordnance -- the yellow sticks indicate how close they are to one village house.
Hide Caption
6 of 6
Bombs mistaken for toys
More than 20,000 people have been killed or maimed by the unexploded ordnance (UXOs) since the war ended, and currently, 50people are maimed or killed every year.
Around 40% of those are children.
"(The bombies) are tennis ball sized weapons," Khamvongsa says. "The children often mistake the bombs for toys, and pick them up and throw them around. This is often the cause of an explosion."
Farmers are also among the worst affected, as the poorest are forced to toil the mine-laden fields to feed their families.
"Eighty percent of people rely on their land to grow food in Laos," Khamvongsa says. "So they still use their land even at the risk of their own lives."
President Barack Obama, who arrived in Vientiane late Monday, addressed the US wartime legacy during his three-dayvisit to Laos, by announcing $90 million in funding for bomb clearance.
As the first US president to step foot inside the country, everything he says will be closely watched by the people of Laos.
"People are just anxious to hear what an American president has to say about it and to acknowledge what the US did here," Khamvongsa says. "This will bring greater visibility to what has happened."
It's not just the loss of life that has scarred the country.
With a quarter of villages in Laos contaminated with UXOs, it makes vast swathes of the Laos countryside unfarmable.
This contributes to widespread malnutrition and poverty, holding back economic development in a country that is already one of the poorest in Southeast Asia.
It's the young people of Laos -- 70% of the population is under 30 -- that bear the brunt of this deprivation.
Laos has the highest level of stunted growth linked to malnutrition in the region, with 40% of children affected, says Bernie Chaves, the Laos Country Representative for Catholic Relief Services (CRS), which runs a US-funded school meals program.
"You often see 14-year olds who look more like 10-year olds," he says.
"We are going to address directly this challenge of hunger," Kerry said.
U.S. aid to Laos has been rising steadily for years, and in 2016, Congress allocated $19.5 million for the removal of the bombs -- the highest level it has ever been.
Yei Yang with two of his three children.
I don't want my children to be victims
Khamvongsa says the problem will not be solved with short-term projects. What's needed, she says, "is a larger increase in funding, as well as a long-term sustained US commitment."
The hope is that the funds won't dry up after Obama leaves office.
"I personally believe that the U.S. has a moral responsibility to do this," Chaves says. "And increase in funding should be a priority of the next government coming in."
This sustained commitment is crucial to the country's future generations -- a huge concern for Yang, now aged 30 and a father of three young children.
He was engaged to be married and had a job as a laborer when the accident happened. Now, he's only able to do occasional work. His family depends on his wife's income and the support of a non-profit group World Education.
"I am worried that my children could become victims," he says. "(And) about how I will be able to raise my children."
CNN's Andrew Stevens and Kocha Olarn contributed to this report