NATION/WORLD

This saying, etched in my mind. At every meal: “Best you eat quickly – else the war will arrive.”

Returning to Laos has always been a dream of mine ever since I was a little girl. I would romanticize wearing school uniforms and eating all the mangoes and coconuts I could ever want. I’d imagine what my life would have been like if I had never moved to the United States.

In Xieng Khouang Province, Laos, I had a conversation with a 72-year-old man named Pa (Father) Bouathong. He shared with me the story of losing his 15 year old son in the exact spot we were sitting.

Two disturbing milestones were passed in 2023. In April, the Cluster Munition Monitor, the research wing of the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC), identified the first use of cluster munitions in Southeast Asia since the Indochina War ended 48 years ago, in 1975.

This August, ARTICLE22 returned to Laos and embarked on a unique journey with our treasured partner, Legacies of War.

My life’s journey began in Savannakhet, Laos, in the year of 1978. I was born into a diligent family; my father worked at the hospital, and my mother managed a convenience store.

In the vibrant tapestry of life, some threads hold a deeper significance than others. My personal journey, Joy Christine Ngaosivath, or “Miss Joy,” as I’m known in the Las Vegas music scene, is one woven with the melodies of my Lao heritage.

My parents never wanted to leave their beloved home country of Vietnam. After the Fall of Saigon in 1975, they both had no choice.

The majority of Asian Americans view the U.S. positively and see it as the world’s leading economic power of the next decade.

Nestled inside the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Langley, VA – is a museum cloaked in secrecy. A museum at CIA headquarters? I couldn’t believe it either, but it’s true!