Dear Supporters,
Our movement is at a watershed moment! Our collective advocacy efforts and campaigning has helped us reached a milestone. The U.S. increased its funding for bomb clearance in Laos to $5 million for FY 2010; this is double last year’s funding and the largest annual amount in history.
Call-To-Action
However, our work is not done. We need you to step up once again. This time, we ask you to join us in thanking three U.S. Congressmen who recently visited Laos and became concerned about the issue of cluster bombs and other unexploded ordnance (UXO).
Congressmen Eni Faleomavaega (D-AS), Mike Honda (D-CA), Anh “Joseph” Cao (R-LA) and their staff had the opportunity to visit with Lao government and humanitarian organizations working on UXO clearance, victim assistance and risk education.
Now, they are aware of the massive problem of cluster bombs and other UXO in Laos, we want to encourage them to educate their colleagues in Congress so more U.S. assistance can be provided for UXO clearance, victim assistance and risk education.
Would you send a THANK YOU LETTER & ENCOURAGE THEM TO SPREAD THE WORD?
We invite you to join us by sending a letter/fax or making a call to these Congressmen to express your gratitude, on behalf of the people of Laos, for their interest in the issue of UXO and encourage them to hold a Congressional hearing to review current funding for Laos.
SEND A QUICK LETTER TODAY!
The Honorable Eni F.H. Faleomavaega
Email: faleomavaega@mail.house.gov
Fax: (202) 225-8757
Phone: (202) 225-8577
Mail: 2422 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 (this takes a long time)
The Honorable Anh “Joseph” Cao
Phone: (202) 225-6636
Fax: (202) 225-1988
Mail: 2113 Rayburn HOB, Washington, DC 20515
IF YOU ARE IN NEW ORLEANS
Fax: (504) 483-79444640
Phone: (504) 483-2325
Mail: So. Carrollton Ave. Suite 120, New Orleans, LA 70119
Meet up: Contact his scheduler at 202-225-6636.
The Honorable Mike Honda
Contact him by:
Phone: (202) 225-2631
Fax: (202) 225-2699
Mail: 1713 Longworth HOB, Washington, DC 20515
IF YOU ARE IN CALIFORNIA – NORTHERN CAL
Phone: (408) 558-8085
Fax: (408) 558-8086
Mail: 1999 S. Bascom Ave, Suite 815, Campbell, CA 95008
This is an important opportunity for all Americans to come together and demonstrate that we care about the UXO problem in Laos.
Pitch in, grab the oars and help row this boat until the people of Laos can finally land on the shore safely and build a future of hope based on peace and prosperity.
Sincerely yours,
Nakhone Keodara
Campaign Coordinator
A Peaceful Legacy: Campaign to Remove Bombs from Laos
http://act.legaciesofwar.org
nakhone@legaciesofwar.org
SEND SAMPLE LETTER BELOW
RE: Trip to Laos — Unexploded Ordnance (UXO)
Dear
I am writing as a supporter of Legacies of War: History, Healing, Hope, to THANK YOU for visiting Laos and learning about the terrible human and economic toll of U.S. cluster bombs and other unexploded ordnance (UXO) on one of the poorest countries in the world. This is an issue that most Americans are unaware of. I hope that you will share what you learned and witnessed with other colleagues in Congress and encourage them to support a significant increase in U.S. assistance for UXO clearance, victim assistance and risk education in Laos.
As you know, Laos is the most heavily bombed country in history. U.S. Vietnam War-era bombings from 1964-1973 left nearly half of the country contaminated with vast quantities of UXO. Today, cluster bombs litter forests, rice fields, villages, school grounds, roads and other populated areas. Tens of thousands of people have been killed or injured by UXO since the bombing ceased. Here are some other startling facts about the U.S. bombing of Laos and its aftermath:
• 260 million cluster bombs were dropped on Laos during the Vietnam War, 210 million more than have been dropped on Iraq, leaving 78 million bombs that did not detonate.
• The intensity of the bombing equates to a planeload of bombs being dropped every 8 minutes, 24 hours a day for 9 years.
• More than half of all confirmed cluster munitions casualties in the world have occurred in Laos.
• Each year there continue to be close to 300 new casualties in Laos. About 40% of accidents result in deaths and 60% of the victims are children.
• Nearly 40 years on, only a fraction of these munitions have been destroyed.
I hope that you will hold hearings and bring this issue to the attention of other Congress members, advocating for a significant increase in funding for the UXO clearance sector in Laos.
Thank you for your interest and support.
Sincerely,
