The giving season: Lao Diaspora style

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It’s the holiday season and while we know the Lao way of celebrating isn’t just eating holiday hybrid favorites like honey-baked ham with a side of sticky rice and jeow, it’s also about giving. The reflections of the past year, what it means to be in tuned with one’s self, and building community one hopes to see. Continue Reading

Lao heritage and the emerging generation of culture-builders

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I remembered Lao School like it was yesterday. Getting frustrated at how my stiff little fingers never bent gracefully during ‘fawning’. Crushing packages of Mama instant noodles for lunch and eating it like chips with my friends during class. Passing time with Lao ‘then yang’ (jump rope game) and always feeling too short to jump high enough. Lao heritage was part of my life growing up. I wanted to fit in being American so badly that I forgot how much I missed paying attention to my elders as a child. Continue Reading

When the idea of a bomb-free Laos became possible: An interview with Channapha Khamvongsa

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Unexploded ordnance (UXO) are explosive weapons that did not explode when they were dropped and still pose a risk of detonation, many decades after they were used or discarded. About one third of Laos remains contaminated with UXO left behind from a Secret War bombing campaign during the Vietnam War era, including about 80 million cluster munitions. The majority of victims are children, who mistaken them for toy balls. Continue Reading