Displacement & Uncertainty - Attapeu, Laos
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the adventure
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"...we're still waiting..."
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It was now about five months after the devastating "inland tsunami" that swept across parts of Attapeu, due to the sudden collapse of the almost-completed Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy Dam. My team and I, together with Nathanael, were back in Laos for a post-disaster survey mission in Sanamsay, as well as to visit some of our partners' community projects in Vientiane
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Compared to the hot, sticky and rainy climate of late-Jul 2018, the late-Jan weather was now much cooler and the sun slightly kinder. Laos was an incredibly rustic country, blessed with rugged natural beauty. The drive from Attapeu to Sanamsay brought back many memories of what transpired just a few months before. Then, the road conditions were dangerous, and I recalled how, in one instance, our pick-up truck became a boat, floating helplessly and terrifyingly along a rural "highway" that had transformed into a flowing river. In another instance, our truck's brakes failed just as we were heading downhill towards a narrow bridge. Thanks to Nathanael's quick driving reflexes, he managed to steer and crash our vehicle into a dirt mound on the left side, thereby avoiding an untimely end for all of us
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At the newly-constructed IDP camps in Sanamsay, my heart was filled with gladness when we re-connected with many of the flood survivors. It was just so good to see them, and they welcomed us with much joy as well. But as we sat and talked, we soon found that their situation remained difficult. There was a roof over their heads now, but they were existing mostly in a state of uncertain limbo. The men were restless and idle, because there were no jobs. The children were aimless, because there was no school. The women fretted over daily bread-and-butter issues, because rations were becoming increasingly scarce. Each week, everyone hoped for some government news about land allocation and permanent resettlement, but such news never arrived
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I left the IDP camps feeling really sorry for them and wishing that I could do more. Subsequent enquiries made with the local authorities confirmed that there were indeed no plans yet for a permanent resettlement of the IDPs. Sadly, their situation was an all-too-common one in many of the developing countries. Improvements often moved at a snail's pace, if at all. The IDPs possessed little voice or influence. And, in this particular culture, few would venture to question the goverment. What remained, then, was a stoic acceptance of one's "fate" and a small, secret hope that somehow, things might soon get better....
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