Highlights of RFA coverage of Laos

[ad_1] Communist-run Laos is caught in a political rut nevertheless it has seen a bodily and financial transformation since Radio Free Asia first went on air almost three a long time in the past.

RFA Lao has coated the plight of dissidents and the agricultural poor, and the nation’s embrace of hydropower and different mega-projects which have introduced new infrastructure to one in all Southeast Asia’s poorest international locations, and with it a rising nationwide debt.

RFA has additionally coated human curiosity tales, together with migrant employees who journey to neighboring international locations to make a dwelling, and people who are susceptible to human traffickers and scams.

Environmental destruction on the Mekong Video: Uncommon video exhibits main dam building close to Luang Prabang, Lao RFA Lao has reported on the headlong rush to dam one in all Asia’s best waterways, the Mekong River, a transfer decried by environmentalists and lots of Lao people who find themselves negatively impacted by such mega-projects. Among the many most controversial of those is a serious dam close to the historic metropolis of Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage Website. RFA has reported on the undertaking since its inception and obtained unique footage of the dam building website.

Illustration (Vincent Meadows/RFA) Scamming within the Golden Triangle Earlier than the explosion of cyber scams in Southeast Asia gained extensive public consideration, RFA Lao was reporting on how younger girls have been being trafficked into the Golden Triangle Particular Financial Zone on the banks of the Mekong in Bokeo province. When girls failed to fulfill name middle quotas, they informed RFA of how they have been pressured to promote their our bodies for intercourse. Some sought assist in alerting authorities so they might escape. The SEZ run by U.S.-sanctioned tycoon Zhao Wei appeared past the management of the Lao authorities.

Illustration (Paul Nelson/RFA; Adobe Inventory) Delivery surrogacy Many younger Lao individuals flip to neighboring international locations to make a dwelling. Often meaning migratory labor - sometimes touring to Thailand to search out work in building or hospitality. However different alternatives might skirt the regulation. RFA Lao interviewed a Lao lady who had acted as a beginning surrogate for a Chinese language couple on the Lao-China border, offering a uncommon perception into an unlawful trade that continues to thrive.

Shui-Meng Ng holds an image of her lacking Laos husband Sombath Somphone, an environmental campaigner, in Bangkok, Dec. 12, 2018. (Romeo Gacad/AFP) The place is Sombath Somphone? The 2012 disappearance of civil society activist Sombath Somphone has been the only most enduring human rights case towards the communist authorities in Laos. RFA Lao has reported on the case since Sombath’s obvious abduction after he was stopped at a police checkpoint on a Vientiane road, and the following appeals from his spouse, supporters and international governments over time for details about what occurred to him.

Video: Smiles for the boat trip house to Laos — Employees return for Buddhist New 12 months Younger migrant employees returning house Job alternatives are few inside Laos, and lots of migrate to search out work. The migration reverses when Lao employees head house from Thailand every April to have fun Pii Mai, the Lao New 12 months. It’s a time for household reunions, temple visits, and festive water celebrations. RFA Lao reported on how employees mark this particular return after months - and even years - away.

Lao villagers in Attapeu province's Sanamxay district watch for rescue following collapse of a dam, July 24, 2018. (Photograph courtesy of Attapeu In the present day) Xe Pian Xe Namnoy dam collapse The collapse of a feeder dam for the Xe Pian Xe Namnoy hydropower undertaking was the worst catastrophe suffered by Laos because it accelerated its push to turn out to be the battery of Southeast Asia. The nighttime catastrophe on July 24, 2018, claimed dozens of lives in southern Attapeu province, and brought about the displacement of 1000's extra. RFA Lao has tracked the plight of the displaced within the subsequent years as they battled for correct compensation and a brand new place to dwell within the face of official corruption.