All posts filed under: Laos

Reflection Upon a White Lotus

In quiet reflection grows the white lotus Unfolding within and without on Nam Ou River Blossoming into perfection Surface stilled Motionless Ceasing to flow away in radiant expectation Shimmering Dazzling petals amongst the creative cosmos Earnestly waiting for the enlightenment of  a thoughtful divine breath Kaysone Syonesa, is a Lao American theatre artist and playwright with a BA in Theatre Arts from the University of Minnesota. She has a theatre background as a performing artist/actor, director, set/costume designer and playwright. She has performed with various theatre companies in the Twin Cities with recent productions from Pangea World Theater, Teatro del Pueblo and Green T Productions. She has also directed and devised original theatre work called Sticky Rice Drama with artists and youth of color as a platform to uplift diverse and underrepresented voices in the Twin Cities. Kaysone has strengths in bringing communities together to create space and devise work to uncover and imaginatively tell stories that reflect the human experiences. In the past she was inspired to raise the artistic voices of women of …

UN expert: Laos’ approach ‘destroyed livelihoods, entrenched vulnerability’

The remains of Mai village after the dam collapse in Attapeu. © Bassam Khawaja 2019. Laos’ economic and poverty alleviation approach is counterproductive to its impoverished population’s health and puts their rights at risk, according to a scathing preliminary report by United Nations Special Rapporteur Philip Alston, which was recorded live for the first time. Alston delivered the report at the UN House in Vientiane Thursday after investigating the human rights of people in poverty in Lao People’s Democratic Republic. The report includes the status of rural children, women and ethnic minorities, environmental issues and climate change, the role of foreign investment and infrastructure projects, access to social support, education and healthcare, and more. Alston acknowledged the government’s progress in reducing poverty, such as lowering the number of those living below the poverty line in half, but said its methods to grow the economy have “destroyed livelihoods, entrenched vulnerability, and actually made some people poorer by taking away their access to lands, livelihoods, and resources.” Almost 1/4 of the population lives in poverty and an …