COPE's Patient Stories - Ta

Jim Harris works for PCL - a UXO clearance company...He tells the beginning of the story... Ta's grim tale is a tribute to his courage, the bravery of his young sons, and the generosity of his extended family. Three years ago Ta and his two sons, ages eight and ten at the time, went foraging for food. Their search for game and edible plants took them far from home. First down the Nam Theun River by boat. Then, cross country on foot through the forest. Ta's misfortune began when he happened to find an old cluster bomblet, probably a BLU 26; the device that everyone here calls a bombie.

Ta knew it was dangerous to handle a bomblet. He had always resisted the temptation to collect bombs and rockets to sell as scrap or to harvest the explosives that they contain. But on this day, as Ta studied the corroded bomblet, he slowly convinced himself that it posed little danger. The badly weathered casing was cracked partly open. Ta could clearly see that the bomb's two steel halves were slightly separated from one another. Bomblets sometimes split as they age and corrode; when they do the bomblet looks as if it is smiling. Of course, from a different angle that smile turns into a scowl or smirk. The cracked casing was misleading. It didn't indicate a safe bomblet. With detonator and explosive intact the bomb still possessed the power to maim or kill.Ta had visions of opening the bomb, removing its 90 grams of TNT and then using the explosive for fishing. He had seen other men light a fuse, drop a bomb into a pond, wait for the boom, and then skim stunned fish off the surface. Ta just couldn't shake visions of himself proudly carrying a basket of fish into the market. Today, when he reflects on his decision he declares that, "If I weren't poor I never would have touched that bombie. It's just that I thought I could sell fish for money."

Understanding the possible danger, the first step Ta took was to park his two sons behind a large tree. Then, he lay down behind a fallen log, assuming that it would protect most of his body should something go wrong. Shortly, things went very wrong indeed. As Ta pried at the bomblet with a stick, it exploded. The blast destroyed both of Ta's hands, took out one eye, and showered his chest with hot steel fragments. In hindsight, the best decision Ta made all day was to put his sons safely behind the tree. Consequently, they were spared injury from the blast and were able to save their father's life.

Truth be told, it took the boys a while to start moving in the right direction. Understandably, at the sound of the blast the eight-year-old took off running away from the scene. Now, years later, he admits that when he ran he had no plan to get help for his father; all he could think to do was run away from the horror. To his credit, the small boy eventually overcame his fear and returned to the site of the explosion. The ten year old took control of the situation. He used pieces of cloth to bind his father's wounds and to staunch the bleeding. Then, he and his brother half-carried, half-dragged their father to the boat that they had left in the river. They laid Ta in the front of the boat. The younger boy sat near him; the older rowed. Everybody in the boat cried: Ta in pain; the boys in fear.

As they moved down the river, people on the bank were alarmed by the sound of their collective wailing. Eventually, alert villagers waded into the river and pulled the bloody boat ashore. Adults responding to the scene offered water and fresh cloth bandages but had nothing to ease Ta's pain. No one in that village owned a car or truck so the villagers simply piled Ta and the boys into a wagon behind a small tractor and started the long trip to the district hospital in Oudomsouk. Over bad roads the tractor crept along at walking speed. Ta estimates that he was wounded at about 9:00 in the morning; the tractor pulled into the hospital at 3:00 PM.

Truth be told, it took the boys a while to start moving in the right direction. Understandably, at the sound of the blast the eight-year-old took off running away from the scene. Now, years later, he admits that when he ran he had no plan to get help for his father; all he could think to do was run away from the horror. To his credit, the small boy eventually overcame his fear and returned to the site of the explosion. The ten year old took control of the situation. He used pieces of cloth to bind his father's wounds and to staunch the bleeding. Then, he and his brother half-carried, half-dragged their father to the boat that they had left in the river. They laid Ta in the front of the boat. The younger boy sat near him; the older rowed. Everybody in the boat cried: Ta in pain; the boys in fear.

As they moved down the river, people on the bank were alarmed by the sound of their collective wailing. Eventually, alert villagers waded into the river and pulled the bloody boat ashore. Adults responding to the scene offered water and fresh cloth bandages but had nothing to ease Ta's pain. No one in that village owned a car or truck so the villagers simply piled Ta and the boys into a wagon behind a small tractor and started the long trip to the district hospital in Oudomsouk. Over bad roads the tractor crept along at walking speed. Ta estimates that he was wounded at about 9:00 in the morning; the tractor pulled into the hospital at 3:00 PM.

Staff at the small district hospital had little to offer Ta. No surgeons serve the hospital and the dispensary had no blood, morphine, oxygen or other supplies to combat shock. Once the staff determined that Ta's condition was beyond their skills and resources they transferred him to a motor vehicle and sent him down the mountainside to a larger hospital two hours away.

When Ta returned home after several weeks in the hospital, he was not only blind but a double amputee as well. Surgeons removed his left arm a few inches below the shoulder; they amputated his right forearm a few inches below the elbow. Fortunately, some vision in Ta's remaining eye has returned. He is proud of the fact that he is now capable of teaching children to read words and letters.

Ta's wife is candid when she speaks of the raw deal that life has dealt her. She says that were she starting life over she would never consider marrying a man with so many disabilities. Now that he is helpless to work in the fields or forage for food she has to do all the work alone that she and her husband once shared. In addition, she is burdened by having to feed, bath, clothe and even toilet the man who was once the family's protector and provider. She shares credit around the family circle and acknowledges the help she gets from her children. "This one", she says pointing to a daughter "helps to dress him". She points to a boy not much beyond toddler age and says, "This one feeds him. He fed him breakfast this morning."

Jim recalls, of all the amputees on the trip, Ta had lost the most and consequently had the most to regain with the fitting of new limbs. Ironically, he had the most modest desires among the group. He stated emphatically that if could feed himself but do nothing else, he would still have been happy with his new arms.

We hope he will achieve a lot more than that and hope that he is now able to find some work in his village. These are some more photos from Jim Harris who recently visited Ta at home. He reports that he is doing well and happy with his new arms.

The follow up on this story is just about as amazing as the story itself. Although he still lives in his village, Ta regularily lectures at the COPE Visitor Center in Vientiane and he also schools around cities and villages in Laos about the dangers of UXO's.

Recently he was a keynote speaker at the summit in Oslo calling for a worldwide ban on manufacturing and use of all cluster munitions.