Living in Laos

Laos - Orobator & Reprieve - Page 1

      Editorial opinion of an expat living in Laos

I have previously gone on record attacking Reprieve. Some people may wonder why and some may not. The reason for my absolute hatred of these people are their continual attempts to twist undeniable facts regarding criminals who have been caught completely red handed and are as guilty as the day is long.

Reprieve's involvement in the case of Samantha Orobator is absolutely classic modus operandi.

Laos and Drug Laws

Ms Orobator was caught red handed with 1.5 lbs of heroin secreted around her body .. in a country which has a very clearly defined and well known law which states people caught smuggling drugs in weight of 1.5 lbs and over will face the death penalty. The very reason the Lao PDR has this law is an attempt to stop the country being used as drug trafficking state due to being a widely known major opium producer.

I know for a fact that the Lao government has done a lot of work to try and rid the north of the country of opium poppy farms. The fact remains that for the poor farmers in the north of the Lao PDR when a foreigner turns up offering them considerable amounts of money in return for a crop of opium they will buckle. Alternative crops promoted by the government, such as the Mulberry bush (for silk production), return very little money in a short period of when compared to opium poppies.

A couple of years back the Lao Government declared the north an 'Opium free zone'. While fanciful, it may have been a reality for the space of a few months. However, knowing several Lao people who have family in the North I know that they returned to growing opium purely because it's a guaranteed living.

Please understand these people do not make large amounts of money as the poppy in the raw state is benign. The purchasers are the ones where the real money-chain starts and these are who will be responsible for processing it and extracting the opium and then further with processing produce heroin.

Drug Dealers

The purchasers of the crops initiate the money-chain. This is where the mafia and corruption really start to come in. Unfortunately this is a widely known fact in Laos and a large majority of the wealthy people in Vientiane have benefited from involvement (knowingly or unknowingly) in this chain. Whether they are somewhere in the police, government, local officials or the public.

In order to comprehend the kind of wealth some of these people amass, you need to see it first hand. Explaining it is another matter entirely since Laos has a very few 'large' successful legitimate businesses. I do know several - but I also know that these people frequently line the right pockets to continue operating. The problem comes in explaining the number of S Class Mercedes, Porsche Carreras, Ferraris and even Lamborghinis around Vientiane.

An associate (I won't use the word friend - he ate at my house once) recently purchased a $180,000 Mercedes S Class to go with their top of the line Land Cruiser, Lexus, and other sports car. Working in legitimate businesses in the Lao PDR I can tell you that there just isn't this kind of money in the 'usual' business circles.

This is bourne out by the fact that many of the 'elite' I meet say they do not actually work .. or likely call themselves 'importers and exporters'! Just check out certain nightclubs in Vientiane and the cars parked outside along with the number of bodyguards inside.

This group of 'elite' is probably 0.001% of the population of Laos .. while he average member of the Lao Army is paid around $50 per month and trained office staff who speak English can get around $500 per month. With the average low ranking police officer receiving around $50 per month however they are unfortunately also in a position to abuse their post to make more money - sad but true. However those down the line and not getting a sniff of the 'elite' money in my eyes are just trying to make extra earnings purely to make a living.

Laos, Orobator and Reprieve .. page 2