Operation Brotherhood Celebrates Landmark 12th Reunion in Vientiane
Ambassador to Laos Belinda M. Ante (second row, sixth from left) joins the Mekong Circle during the dinner-dance reception on 25 November 2018 at the Lao Plaza Hotel. (Vientiane PE photo)
VIENTIANE 11 December 2018 — The Philippine Embassy in Vientiane welcomed the arrival in Laos of the Mekong Circle International, a group comprising the original participants of the Operation Brotherhood (OB) medical assistance program conducted in Laos from 1957 to 1975, on the occasion of the 12th Mekong Circle Reunion held on 21 to 25 November 2018 in Vientiane.
The delegates came to Laos with their sons and daughters, some of whom were born in Laos, to attend the reception—their first reunion on Lao soil since the program ended in 1975.
In coordination with the Operation Brotherhood Laos reunion committee, the Embassy arranged the activities for the participants to underscore the importance and significance of their visit to Laos.
The representatives from the Mekong Circle paid a courtesy call on Lao Front for National Development Vice President Dr. Som Ock Kingsada, one of first Lao doctors who graduated from the OB medical program, to reminisce about the roles that OB volunteers played in extending medical assistance to Lao nationals and conducting community development projects in many remote villages all over the country.
The Embassy launched the re-dedication of the Mekong Circle Memorial Marker at the Embassy garden on 22 November 2018.
Originally erected in November 2002, the marker was dedicated once more as a tribute to the OB Filipino volunteers whose sense of duty defined the strong foundation of goodwill between the Philippines and Laos.
That same evening, the Embassy also hosted a baci ceremony and a welcome dinner for the participants to have an opportunity to bless each other the traditional Lao way, and to partake of traditional Lao cuisine.
The Mekong Circle representatives also met with Lao Minister of Health Bounkhong Syhavong, the, and Vice Minister of Information, Culture, and Tourism Bouangeun Xaphouvong on November 23 and discussed OB’s past projects in Laos as well as possibilities for future cooperation in order to carry over the legacy of OB.
On 25 November 2018, the Embassy hosted a reception at the Lao Plaza Hotel as the culminating activity for the reunion, together with a mini-photo exhibit which showcased photos of OB’s early years as well as the film screening of the documentary “Operation Brotherhood: Filipino Pioneers in Laos.”
The Lao Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism provided Lao cultural performances during the reception, which cultimated with the reunion participants dancing the Lao traditional dance lamvong.
The OB program was a Filipino-led initiative which provided medical assistance and community development projects to more than a million Lao nationals during the Indochina War and the Lao Civil War, from 1957 to 1975.
In addition to providing medical services and conducting medical missions in several parts of Laos, OB also provided medical training to Laotians, who later went on to hold prominent positions in Lao hospitals and various Lao government offices. END
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Left photo: A baci ceremony is held at the Philippine Embassy in Vientiane to welcome the members of Operation Brotherhood back to Laos. Right photo: Ambassador to Laos Belinda M. Ante, Dr. SomOck Kingsada and Mr. Pete Fuentecilla lead the rededication ceremony of the Operation Brotherhood marker at the Embassy grounds. (Vientiane PE photo)
Ambassador to Laos Belinda M. Ante (6th from left) joins the Mekong Circle representatives during their courtesy call on Dr. Som Ock Kingsada on 22 November 2018 at the Lao Front for National Development. (Vientiane PE photo)
Mekong Circle representatives pay courtesy calls on Lao Minister of Health Dr. Bounkhong Syhavong (left photo) and Lao Vice Minister of Information, Culture, and Tourism Mr. Bouangeun Xaphouvong on 23 November 2018. (Vientiane PE photo)
Left photo: Ambassador Ante gives her speech during the reception held on the occasion of the 12th Reunion of Mekong Circle International on 25 November 2018 at the Lao Plaza Hotel. Right photo from right: Lao Ambassador to France Yong Chanthalangsy, incoming Lao Ambassador to the Philippines Songkane Luangmuninthone, Ambassador Ante, Lao Minister of Health Bounkhong Syhavong, Mr. Pete Fuentecilla, and Laos-Philippines Business Council President Daovone Phachanthavong discuss the Operation Brotherhood program. (Vientiane PE photo)