RFA - Lao History, Part 1

INTRODUCTION OF LAO HISTORY PROGRAM: Lao has a vast history that spans over a thousand years divided into several important periods. Tragically for the Lao people, that wealth just withers away because of the general lack of knowledge or interest in Lao history. In a country where a large majority is illiterate, recorded Lao history that can gleamed from schools and books is neither widely learned nor sufficiently taught. Additional, well written volumes of Lao history are scarcely available in the Lao language. Worse is that the people who became masters of Laos, form the colonial era through the present time, manipulated the recording of Lao history to gain political and popular support. Also, the rulers of countries neighboring Laos rewrote their history with regards to Laos for their own reasons. These uses of propaganda resulted in different generations of Laotians being taught different versions of "history." RFA feels that its history is very important in that listeners can learn the true history of Laos, whether ancient, modern or contemporary. RFA is mobilizing its resources to make it more interesting and entertaining for listeners in Laos and abroad.