Laos Information

It has taken me days to figure out how the government in Laos cares for its citizens. It turns out that the government does not do much for the people and I was expecting that certain services would be provided.

Medical Care:
People are totally on their own for their medical care. Toui told us today that a few years ago he was bleeding in his stomach, his local hospital could not take care of his problem so his mother brought him the largest hospital in Vientiane. Doctors there come from China, France, and Thailand. It took him seven days in the hospital and it cost him $3,000. This was for everything; the stay, medication, treatment. This is very expensive for Lao people. No matter whether they are in the rural or urban area, they all have to pay daily for their care. When we questioned him about what would happen if he could not pay he said that would be his problem. The first day they will not kick you out but they will talk to family about finding someone to pay; otherwise they kick you out. They can buy insurance but the people make so little and need it for living. He now has insurance.

Schooling:
They do not have free education but it is required. They have to pay for it along with books, uniforms etc. If they cannot pay they will let the child go for one year in the early years but not once they are in junior high. The option is to put the child in the monastery to receive their schooling. School is 2 years preschool and kindergarten, 5 years primary, 3 years junior high and 4 years high school. University is again paid for by the student. He said there are 600 scholarships for at least 1600 applicants. There is testing score required before they can even consider applying for the scholarship. Because there are so few scholarships available many of the student go to China and use their offer for education. Toui has two siblings who are getting their education in China.

Religion:
In 2005 the government opened the country up to other religions. Before that Buddhism was the only religion allowed.

Elderly:
There is no program for the elderly in Laos. The family is expected to care for their parents. The parent either moves in with one of the children or a child moves in with the parent.

So I ask Toui what the government does for its people if there is not free education, medical, or elderly care. He said, “we don’t pay anything”. So I said “no taxes?” He said, “yes only the company pays the tax. “ So if you work for a company you are paying a tax through the company but if you do not work for a company you do not pay anything.

He also says the government is building all these new shopping malls, and the Trade Center. But it turns out that China is funding a lot of the projects. In Laos no foreigner can purchase property so what happens is they marry a local and can then purchase property. I have the impression that there may also be some money exchange in order to purchase property. So with all this money China is pumping into Laos what are they expecting in return? And what about all the young people being educated in China?