In Laos' capital of Vientiane, a small group of weavers works diligently to produce a Palestinian keffiyeh made of traditional Lao silk.
Each hand-woven keffiyeh often takes over a month to complete, and its design also incorporates the Lao UNESCO heritage symbol of the "Naga" (serpent) interlocking into a fishnet pattern — representing protection, strength, and resilience.
"According to traditional mythology, the Naga wrapped itself around Lao people to protect them from brutal Siamese conquests in the past, and exchanged weaving knowledge with the Lao people.
"Meanwhile, the Palestinian fishnet symbolizes their connection to the sea," explained Souvixada Somsacksy, founder of The Silk Keffiyeh project.
The project, which began in December 2024, aims to become an independent, worker-led alternative for Lao textile weavers who want to ease out of factory work — while also raising funds for Palestine.
Souvixada launched the project with her godmother, Bouakham Phengmixay (also known as Mae), who previously worked in a textile factory for over 30 years and is keen to pass on her craftsmanship in a slowly fading tradition to the younger generations of Laotians.
They now run a full-time residency where people can learn to weave traditional Lao textiles, while also incorporating weekly activities such as tatreez embroidery circles, combining traditional motifs from both Lao and Palestinian textiles.
In May, Saadi Salama, Palestinian ambassador to Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, also visited the residency, spending a few days with the weavers after hearing about the Silk Keffiyeh project by word of mouth.
"The ambassador was extremely emotional and very, very moved. He was so ecstatic and happy to find out that this project existed, and it was so meaningful to me.
"He told me how special this project is, and how much it means to the Palestinian people that I am doing this. He insisted that I have to keep it going, and it gave me the confidence to keep pushing for this project's survival," Souvixada recalled.
She reiterated that the long-term goal of this project had always been for Mae to eventually teach Lao silk weaving as a sustainable career — hoping to pave the way for other lifetime weavers to do so as well.
Despite the financial challenges of keeping the project alive, Souvixada and Mae have recently managed to employ another full-time weaver, Maiphon Vivongxay (also known as Pa Mai) — another former textile factory worker.
Pa Mai grew up during the US war in Laos and learned how to weave traditional silk while surviving US air raids.
Laos remains the world's most heavily bombed country per capita throughout modern history. Between 1964-73 alone, the US had dropped more than 2 million tons of bombs on Laos across 580,000 bombing missions — killing roughly 10 percent of the local population.
To date, more than 30 percent of these cluster munitions still remain as unexploded ordnance, scattered across the country, and over 20,000 people have since been killed — even decades after the war ended in 1975.
Nearly half of those killed by unexploded cluster munitions in Laos are children.
Separately, more than 64,000 children have also reportedly been killed or injured in Gaza since October 2023, according to UNICEF estimates.
Alongside raising awareness of the Palestinian cause, especially among the local Lao population, Souvixada also emphasized the importance of the project as a bridge to understanding and recognizing Laos, especially for those who have otherwise not heard about the country and its history.
"This project humanizes the plight and struggle of our people, the people who remained steadfast to their land despite the bombings and dehumanization tactics that the US continues to deploy on our Arab brothers and sisters.
"It shows that if a small country like Laos can persevere in spite of all the bombs, then so can, and so will Palestine," said Souvixada.
ASIA NEWS NETWORK
