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Eighteen Years after War, Cambodian Citizens Still Struggle with Landmines
Oct 16, 2009
Next Friday marks the anniversary of the end of the Cambodian Civil War, which raged from 1979 – 1991. Eighteen years later, the effects of the war are still being felt. As one of the most mined countries in the world, Cambodia was one of the first to sign the Mine Ban Treaty on December 3, 1997, but large swathes of land remain heavily contaminated with mines. According to the Landmine Monitor's most recent report, 352 people were killed or injured by landmines in Cambodia in 2007.

Cameron Macauley, Health Education Specialist at Survivor Corps, has visited Cambodia many times and met with landmine survivors and activists. "One of the most interesting figures I met was Aki Ra, a former combatant and deminer. Aki Ra operates a Landmine Museum and Relief Center, displaying over 5,000 mines he disarmed himself.

Tired of waiting for the government to demine, citizens have taken it upon themselves to do it, and many have turned to Aki Ra to teach them how. I visited a new building near Phnom Penh that was being developed on land that had just recently been cleared by a private citizen. I'm impressed with the resourcefulness of these Cambodian citizen deminers, but this approach is extremely dangerous [49 civilian casualties resulted in 2007 while disarming or removing landmines]. Its very frustrating that the Cambodian government has not done more to demine in the 12 years since they signed the Mine Ban Treaty."

Watch Aki Ra disarm a landmine using a stick and a pocketknife, while demonstrating for a group of prospective young deminers.

From November 30th to December 4th, 2009, hundreds of international organizations will meet in Cartagena, Colombia to assess the impact of the Mine Ban Treaty, and the challenges many countries still face in fully implementing the treaty and demining contaminated land.

A team of Survivor Corps staff and partners will attend the Cartagena Summit to advocate for stronger government action to implement the treaty, including providing landmine survivors and their families with assistance to recover, realize their human rights and continue to be active members of their communities.

Meet the Survivor Corps Cartagena team and read the latest news and insights leading up to this historic event on the View from the Summit blog, hosted by Survivor Corps.
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