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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.

Tags: Mine Ban Treaty, Cambodia, Aki Ra, Landmines, Survivor Corps, Cameron Macauley

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Genocide Prevention Month: Commemorating the Genocide in Cambodia
Apr 17, 2009
“My parents are my heroes,” says Bunnary, a survivor of genocide from Cambodia. “They taught us how to survive.”

April 17 and 18 mark the commemoration of the Cambodian genocide. Like thousands brutalized by the Cambodian Communist Party, Bunnary's family was forced into slave labor in inhumane conditions. For four difficult years, Bunnary worked, often barefoot and away from her family in a labor group. During this time, she contracted malaria and lost her sister to illness. At times too exhausted to work, she thought about dying.

“I cannot just die without my family knowing what happened to me," she recalls thinking. "My older sister had already disappeared. My brother kept telling me, 'just remember our family. We help each other. No one in our family will let you down.'”

In 1975, the Khmer Rouge party—the armed section of Cambodia’s Communist party— took over the capital city of Phnom Penh and deported everyone into the fields. From 1975-1979, the Khmer Rouge regime, under the direction of Pol Pot, killed approximately 1.7 million Cambodians (21% of the population) and subjected citizens to forced labor, political executions, extrajudicial murders, starvation and imprisonment. In 1979, Bunnary's family fled to a refugee camp in Thailand. Three years later, she came to the United States.

Today Bunnary works to help other conflict survivors get the support they need to recover from war and genocide. "I feel like I went through all these crises, and if I did it, so can other people. When others say they want to give up, I say no, you can always go a little further. Look to your future.

My philosophy is, when you do good things, good things return to you.”

On April 17, the 1.7 million lives lost to genocide in Cambodia will be commemorated with a vigil at 7:30pm in Lafayette Park, in front of the White House. This event is open to the public.

On April 18 at 1:30 pm there will be a screening of the film New Year Baby about the Cambodian Genocide, followed by a panel discussion with filmmaker Socheata Poeuv, at the DC Baptist Convention Building. To attend, contact Monica Thammarath at (202) 667-4690 or monica@searac.org.

See a list of other events commemorating genocide during Genocide Prevention Month.

Tags: Cambodia, genocide, Genocide Prevention Month

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