Remove landmines from a village in Cambodia

Cambodia is home to one of the most dangerous and densely laid mine-belts in the world, the K5. Residents Jay and her family know only too well how dangerous the K5 can be.

“My husband and I have three sons, and we’ve been living here since 2010. We’re from Siem Reap but we couldn’t afford to buy land there, so when a friend said that we could get free land in Damnak Kakaoh (a village in Banteay Meanchey Province) we decided to move.”

Unfortunately, in rural areas of Cambodia, ‘free’ or untouched and unclaimed land can be a tell tale sign of mine contamination. When new and unfamiliar to an area, or when desperate to cultivate crops for income, individuals and families will expand into dangerous unclaimed lots of land not fully knowing the risks they’re taking.

“Last year, my little sister and two of my sons went off to pick vegetables and my sister trod on a mine. Our boys were walking close behind her and they were both hurt badly too. We knew it was a mined area, but we thought there would be a lot of vegetables to pick because no one ever goes there - and we told the kids to be careful and walk close behind my sister. We took my sister and our sons to a free hospital in Thailand for treatment, but my sister lost her leg anyway and both of our sons had deep cuts from the shrapnel all over their bodies. Still, they were lucky. We can’t wait for HALO to finish working here so nobody else gets hurt. We’ve told our children never to go into the mined areas again, and we’ve told all the other villagers as well.”

Generous contributions from donors like you help families like Jay’s live safe and productive lives. The destruction of even one mine can make a world of difference to a family, and with your help we have so far eliminated over 220,000 landmines in Cambodia. However, there is much more work to be done and we’re committed to finishing the job.

The HALO Trust is proud to announce that last month Mozambique was officially declared mine-impact free! HALO began operations in Mozambique 22 years ago, when Mozambique was considered one of the most heavily mined countries in the world. With continued support and dedicated mine clearance efforts on the ground, the threat of landmines can eliminated for good in Cambodia, too.

Do you have any ideas about how HALO can spread the word? We would love to hear your thoughts: mail@halousa.org

Links:

• 'Mine-Free' Mozambique

Since the last update in April, our demining teams in Cambodia have made significant progress. They have found and destroyed 753 landmines, and 353 other explosive remnants of war, to make safe over 1,000 acres of land. This lifesaving work has directly benefited 2,332 rural Cambodians.

Savy is one of the beneficiaries and a landmine survivor. She shared with us the story of her accident and her appreciation for the work you support:

 “I moved to live in a refugee camp on the Thai border with my parents when I was a little girl. In the early 1990s, our family was told we could have free land in Jok Pouk village, so we moved there straight away. In 1996, I was cutting thatch near our house. We needed a new roof, and we thought we could sell some thatch, as well. Suddenly, I stepped on a mine and there was a big explosion… my leg was gone. Since my parents died, life has been really difficult for me. My husband lost his eyesight in 2001 and I’ve been supporting our family since then - it’s hard. We moved to Damnak Kakaoh so that I could work at the cassava factory here. I’ve got six kids, and the older ones had to leave school to work at the factory with me. We just couldn’t afford to send them all to school. I’m so pleased that land in this village is being cleared - the parts near my house are safe now, so I don’t worry about my children when they play outside.”

Thank you for supporting mineclearance in Cambodia. Your generousity helps to prevent accidents, such as Savy's, and to return valuable land for farming.

Do you know any individuals, foundations or corporations that you think would be interested in learning more about our mineclearance efforts in Cambodia? 

We’d love to hear from you.