Siem Reap – Aki Ra’s Landmine Museum
24 February 2007
I am ashamed to say that when Chris first mentioned the Aki Ra’s Landmine Museum my reaction was ‘I am not sure I want to go there’ imagining a museum with various mines and ammunition…..that was until I read the blurb in the Lonely Planet and knew it was something that went far beyond artillery and was not something we could miss!
Landmines are a huge, huge problem that Cambodians have to deal with in their every day life. The legacy of landmines in Cambodia is one of the worst in the world and continues to haunt generations long after the ceasefire of any war. Over 40,000 Cambodians have lost a limb to landmines (many more have lost their lives) – a statistic which is not surprising when you visit the country. A number of victims are forced to begging to survive as Cambodia does not have social security or disability benefits! It is estimated that somewhere between 4 and 6 million mines are dotted throughout the Cambodian countryside – the victims usually farmers trying to earn a living and children innocently playing!
In 1997 100 countries recognised how evil landmines are and signed a treaty banning the production – however superpowers (if one can use that moniker in this respect!) such as China Russia and USA have refused to sign the treaty.
Aki Ra, a humanitarian and more so and incredible human being, conducts and educates Cambodian citizens about landmine safety and defusal. Aki Ra, living in Cambodia at the height of the civil unrest was conscripted by the Khmer Rouge as a child soldier. At the age of five he laid his first landmine – at the age of ten he was competent with a gun – now he has now devoted his life to removing landmines!
Aki’s commitment does not stop at the removal of the landmines; Aki and his wife have unofficially adopted a number of children who have fallen victims of landmines and with the help of donations he is supporting these children through their education and in some instances university. I was fortunate enough to talk with a couple of the children at the museum who were far more proficient in English than I am in Cambodian leading to an impromptu lesson for me where I struggled to ask simple questions in the Khmer language. The children told me they enjoyed going to school and we talked about the sports they enjoyed playing and what they wanted to be when they were older which ranged from using their language skills as tour guides to becoming doctors.
The museum, education and demining projects are non-profit organisations that rely solely on donations from visitors. I have not done Aki or the childrens personal stories justice in this blog so I have included a link on the right hand side – for those of you that would like to read on about the fantastic work Aki and his wife carry out and the hope they bring to many Cambodians young and old.
Tags: Cambodia
Chris and Charl
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