Jamie Gibbs
Landmines - Cambodia
Almost three decades of war have left Cambodia severely contaminated by mines and unexploded ordinance (UXO). As a result, since 1979, more than 40,000 Cambodians have suffered amputations, leaving the country with one of the highest rates of physical disability in the world.
Organisations such as the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) are slowly clearing the land but at the current rate of progress, it may take as many as 100 years to clear all the mines in Cambodia. CMAC also runs educational workshops in rural areas where people, especially children are unaware of the dangers posed by varying designs of UXO.
Since 1998, the NGO, ‘Emergency,’ has been providing medical assistance to victims of war and landmines in the north west of Cambodia, one of the most heavily mined regions in the world.
Due to the Buddhist beliefs of karma (‘the belief that one's life now and in future lives depends upon one's own deeds and misdeeds and that as an individual one is responsible for, and rewarded on the basis of’), Cambodian landmine survivors are often both by themselves and others seen to have received just punishment for former bad deeds. Therefore, in addition to the obvious strains of coping with permanent disability and mental trauma, victims can also be subjected to societal shame.
Landmines - Cambodia
Almost three decades of war have left Cambodia severely contaminated by mines and unexploded ordinance (UXO). As a result, since 1979, more than 40,000 Cambodians have suffered amputations, leaving the country with one of the highest rates of physical disability in the world.
Organisations such as the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) are slowly clearing the land but at the current rate of progress, it may take as many as 100 years to clear all the mines in Cambodia. CMAC also runs educational workshops in rural areas where people, especially children are unaware of the dangers posed by varying designs of UXO.
Since 1998, the NGO, ‘Emergency,’ has been providing medical assistance to victims of war and landmines in the north west of Cambodia, one of the most heavily mined regions in the world.
Due to the Buddhist beliefs of karma (‘the belief that one's life now and in future lives depends upon one's own deeds and misdeeds and that as an individual one is responsible for, and rewarded on the basis of’), Cambodian landmine survivors are often both by themselves and others seen to have received just punishment for former bad deeds. Therefore, in addition to the obvious strains of coping with permanent disability and mental trauma, victims can also be subjected to societal shame.