One day we passed by the Cambodian Land Mine Museum and decided to stop off to check it out. The museum was founded by Aki Ra, a Cambodian who was forced to join the Khmer Rouge as a child soldier and spent his childhood laying land mines throughout his country. In the 1970's, he defected into Vietnam in order to fight against the Khmer Rouge. When the Vietnamese defeated the Khmer Rouge in 1979, he returned to Cambodia, continuing to fight against remaining factions that had fled into western Cambodia. Eventually, Aki Ra became a lone mine-sweeper, searching for and disarming over 50,000 live land mines by hand, one village at a time.
He founded an NGO to help fund his cause of de-mining Cambodia, and established the Land Mine Museum to educate visitors about the scale of Cambodia's land mine problem and the need to continue to secure resources to make Cambodia completely mine-free which, by some estimates, will take at least another 20 years. You can read Aki Ra's story, in his own words, here. It was written many years ago and on our visit, we learned that his wife passed away from illness after their second child was born.
The mines in Cambodia today primarily originated during the 70's and 80's. Initially, mines were laid by the Khmer Rouge, who was supported by the North Vietnamese Army during the Vietnam War. The mines were used in order to disrupt American supply routes through Cambodia. Further mines were laid during the Cambodian civil war, and during the fighting between the Khmer Rouge and Vietnamese in the late 70's, followed by the continued fighting with remaining Khmer Rouge factions during the 80's. Most of the mines still present today are hidden in the rural northwestern part of Cambodia near the Thai border. As a result, Cambodia continues to have the highest percentage of amputees in the world, as well as many land mine fatalities. Sadly, many of the fatalities are children who encounter the mines while playing.
He founded an NGO to help fund his cause of de-mining Cambodia, and established the Land Mine Museum to educate visitors about the scale of Cambodia's land mine problem and the need to continue to secure resources to make Cambodia completely mine-free which, by some estimates, will take at least another 20 years. You can read Aki Ra's story, in his own words, here. It was written many years ago and on our visit, we learned that his wife passed away from illness after their second child was born.
The mines in Cambodia today primarily originated during the 70's and 80's. Initially, mines were laid by the Khmer Rouge, who was supported by the North Vietnamese Army during the Vietnam War. The mines were used in order to disrupt American supply routes through Cambodia. Further mines were laid during the Cambodian civil war, and during the fighting between the Khmer Rouge and Vietnamese in the late 70's, followed by the continued fighting with remaining Khmer Rouge factions during the 80's. Most of the mines still present today are hidden in the rural northwestern part of Cambodia near the Thai border. As a result, Cambodia continues to have the highest percentage of amputees in the world, as well as many land mine fatalities. Sadly, many of the fatalities are children who encounter the mines while playing.
This display at the museum contains some of the mines disarmed by Aki Ra. All of these mines were disarmed by him personally, as well as many more. The vast majority of the mines are of Soviet, Chinese or Vietnamese origin.
This display attempts to depict what an unswept mine field might look like in rural Cambodia. In addition to mines, there are still many unexploded aerial bombs present throughout rural areas.
Some of the aerial bombs recovered from rural areas of Cambodia
A replica of a bunker from Aki Ra's time spent fighting the Khmer Rouge with the Vietnamese.
The Khmer Rouge was extremely brutal and this era was a horrible and sad period for the Cambodian people. When Aki Ra fled to fight with the Vietnamese, he had to fight against members of his own family who were still under the control of the Khmer Rouge. He tells a story about crossing gunfire with his uncle in a battle one day. He recognized his uncle from across the battlefield and intentionally fired shots above his head. Aki Ra, who was normally a crack shot, told the Vietnamese he was suffering from a headache, which was why he had missed his target. After the war, he told his uncle what had happened, and today they still laugh about it. We were particularly struck by how resilient many of the Cambodian people are, even after such a terrible period that saw every family lose loved ones en masse at the hands of a brutal regime.
In addition the museum, Aki Ra founded a boarding school for at-risk youths, most of which were affected by land mines and are missing limbs. The children are given room, board, english lessons, computer access and most importantly an education - something that many children in Cambodia don't pursue because they work all day. Aki Ra has won several peace prizes and was one of CNN's top 10 heroes in 2010. To learn more about The Landmine Museum and School check out these sites:
www.cambodialandminemuseum.org
www.cambodianselfhelpdemining.org
We found this museum to be incredibly interesting and informative. Aki Ra and his team do a great job exhibiting and explaining their experiences during the war and their present day mine sweeping. These accounts bring to life the tragedy, horror, and courage Cambodians have faced in recent history. Though it's a bit of drive outside of Siem Reap, we would highly recommend checking it out if you ever find yourself in the area.
In addition the museum, Aki Ra founded a boarding school for at-risk youths, most of which were affected by land mines and are missing limbs. The children are given room, board, english lessons, computer access and most importantly an education - something that many children in Cambodia don't pursue because they work all day. Aki Ra has won several peace prizes and was one of CNN's top 10 heroes in 2010. To learn more about The Landmine Museum and School check out these sites:
www.cambodialandminemuseum.org
www.cambodianselfhelpdemining.org
We found this museum to be incredibly interesting and informative. Aki Ra and his team do a great job exhibiting and explaining their experiences during the war and their present day mine sweeping. These accounts bring to life the tragedy, horror, and courage Cambodians have faced in recent history. Though it's a bit of drive outside of Siem Reap, we would highly recommend checking it out if you ever find yourself in the area.
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