CAMBODIA: Rise in mine casualties delays clearance

Landmines and UXOs continue to litter much of the Cambodian countryside (Photo: Brendan Brady/IRIN)

PAILIN, 21 October 2010 (IRIN) - Van Theang, 41, a former soldier in Cambodia's western Pailin Province, remembers what happened in 1991: "I was walking along and hit a trip-wire. I had been told to watch out for mines but I wasn't expecting any in that particular area. This just happened a lot in those years." 

Under similar circumstances, while patrolling in Oddar Meanchey Province, along the 800km Thai border north of Pailin, soldier Sim Pheat stepped on a landmine that also destroyed his leg. But it happened just last month - a reminder that these remnants of war still exact a heavy toll.

A spike in landmine casualties in May - at 50, the highest monthly count since August 2007 - underlined what government and UN officials say is the reality that Cambodia will need longer to fulfil its pledged de-mining commitment.

"Cambodia still has a big challenge in the next 10 to 15 years," Oum Phumro, secretary-general of the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC), the government body in charge of mine clearance, told IRIN.

Some 40,000 Cambodians have been maimed by landmines and unexploded ordnances (UXOs) since 1979. Landmine casualties have fallen dramatically, from 1,691 in 1993 to 244 last year, according to the government.

However, the rise in cases in May means 2010 is likely to be costlier than last year. From January to August, there were 207 casualties from landmines and UXOs, against 186 for the same period last year, according to Lim Chhiv, project manager of the Cambodian Mine/Explosive Remnants of War Victim Information System.

Millions cleared, millions remaining

From 1992 to 2009, some 800,000 anti-personnel mines, 19,000 anti-tank mines and 1.7 million UXOs were cleared, according to the Cambodian Mine Action Authority.

Melissa Sabatier, the UN Development Programme's mine action project manager in Cambodia, said the country's progress had been impressive.

"Previously, Cambodia had one of the highest levels of [UXO] contamination in the world, but now it has a prospering tourism sector and receives delegations from dozens of other countries affected by [UXOs] to learn from its experiences," she said.

However, as millions of explosive devices still litter the Southeast Asian nation, total clearance will take longer than expected.

Last December, Cambodia's agreement to comply with the Ottawa Treaty, which bans the use of all landmines, was extended to 2019. In their request for this extension, Cambodian authorities said some 650 sqkm would require clearance over a period of 12-13 years.

Funding shortfall

"If we want to reach the goal in the next 10 years, we need more resources and funding," Phumro said. "We have a number of committed donors but the funding is starting to dry up," he said.

The shortfall, added Sabatier, is a "general trend across all sectors - and across the globe" following the worldwide economic downturn in 2008 and 2009.

According to a 2009 report by the UN, Portfolio of Mine Action Projects, there was a worldwide shortfall of nearly US$437 million for mine-clearance projects.

Like swords into plowshares

Thanks to Lutheran support for clearing land mines in Thmey, Kampong Speu Province, Cambodia, Khan Trang (right) and her husband, Yoy Yon (left), safely grow vegetables to sell at market and feed their five children.

February 2008
Story by Chham Rivann and Margaret F. Sadler
The Lutheran (USA)

In Cambodia, Lutherans help replace land mines with vegetables, fruits

Morm Saveurn, 46, his wife, Mou Ly Viseth, and their six children live in Kam Prong, a remote village in northwest Cambodia’s Battambang Province. Saveurn and Viseth (both former soldiers) left the capital, Phnom Penh, and returned home a little more than 10 years ago. Saveurn still works part time as a soldier (10 days a month) but also depends on farming for the family’s income.

Home is the site of a former battlefield, where Khmer Rouge troops fought those of the Vietnamese and Cambodian governments. Battambang is the most heavily mined province in Cambodia. From January 2004 to August 2005 alone, Battambang recorded 458 casualties from undetected land mines. Current estimates place 4 million to 6 million land mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) scattered across Cambodia—threats to lives, limbs and economic recovery. Since hostilities ceased in 1997, some 40,000 people have lost limbs to mines in Cambodia.

A Lutheran World Federation partner, the U.K.-based Mines Advisory Group, is one of the country’s main
de-mining operators. The group has spent the last five years clearing nearly 4 million square yards of land in Battambang. In the first half of 2007, the Cambodia Mine/UXO Victim Information System reported 232 victims—a 28 percent decrease from the same period in 2006.

Since 1979 the LWF Department for World Service has worked in Cambodia, taking an approach to sustainable development that empowers vulnerable groups such as poor farmers, female-headed households, landless families, returnees, internally displaced people, rural youth and people affected by HIV/AIDS in remote and isolated areas.

Farmers risk death, maiming

Like Saveurn, 85 percent of Cambodia’s 13.9 million people depend on subsistence farming. Undetected land mines threaten their survival. “All of us in this village do not feel safe,” he said. “When I came here for the first time I found mines. As a soldier, I knew what they were.”

So far Saveurn’s family has been lucky. “Over the last few years eight people in the village have had land mine accidents, with seven of them becoming amputees because of their injuries,” he said.

De-mining is a consultative process between villagers and mine-clearance partners. After village proposals for land clearance have been accepted, the Department for World Service selects and trains community members to help clear the mines, said Mey Sarun, the agency’s project manager in Battambang. The work can involve clearing brush, using various detection devices and detonating smaller explosives.

During the work, LWF staff help build the confidence and capacity of mine-affected households and communities, empowering people to exercise their civil rights. Staff also help residents plan and carry out projects that address issues such as food security, education and 
HIV/AIDS.

In Kam Prong alone, Mines Advisory Group, with funding from FinnChurchAid through the LWF, cleared 70,272 square yards of land from April to June 2007, freeing it for resettlement and making it safe for 29 families comprising 142 people. From January 2003 to mid-2007, the mine clearance work of the LWF and MAG in
 Battambang had benefited 8,380 families consisting of around 41,900 men, women and children.

Fruits and vegetables

Saveurn hopes workers will soon be able to clear additional mines from his land. “My plan is to grow some fruits,” he said. “I plant soya beans from July to October and other beans from January to April. I also grow cabbages, cucumbers, chilies and eggplants. But I still really worry about mines on the rest of the land, which [has yet] to be cleared.”

To the community-based work of groups like LWF and Mines Advisory Group, he would like “to say thank you. After the [land] has been cleared it is safe to cultivate. Then we can plant some fruits and vegetables without the fear of land mines that could kill or injure us.”

Saveurn’s wife, Viseth, said clearing the mines makes a world of difference for the children too. “They are so happy now—they know that some of our land is safe for them to play on. ... It makes me happy to see that they are happier.”

Women in Cambodia Lead the Way for Change

January 2008
Care USA

Clearing for the future

(Photo: Laura McKay/CARE 2007)

Cambodia's Pailin province is one of the most land mine and unexploded ordinance affected areas in the country. Poverty rates are high with many people trying to make a living on land filled with mines.

Han, a mother of four, has worked with CARE's Australia-Cambodia Integrated Mine Action program for over a year. She de-mines with a team of other women who work with metal detectors and safety equipment to remove and detonate the mines.

"I have two reasons for working in the de-mining program. The first is that I am poor and I have to take care of my children. The other is that it gives me the chance to participate in clearing the mines.

"Before I became a Locality De-miner, I just focused on farming. It was very difficult – I couldn"t grow enough food, especially in times of drought or flood and my standard of living was very bad. Now things are better.

"Even though I am a woman and doing the job of a de-miner I am trying to keep strong and be careful all the time. I spend from six in the morning until three in the afternoon de-mining then I go home and take care of my children. Sometimes my neighbours take care of them too. One of my children cooks now. She is a great help."

Communities for communities

(Photo: Laura McKay/CARE 2007)

CARE's Highland Community Education Program works with people from ethnic minority groups in the remote province of Ratanakiri to establish community schools, conduct teacher training, create bilingual resources, and support community-run school boards.

Varina, a 29-year-old teacher trainer from the Krung ethnic group, tells her story:

"I was born in a difficult time – the time of Pol Pot. I nearly died because there was nothing to drink and not enough food. My mother tried hard to find me things to eat but I became very thin. Then she passed away.

"I have had a dream since I was ten years old that I would be a good mother and a good leader. Because I have had this commitment since I was ten, I feel that I have already reached my dream.

"I wanted to help the indigenous people here to have a school and to have education. I also wanted to strengthen myself and to build my capacity to help all of them. So when I saw CARE help the indigenous people with education I was very happy. When CARE helps indigenous people, they also help me. I try to learn more so I can help people, too."

Making the children smile

(Photo: Laura McKay/CARE 2007)

CARE works with local partners in Cambodia on projects like Orphans and Vulnerable Children so that children are able to get access to nutritious food and hygiene kits.

Dina is 21 years old and works with New Hope for Cambodia Children, one of CARE's partners. This is her story.

"I used to go to the riverside where I saw how difficult it was for children living there – so I decided to work with them. I like to see the children smiling.

"Most of the children like joking so when I visit them they always tell me a joke. One of the girls is very clever. She is the little one in the house but she knows everything. She is four years old – a lovely girl. Now she has gone to study at the kindergarten and, through the project, I have given her study equipment and a hygiene kit to help her.

"We tell the parents that nutritious food is very important for the children because even if they get their medicine, if their diet is poor, they cannot get better. I work with 27 families and go to each house every week. It's good to develop a relationship with the families; then they know they can trust us."

Small health, long lives

(Photo: Laura McKay/CARE 2007)

Le is 29 years old. In her work as a peer educator, she promotes family planning and information about sexually transmitted infections (STIs) to friends through Small Health Promotions, part of CARE's Strengthening Capacity for Improved Community Health program. CARE runs the promotions though a partner organization at garment factories in Phnom Penh, providing training, peer educator support, condoms and clinic services to thousands of girls.

"In my village, many girls go to Phnom Penh to find work. I've worked in the garment factory for two years. My family doesn't have much education and are very poor. So, of the US$50 that I earn each month, I send US$20-$25 back to them.

"At the garment factory we get a lot of benefit from the Small Health Promotions. They're good for sharing ideas and getting access to the clinic. I help to prepare the health promotions and encourage friends to come, too.

"Because of my training, I have talked to my boyfriend about STIs and the benefits of condom use and, if my friends have husbands, I can explain to them about family planning."

Australia contributes to Cambodia for landmine action

July 31, 2007

The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) has contributed a further 1 million Australian dollars (AUD) to Cambodia for the mine action-related Clearing for Results (CFR) project, a press release said Tuesday.

This is part of Australia's 12 million AUD commitment to the project, made on International Mine Action Day, to be disbursed from 2007 to 2010, it added.

Since 1996, Australia has committed approximately 56 million AUD to mine action-related activities in Cambodia, including 3 million AUD to Clearing for Results in 2007, according to the press release.

CFR is funded by a group of donors, currently including Australia, Canada, Adopt-a-Minefield, Spain and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and provides resources for demining and for capacity building of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA), it said.

Cambodia remains one of the three countries in the world most affected by landmines and unexploded ordinance, it added.

Source: Xinhua

India trains 170 Cambodian soldiers for clearing mines

March 29, 2007

The Indian government has recently trained 170 Cambodian soldiers for clearing mines and un- explosive ordnances (UXO), Cambodian daily the Koh Santhephea said on Thursday.

The training focused on awareness, method, management and destruction of mines and UXO, said Sem Sovanny, head of the Center for Clearing Mines and UXO at the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF).

It also focused on the ways of finding various kinds of anti- human and anti-tank mines and UXO, he was quoted as saying.

"The training project aims to enable RCAF to become ready for peace-keeping missions of the United Nations," said Sovanny, adding that it turned a new page of good relationship between RCAF and the Indian armed forces, too.

Last year, the Cambodian government sent 135 RCAF members to Sudan for U.N. peace-keeping missions of de-mining and medical help.

Source: Xinhua