Keep the land safe!

Yesterday, marked the 15th anniversary of the Mine Ban Treaty (also known as the Ottawa Convention - signed in Canada). This anti-personnel mine ban resulted from collaboration of NGOs, INGOs, and governments and has been signed by over 158 countries to-date. The treaty prohibits the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines and their destruction. Weeks after the document was signed in December 1997, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and its spokesperson, Jody Williams, won the Nobel Peace Prize. The treaty went into force on March 1, 1999 and was signed by the Cambodian government that summer. Work to clear Cambodia of mines and other unexploded ordinance (UXO) began in ernest January 1, 2000 however mine clearance in Cambodia has been happening since late 1992 and the near end of the civil war.

The Mines Advisory Group in Battanbang -
one of the main mine clearing INGOs in Cambodia. 

"MAG’s clearance and Mine Risk Education activities helps local populations reclaim ownership of their land and provides them with the knowledge to help reduce accidents in the future."

After a long history of war, Cambodia is still recovering. People hear call 1993 "Year Zero" - as in the year that they started from scratch. The scars from that history emotional and physical, individual and infrastructural. The work being done by the government, INGOs, and NGOs, to help those affected by landmines and to ensure that more are not affected is apparent. There are plenty of stories of people who have lost limbs because of landmines and/or UXO. (I have been told to avoid specific areas and how there were four or five deaths or accidents in my village as a result of contact with these dangerous objects.) And there are numerous rehabilitation centers and landmine clearing teams. I hope that these efforts to clear Cambodia of mines and UXO continue so that the next generations will be safer than their predecessors - playing, living, learning, and thriving in areas where those before them could not.

A good friend (thanks Mike!) passed this article and video along to me before I set foot in Cambodia. The article gives a good account of Cambodian landmine history and the video is pretty neat too. Be inspired.