Danger!! Mines!!

Siem Reap, Cambodia, 3rd March, 2001: Excerpts from my diary that I just  rediscovered:  “We got a tri-shaw out to the land-mine museum…”  mines0

“It was just a couple of shacks really, but loaded with defused mines of all shapes & sizes, makes & models- Russian/Chinese mostly- but also local….”

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“The guy who set it up (Akira) used to plant mines for the army (Vietnamese) & had plenty of stories about tragic things- K.Rouge etc…”

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“Akira’s parents were killed by the Khmer Rouge when he was five. He was forced to leave his village and work in the fields…”

mines3“When the Vietnamese invaded Cambodia & toppled the Khmer Rouge, Akira was conscripted into the Vietnamese army & used to lay mines in the very same fields…”

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“He’s now trying to educate people about them about de-mining etc. The government & army don’t like it & want to shut him down, so signed a petition supporting him…”

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I heard much later that Akira’s land-mine museum was duly shut down…

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