Words by Chham Rivann.
When a Japanese government-funded MAG demining team cleared 170,517 sq/m of land in a village in Pursat Province, destroying nine anti-personnel mines and 16 items of unexploded ordnance, it gave 44-year-old Nat Tith renewed hope for his family's future.
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| Nat Tith moved with his family to the site of a former battlefield in 2000 and is now able to raise pigs and chickens to eat and sell |
Having moved to the area in 2000, he bought a piece of 40m x 200m land for 300,000 Riel (around US$75), but was unable to maximise its potential.
“When I first came here I was really afraid of the mines,” he said. “We felt sad and fearful, and had to pay attention all the time and be very careful.”
In May 2006, MAG demining team MAT11 (Mine Action Team) – funded by the Japanese government – began clearance to provide villagers with safe land for development. They cleared 170,517 sq/m, finding and destroying nine anti-personnel mines and 16 items of unexploded ordnance (UXO).
“I am so very grateful to MAG and to the Japanese people for funding them to clear this land,” said Tith. “MAG deminers are very good people as they worked hard and cooperated well with the local community.”
Cambodia is one of the most heavily mine and UXO-contaminated countries in the world. The Landmine Impact Survey (LIS) of April 2002 identified over 4,000 sq/km of suspect land, which poses a significant obstacle to rehabilitation and to longer-term development.
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| Children are at risk in one of the most heavily mine-contaminated countries in the world |
“In this village before the war, we had no school, market or health centre. If we got sick we had to go far away from this village – 18 km. After the war, we had lost our houses, lost family, some became amputees and some people died.
“We could not plant any crops because we were afraid of mines. Our standard of living went down, there was no school for the children and when we got sick we didn’t know where to go, nowhere was safe.”
With the removal of obstacles to social services, agriculture and trade caused by remnants of conflict, the social and economic potential of the community has improved.
“We have a water problem as there is no pond in this village,” added Tith. “If we have a pond on the land which has been cleared we can plant vegetables. Now we are also raising pigs and chickens, and after we have enough to eat we can sell some. I really hope that my village can solve its problems and already things are better. We have a school for our children now in Tangrang Pagoda.
“I believe 100% that the cleared land is safe for us now. My family does not have a good income yet, but we have a small business at home which helps support us.”
Tith’s thoughts turned finally to his children and the fears that obviously still trouble him: “As well as conducting mine clearance, MAG has also provided mine/UXO risk education to the villagers in Veal, helping to raise awareness particularly among the children, of how to live more safely with the mines and UXO around us. I thank MAG for that.”