MAG returned to Phlov Meas village, Battambang Province, almost a year after two minefields in the village were cleared. In total, MAG cleared almost 80,000 square meters of land from this former battlefield, removing 37 landmines and 32 items of unexploded ordnance (UXO) in the process.
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A water pump built on land cleared by MAG. |
Forty-one year-old mother of seven, Sim Horn, proudly cleans her newly-built wooden house. The house measures six meters by seven meters.
Before MAG undertook clearance work in the village, she did not want to risk using her own land. Instead she was forced to lease an uncontaminated piece of land in another part of the village and construct temporary housing.
"Now we feel very happy. My children can walk freely and I don't have to worry," says Sim Horn.
Besides being used for resettlement, the land cleared by MAG is also being used for cultivation.
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Chan Sopheap trimming the leaves of her sugar cane plants. |
According to the community chief Vai Chamroeun, more than 90 percent of his community members sustain a living by growing corn, sugarcane, beans and sesame. He says that before the clearance took place, few crops were grown.
"Fearful of mines, the villagers didn't expand the land for cultivation," says the community chief. "Now their lives are improving. . . It's not so hard like before. Today people live in safety."
Just a few months before MAG undertook clearance work, Pin Ry, in her 80s, had a lucky escape. "The hoe hit the side of the mine. I lifted the hoe up and showed it to my son, asking him, ‘what is it?' He told me, ‘Mother! Mine!'" Pin Ry said. "I put the hoe down very gently."
Pin Ry hit at least two mines on two previous occasions when she attempted to clear the land in front of her house. In one incident, she damaged her eye when a mine exploded as she dug the soil. As a result, she became afraid to farm.
"When I dug the soil, I saw a lot of mines. So I didn't dare to grow corn," Pin Ry said.
Chan Sopheap's family is one of six who have recently moved to the village. She works on her sugarcane field about 20 meters behind her house.
"I cut the old leaves away so that my sugarcane will become healthier. Now it's nearly four months old and is ready to be harvested," she says.
MAG's work enabled three wells to be dug for the community and water filters have been provided to community members. Plans to dig a pond for the community are also underway.
"I feel very happy and expect that my village from now on will become more developed," said the community chief Vai Chamroeun.