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FEATURE: Turning Cambodiaâs Mine Fields into Vegetable, Fruit Gardens LWF Supports Communities to Rebuild Lives
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia/GENEVA, 26 October 2007 (LWI) â Morm Saveurn, 46, his wife Mou Ly Viseth, and their six children live in Kam Prong village, a remote area in Battambang province, northwest Cambodia. A soldier, Saveurn and his wife (a former soldier herself) came back to the village from the capital, Phnom Penh, after the July 1997 political strife.
Home is the site of a former battlefield, where troops of the Khmer Rouge and those of the Vietnamese and Cambodian governments fought during the years of conflict. Current estimates indicate there are around 4 to 6 million landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) scattered across the country, presenting a real threat to life, limb and economic recovery.
According to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), landmines were first laid in Cambodia in the Indochina War during the mid-1960s. During the Democratic Kampuchea regime from 1975 to 1979, the Khmer Rouge used landmines extensively both for military purposes and to control the civilian population. Use of mines intensified during the civil war after the overthrow of the Khmer Rouge, and continued into the 1990s, with the main battlefields located in the northwestern provinces. Democratic elections in 1993 ushered in a period of relative normalcy, and many refugees and internally displaced persons started returning home, and reclaiming their former land.
In 1999 Cambodia ratified the Mine Ban Treaty, under which it is required to clear all antipersonnel mines from mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 January 2010. The government has set out a goal of making Cambodia free from the impact of mines and UXO by 2012, but it is a painstaking process, compounded by the fact that many mined areas are still not marked or fenced.
The main de-mining operators in the country include the Mines Advisory Group (MAG), a United Kingdom-based non-governmental organization (NGO), whose work in Cambodia is supported by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) through its Department for World Service (DWS) Cambodia country program. Through the partnership between MAG and LWF/DWS nearly 3.2 million square meters of land were cleared for use by villagers throughout Battambang province in the past five years. Battambang continues to be the most heavily mined province in Cambodia.
Casualties in Peacetime
Area-denial mines throughout Cambodia have resulted in around 40,000 amputees since the cessation of hostilities in 1997. Between January 2004 and August 2005, Battambang province recorded 458 casualties as a result of undetected landmines. The Cambodia Mine/UXO Victim Information System reported 232 victims countrywide in the first half of 2007âa 28 percent decrease from the same period in 2006.
Like Saveurn, over 85 percent of Cambodiaâs 13.9 million people reside in the rural areas dependent on subsistence farming, despite the great risk posed by undetected landmines. âAll of us in this village do not feel safe. We face many, many problems with mines and UXO. When I came here for the first time I found mines. As a soldier, I knew what they were.â
Saveurnâs family has been lucky thus far, but the risks remain high. âOver the last few years eight people in the village have had landmine accidents, with seven of them becoming amputees because of their injuries,â he recalls.
Trained for New Skills
De-mining is a consultative process between the villagers and mine-clearance partners. After the village proposals for land clearance have been accepted, DWS Cambodia selects suitable local candidates from among the poorest families to train for the work, explains Mey Sarun, LWF/DWS project manager in Battambang.
In an ini
tiative called Locality Demining, the MAG employs and trains community members, enabling local people to work close to their homes and earn a daily wage. The work may involve brush clearing, using various detection implements, and detonating the smaller explosives.
The LWF community empowerment facilitators (CEFs) work closely with mine-affected households and communities, building confidence and capacity and empowering people to exercise their civil rights. With the help of CEFs, communities plan and implement projects around issues such as food security, education, and HIV and AIDS. Before addressing the household and community development priorities, the land must be demined.
In Kam Prong village alone MAG, with funding from FinnChurchAid through the LWF, cleared 58,560 square meters 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 province had benefited 8,380 families consisting of around 41,900 men, women and children.
Empowering Communities
Saveurnâs hopes are high but he still harbors some fears. âAfter MAG has cleared this minefield my plan is to grow some fruits. When I am not working as a soldier [he works part time, 10 days per month] I cultivate my land. 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 is still to be cleared,â he says.
He is grateful for the community-based work of organizations like MAG and the LWF. âI 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 landmines that could kill or injure us.â
Viseth talks about the effect of the mine clearance on the children. âThey are so happy nowâthey know that some of our land is safe for them to play on, and it makes me happy to see that they are happier.â
In the second half of 2007, DWS Cambodia plans to clear another 737,000 square meters of land bringing the total since the beginning of 2003 to almost 4 million square meters. The introduction of mechanical support in June 2005 brought increased efficiency to the mine-clearing teams with an estimated average of 57 square meters per day compared to around 30 square meters without such intervention.
Present in Cambodia since 1979, the LWF/DWS country program currently encompasses a rights-based approach to sustainable development by empowering vulnerable groups, such as poor farmers, women-headed households, landless families, returnees, internally displaced persons, rural youth and people affected by HIV and AIDS in remote and isolated areas. (1,055 words)
(A contribution of the LWF/DWS Cambodia communication staff.)
*This article is part of the ongoing LWI Features on Healing focusing on the LWF Tenth Assembly theme, âFor the Healing of the World.â The series highlights the relevance of the Assembly theme in the different contexts of the worldwide Lutheran communion by presenting projects and activities aimed at promoting reconciliation and healing. This theme continues to be an important aspect of the LWFâs work even after the 21â31 July 2003 Assembly in Winnipeg, Canada.
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(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 140 member churches in 78 countries all over the world, with a total membership of nearly 66.7 million. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical and interfaith relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.)
[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the LWF's information servic e. Unless specifically noted, material presented does not represent positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various units. Where the dateline of an article contains the notation (LWI), the material may be freely reproduced with acknowledgment.]
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