Today, on Memorial Day, I am remembering something I saw last July, while cycling in Cambodia.
Few countries have been more devastated by war. The land mines that remain, after half a century, continue to bind the nation and its people to the legacy of a war that spread from Vietnam and led to the horrors of the Pol Pot regime.
Aki Ra was conscripted to fight at age 10, he estimates: He doesn’t know the exact date of his birth. By the time he was old enough to vote in most countries, he had fought in theee different armies. During that time, he became a specialist in explosives, specifically land mines.
As a civilian, he has devoted himself to finding and defusing land mines, not only in Cambodia, but in other former war zones. He’s even unearthed World War I - era ordnance in Europe.
This work led to his founding the Landmine Museum and a school for children, many of whom would not otherwise have the opportunity to do so.
The Museum is a testament to a legacy of war—specifically, how it continues to terrorize people who weren’t even born when their land was laced with explosives.
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