Turning Cambodia's Mine Fields into Vegetable, Fruit Gardens

Turning Cambodia's Mine Fields into Vegetable, Fruit Gardens
Date Fri, 26 Oct 2007 12:06:37 +0200


LUTHERAN WORLD INFORMATION

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FEATURE: Turning Cambodia's 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.

* * *

(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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