Siem Reap, Near Ankor Wat, Cambodia

What makes men kill and maim? What makes other men give them the means to do so? I ponder this as I turn the mine over in my hands and stare at its green shell, wondering why. This mine wasn’t made here in the jungles of Cambodia but in a factory in Germany and this is not a one off occurrence. China, Germany, Great Britain, Russia and the United States have all contributed tremendously to the three to six million mines still buried in Cambodia.

It is hard not to fell disillusioned by society when you first meet Sory. What has this ten year old done to lose his hands, what crime has he committed? I think that I would get quite depressed if I thought about this for too long, so its good I never have time.


Aki Ras Museum is more like a shed, what with chickens scratching in the dirt and naked children running past. On the walls of the shed and lying in large piles are thousands of deactivated landmines. They have become so familiar to me that I can conjure them up right now in this city thousands of miles away.

When Simon and I volunteered at the land mine museum we expected to be sweeping floors and looking after the chicken. Instead I am standing with a monkey on my shoulder and a pineapple mine in my hand as I lecture a group of worried looking tourists. Part of my job is to teach English to Sory who lost his hands playing with a detonator and lives at the museum with ten other kids. The tales from the children are tragic and often heart breaking but they make it easier to identify the kids from one another as none speak English. “ Which ones Pei?” I ask to which one of the other volunteers answers “ I think it the boy over there, wait.. Yes, he had his foot blown off an anti personal mine and his two brothers heard the screams and ran to help. They stepped on the tripwire of a pineapple mine and killed themselves and the shrapnel took out Pei’s Eye.”

After teaching I lead groups of tourists around the compound “This is the most common mine around here. Its Vietnamese and can take your leg off by the knee if you press down like this. Anyone want to press down on the explosive cap for me? No, Don’t worry its safe, but watch out for the chicken” With that the aforementioned fowl bursts from the wreck of an anti tank mine, clucking furiously.

Near the gate rests the most interesting part of our collection: The 50 ton American bomb found unexploded right next to Angkor Watt one of the worlds most priceless temples. This is a reminder of the bombings the U.S inflicted on natural Cambodia during the Vietnam conflict. As I leave the compound that night I watch Sory learning to ride a moped and am filled with hope for his future as well as that of Cambodia.