Cambodia Landmine & War Museums

Cambodia today continues to suffer the consequences of its wars. We stopped at the Cambodia Landmine Museum on our way out to Banteay Srei on our first day of temple-hopping. We then squeezed in the War Museum as one of our last activities in Cambodia. Sobering.

Cambodia Landmine Museum

The landmine museum was founded in 1997 by Aki Ra, an ex-child soldier who fought against the Khmer Rouge. On his own, he decided to clear landmines. He did so with a stick and other homemade tools. People began to hear of his collection of defused ordinances and subsequently, the museum was born. It is estimated he has cleared over 50,000 mines. For his work, he was chosen as a Top 10 CNN Hero in 2010.

In the centre of the museum is a shrine of sorts containing mines and mine shells. It sits in the middle of a small pond. Surrounding it are showrooms featuring small weapons, shells, mines, graphic photos, and educative charts.

Cambodia is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world because of the many decades of conflict it endured. From the United States carpet bombing, Vietnamese occupation, the civil war to the brutal Khmer Rouge regime. Even though Cambodians have lived in peace for the past two decades, accidental explosions still occur. Last year alone, there were 77 landmine and unexploded ordinance (UXO) casualties, half of whom were children.

There are several initiatives to address landmine decontamination with a 2025 target for Cambodia to be a mine-free country. So the Pentagon’s policy shift under the direction of the current President to cancel former President Barack Obama’s policy that banned American use of landmines could jeopardize the very hard work of many mine-clearing humanitarian NGOs. So unfortunate.

Landmines kill long after wars have ended. They do not differentiate between soldier and civilian. They maim and kill children and other dear innocents. Landmines, dropped indiscriminately from the sky these days, are not tracked and therefore are not easily removed. They make the land they contaminate inhabitable to humans. What would otherwise be fertile farm-land cannot be cultivated. People are forced to move, to become refugees or internally displaced peoples because they cannot return home. And now, the United States wants to promote the use of landmines in wars again. What a devastating backwards step.

The Cambodian Landmine Museum is also a Relief Facility. In touring villages to remove landmines, Aki Ra would come across many children in extreme poverty who had been wounded or orphaned by landmines. He brought them to his home one by one where he and his wife raised them. By 2017 there were three dozen children living at the centre. There are no children now though. So in addition to educating the public on the dangers of landmines, the museum supports and educates landmine-affected youth. Who said one person cannot make a difference? Donations are accepted.

War Museum in Siem Reap

This museum also displays old mines and mine shells but it’s more impressive for its collection of rusting artillery, tanks, and fighter jets. There are even war machines from World War II.

We arrived here with about 30 minutes to spare before the closing time of the ticket counter. We were met by a man who collected our entrance fees, 5 USD each. I asked for a guide and his reply was “just walk around”. So I attempted to just walk around but found it unsatisfactory. The place was shabby. We yearned to have someone tell us something about the significance of the artefacts and of the museum.

So I went back out and found the man laying on a hammock and again asked him for a guide. He was irritated. He tried to tell me the guide was not available, that the museum was closing soon, that I would have to pay the guide. Now I knew that the guide is free but that it is customary, not mandatory, to tip. Turned out he himself was the guide or at least that’s what he said in the end. I was annoyed but even though it meant parting with yet another 5 USD I made him get up and come tell us something. Ugh!

I should have just relied on Tuk Tuk Bean who once again took it upon himself to share his opinions.