Terry Hodgkinson aka "wandering ninja" takes some video shots of the old land mine museum in Seim Reap. Also there is a video shot of a memorial for the Cambodian victims who perished because of the Khmer Rouge in Siem Reap.
"Walking around the land mind museum was a wake up call to just how dangerous certain parts of Cambodia still are. To learn of Aki Ra's life story was to learn about adversity at it's best and the will to survive no matter what. When I was there the land mind museum was nothng but a humble shack and now it's moved to a much better and bigger space to carry on Mr. Ra's message and good work. Plus it's set up as a refuge for children who have been hurt or maimed do to explosives they encountered. I have a lot of respect for Aki Ra and what he has done and continues to do!" - Terry
Background:
Aki Ra is a former Khmer Rouge conscripted child soldier who works as a deminer and museum curator in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Aki Ra is unsure of his age, but believes he was born in 1970. His parents were killed by the Khmer Rouge. Orphaned in the Khmer Rouge camp, he was taken in by a woman named Yourn who raised him and several other orphaned children until he was conscripted into the Khmer Rouge army at about 10 years of age.
Mae Yourn (Mother Yourn), who lived and worked at the Cambodia Landmine Museum, died at the age of 66 in April 2010 from complications from diabetes.
Aki Ra fought for the Khmer Rouge until 1983 when he was captured by the Vietnamese. He was conscripted into the Vietnamese army on threat of his life while still a boy. He later served with the Cambodian army as a teenager and still later received landmine clearance training with the United Nations.
Having laid thousands of landmines as a soldier and working for the UN to remove them he discovered he was quite adept at clearing landmines and UXOs, and decided to make it his trade.
Having no demining tools, he used a knife, a Leatherman, and a stick. He would defuse the landmines and UXOs he found in small villages and bring home the empty casings. Sometimes he would sell them as scrap to help fund his work.
Tourists began hearing stories about a young Khmer man who cleared landmines with a stick and had a house full of defused ordinance. Aki Ra began charging a dollar to see his collection, using the money to help further his activities. Thus began the Cambodia Landmine Museum.
Aki Ra cleared landmines where he had fought, when he heard about an accident, or when village chiefs and farmers would call him at the museum and tell him of mines in their villages and ask for his help.
While working in these villages he found many injured and abandoned children. He brought them home to live with he and his wife Hourt. Some of the children who moved to their home were also street kids from Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. Eventually he had brought home over 2 dozen boys and girls.
The first child Aki Ra brought home was a 9-year old boy who had lost his leg to a landmine and was living on the street. His wife Hourt had no idea Aki Ra would be returning with the little boy, but when he returned home she took the child to her family and said "Look, now I have a son".
In early 2009, a boy came to live with Aki Ra and Hourt who had lost an arm and most of a hand to a cluster munition. He was working with his uncle in a field near Battambong, west of Siem Reap when he found the explosive that had probably lain undisturbed in the field for 25 years. Aki Ra found him in hospital and told his family about the Museum. He now lives there and attends school.
Today, 29 children live at the Cambodia Landmine Museum Relief Center. Some are landmine victims, some were born without limbs, some are polio victims, one is HIV-positive, some are orphans and some have parents who cannot afford to raise them. Hourt and Aki Ra feed them, clothe them, send them to school.
In 2007 the Cambodian government ordered Aki Ra's museum closed. He was allowed to move it to a new location 40 kilometers from Siem Reap, near Banteay Srey Temple, inside the Angkor National Park. A Canadian NGO, the Cambodia Landmine Museum Relief Fund, founded by documentary film producer Richard Fitoussi, raised the money to buy the land and build the Museum. Most of the funding was provided by Tom Shadyac, a movie director from California.
The new museum opened in May 2007 and currently houses a 4 gallery museum as well as being the home to 27 children.
A movie about Aki Ra's life is being made. It will be called The Perfect Soldier.
Aki Ra's wife Hourt died on 15 April 2009. She had been ill and died in her sleep. She was 28 years old and left behind a legacy admired and honoured by all who knew her.
In July of 2010 Aki Ra was selected as a CNN Hero. In September he was chosen as a Top 10 CNN Hero for 2010. His story can be seen at: http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cnn.heroes/archive10/aki.ra.html
www.InnerOuterYou.com
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