CAMBODIA Catholic Campaigner Against Land Mines Asks For More Aid To Survivors

Posted: 19th November 2004

King Norodom Sihamoni visits Landmine exhibition in Banteay Prieb

ANG SNOUL, Cambodia (UCAN) -- A Cambodian Catholic who received the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) says more needs to be done for land-mine survivors.

Tun Channareth spoke at the Nov. 17 global launch of ICBL's "Landmine Monitor 2004" report at a vocational-training school run by Jesuit Service-Cambodia for the physically disabled. Banteay Prieb (dove center) is in Ang Snoul, about 20 kilometers southwest of Phnom Penh.

In his speech before more than 4,000 people including King Norodom Sihamoni, Tun, 44, thanked the many governments that have helped Cambodia with funding for mine clearance and assistance to land-mine survivors. The former soldier, who lost both his legs to a land mine in 1982, has become an international spokesperson for the campaign to ban anti-personnel mines.

"But much more remains to be done," Tun insisted. Describing his work, he said: "Nearly every day I travel with my friends to help handicapped people in the villages. They are very poor. I mend their wheelchairs. Many have no water, food or housing. They want a new life, with school for their children, and health care. They want people to treat them with respect and not to pity them."

Tun Channareth who received Nobel Peace Prize in 1997

In 1994 Tun and four other former soldiers launched the Cambodian campaign against land mines. As a member of Jesuit Service-Cambodia, he joined the international effort coordinated by ICBL. In 1997 he and Jody Williams, then the ICBL coordinator, received the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the group.
According to "Landmine Monitor 2004," nearly half of all Cambodia's villages are known to have or suspected of having mines or unexploded ordnance (UXO).

King Norodom Sihamoni, who last October succeeded his father, Norodom Sihanouk, said in his speech that the Cambodian government has increased mine-clearing activities all over the country and has focused attention on improving the living conditions of the thousands of land-mine survivors.

"Through this 'Landmine Monitor' for 2004, people will be increasingly aware of the damage caused by land mines, and it is hoped that countries all over the whole world will stop producing and using land mines of all sorts, and work together to get rid of the existing and planted land mines and to provide assistance to land-mine victims," he said.

The king thanked Jesuit Service-Cambodia, saying he was "very impressed" with its work. He cited its "great efforts to help disabled people in Cambodia, particularly those who suffered from land-mine accidents, providing them with vocational training so that they can find a place in society."

To mark the occasion, he announced a US$5,000 donation from his parents, the former king and queen, to support Jesuit Service and land-mine victims.
Sheree Bailey, global research coordinator on victim assistance for "Landmine Monitor," formally presented the 2004 report to the king. Echoing Tun, she said that progress has been made, but existing anti-mine efforts and survivor assistance programs are far from meeting the needs of an ever-growing number of land-mine survivors in the world.

According to the 2004 report, resources for victim assistance as a percentage of total mine-action funding have been decreasing, from 14.9 percent in 1999 to 8.3 percent in 2003.

The report documents more than 42,500 land-mine and UXO casualties between 1999 and September 2004 in more than 75 countries. However, it says many casualties go unreported and estimates that 15,000-20,000 people die every year because of land mines.

His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni and Bishop Enrique Figaredo, Apostolic Prefecture of Battambang

Jesuit Monsignor Enrique Figaredo, apostolic prefect of Battambang, told UCA News after the function, "This is a big day for us." His prefecture covers western Cambodia, including the area along the border with Thailand. "The king showed he has a heart for the little ones, the handicapped and the poor. The keen interest that he showed during the program gives us great encouragement as we feel he supports our vision of building God's kingdom," the Church leader said.

Sister Denise Coghlan, director of Jesuit Service-Cambodia, told UCA News on Nov. 18 that the extensive news coverage of the king's visit to Banteay Prieb "got our message across -- ban land mines, clear mines and assist survivors throughout Cambodia."

Disable people who have been trained by Banteay Prieb

In 1996, the average number of casualties from land mines and UXO in Cambodia was 12 a day. This dropped to three a day in 1999, and two a day from 2000 through 2003. However, in the first eight months of 2004, the rate increased again to an average of almost three a day.

The ICBL report notes that donors have provided more than US$1.35 billion for mine action from 1999 to 2003, and that some 22.9 million people attended mine-risk education sessions during the same period.

Article Source: UCAN and CSC