The extent of human devastation and misery inflicted on the people of Cambodia by landmines{to say nothing of the Japanese occupation, the Vietnam war. the incessant bombing of Cambodia by the Americans, the Khmer Rouge, the Vietnamese occupation, and the ensuing civil war}, really can't be appreciated without spending some time in the country. Those who are responsible for the manufacture and sale of these horrible devises ought to be cast out into a minefield themselves where they can learn to appreciate the bestiality and horrid consequences of their actions. I wonder how long it would take the United States, China, and Russia, to ban mines if every member of those governments was forced to spend a week hiking in Cambodia.
Cambodia is a rural country. The average income is about $200 a year. The only thing most Cambodians have to help them through life is their Buddhist religion and family ties. It has a climate of two monsoon periods which enables two crops of rice to be cultivated a year. The country used to be a major exporter of rice. Now the rice fields are strewn with small. innocuous looking plastic landmines, most about the size of a can of Kiwi shoe polish. When the monsoon rains come the mines float around so that an area that was previously cleared becomes hazardous again. Usually the mines have been designed to blow off a persons leg above the knee and cause blast and burn damage to the groin area - hence most of the beggars have lost a leg or legs above the knee.......
It is now known that the Americans dropped more bombs on Cambodia during the Vietnam War than they did on Vietnam itself.Some parts of north-east Cambodia along the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail were literally bombed non-stop 24 hours a day for nine years, so the countryside and jungle are strewn with unexploded bombs, shells, mines, bomblets, and booby traps......To be continued