'Landmines epitomize destruction, inflated ego'
KT NEWS SERVICE JAMMU, Jun 6: Land mines are not just enemies of mankind in fact they epitomize destruction and inflated ego, feels Sofia Christ, who hails from Cambodia and is presently visiting India as a member of an NGO Mines Advisory Group(MAG) of Britain.
Sofia, for whom the issue of land mines is the most sensitive issue, while talking to 'The Kashmir Times', shares the concern of border people of the state who are living under the shadow of death in the homes and hearths and fields sewn with mines.
"Who else other than the people of Cambodia could empathize the agony of the people living on borders of this state in wake of loss and destruction of life and property due to laid mines in their fields.
But for India there is a consolation as compared to Cambodia where every inch of its land is hemmed with land mines.
In your country, this risk factor of land mines is just restricted to border area along Line of Control and International Border," she maintained.
Detailing about the plight of her countrymen, she avers that for the past four decades, Cambodia has been paying a heavy price of civil war which has wrought a havoc there.
Statistics reveal that against one person, two mines have been laid in Cambodia.
Sofia, who is presently putting up in Edinburgh and is associated with MAG, feels disturbed when she reads news reports about the plight of people living in Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan and Assam because of mines.
"We share their concern.
We know how these land mines take `life' out of the lives of human beings.
It was Khmer Rouge which turned my native land into a `land of land mines'.
Over one crore land mines were laid.
Every day these claim not just many lives but also render on an average ten people maimed and handicapped for their rest of life," Sofia pointed out.
She informed that it is because of landmines that Cambodia is recording manifold increase in the number of widows every year.
"These widows have been now adopted by MAG which is providing them training in de-mining process.
This has brought a little relief in their lives as they are now able to earn at least 100 to 180 Dollars per month.
Prior to this, they being widows, were simply living from hand to mouth.
Our social set up is such that none prefers to marry a widow in Cambodia and moreover the social rituals too go against them," Sofia avers.
It is worthwhile to mention here that Cambodia is first one such country in the world where the women have been engaged in de-mining process.
Hailing the efforts of MAG, Sofia maintained that it has saved Cambodian women from the evils of beggary and prostitution.
"Poverty was pushing them to move to western nations to take up prostitution as a way of life.
This is a paradox that in our country, women are considered to be the pivot of a family and mostly they are not allowed to go out.
But now life has changed for these young widows forever.
To clear the land of these deadly mines, Cambodia took the lead in establishing the first ever women unit," she briefs.
To locate a laid mine and then destroy it is very complex process which costs around 300 -1000 Dollars while the 'wholesale production' of these mines is not that expensive.
Particularly the countries like United States of America, China, France are engaged in this business which is taking the toll of humanity.
"It would sound unbelievable yet true that because of the menace of land mines, we've never plucked luscious apples from our orchards for the past 20 years.
It is very risky to tread on roads, gardens and even schools as you never know when you take a step never to return or return with the loss of limbs," Sofia shares the agony of a Cambodian national and hopes that soon the whole world would realise their pain and take steps to ban the laying of mines so as to save humanity.
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