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Cambodia Diary
08-14 October, 2003
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My name is Uk Ham, 34 years old. My birthplace is Thmey village, Thmey commune, Kampong Ro district, Svay Rieng province. I am currently living in Kok Prasat village, Kounkriel commune, Otdar Meanchey province. I am married and have three sons.
In 1988 I left school and worked as a worker for boots and vehicle tires factory near Psar Toch market in Phnom Penh city. Until 1990, I lost my job because the factory got no profits from production. Then, during 1993-99 I joined the Military Police (PM) in Phnom Penh and moved to work at Svay Rieng province. While working for government, my salary was not enough to support my family so I gave up and moved to live with my relatives in Otdar Meanchey. Then one day in 2000, an expatriate accompanied by a Cambodian location manager, came to recruit deminers in remote area. It was a good fortune that I was offered a job as a deminer. The income is just enough for supporting my family and poor relatives from month to month. I don't manage to save. However life has been much better than it was. Especially I am happy working to help save people's lives from mine threat.
So far, I have been working in 20 minefields in two locations- Otdar Meanchey and Battambang provinces, where I have found 75 mines and 90 UXOs. I feel great and proud of being a deminer moving mines out of ground because my country was under war for more than two decades, many people are amputated, killed and properties were destroyed while most plots of land are covered by mines and UXO, which play as an obstacle for agriculture, resettlement or other infrastructures.
Today is nearly the end of the rainy season but rain is constantly falling down. This morning at the time of departing for minefield there was a heavy rain and the road to minefield is very bad, which hampers HALO vehicle movement. Even in the minefield itself, the ground is muddy making deminers' boots and uniforms dirty.
This is the end of my brief and I hope that all donors keep supporting demining programme with the purpose of eliminating mined land and bring about development and prosperity to Cambodia.
Best wishes.
Uk Ham
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