Fairfax Media.
23/09/2008
A free Red Cross photo exhibition telling the stories of Cambodian landmine survivors will make its way to Lithgow this Thursday as part of an AusAID-funded tour of Australia.
Around six million landmines were laid in Cambodia from 1978 until the end of 1989.
Pailin, a Khmer district on the Thai border, is one of the most heavily mined areas in the world, mines were laid here by the Khmer Rouge, and the armies of Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam.
The consequence for poor and vulnerable people has been devastating over the years and while men are statistically most affected, landmines rob whole communities of able workers and productive land.
Poor villagers are forced by circumstance to build their homes and plant their crops in mine-filled areas. Harvesting and planting seasons often mean a significant spike in the number of casualties, as people risk their safety to make a living.
Photographer Somira Sao, who escaped from Cambodia at age three with her parents, recently returned to her homeland with Red Cross to capture the stories of landmine survivors.
“When I told people my story, they expressed genuine happiness that I had returned to understand their lives and my native country,” she said.
The resulting photo exhibition aims to share with Australian audiences stories of landmine survivors in Cambodia and to highlight the important joint work of AusAID and Australian Red Cross through the Landmine Survivor Assistance Program, which is funded by AusAID and managed by Australian Red Cross.
The exhibition explores how poverty, vocational and food insecurity affect people’s decisions to work in mined areas.
It highlights how, by tackling these issues, the program helps survivors break out of the poverty cycle so that they can live their lives with hope and dignity.
Australian Red Cross works closely with counterparts in the Royal Government of Cambodia, Cambodian Red Cross and other partners who are active in this important sector in Cambodia, to achieve the Program’s goal.
Opening in Cambodia in December 2007, the exhibition was launched in Canberra in April and is now travelling around Australia.
It will be held in Red Cross House in Queen Elizabeth Park. The exhibition will be open from 10 am to 3 pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and on Sunday from 11 am to 2 pm.
The exhibition is free and open to all interested in understanding more about the tragic legacy of landmines and the work of Red Cross.
23/09/2008
A free Red Cross photo exhibition telling the stories of Cambodian landmine survivors will make its way to Lithgow this Thursday as part of an AusAID-funded tour of Australia.
Around six million landmines were laid in Cambodia from 1978 until the end of 1989.
Pailin, a Khmer district on the Thai border, is one of the most heavily mined areas in the world, mines were laid here by the Khmer Rouge, and the armies of Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam.
The consequence for poor and vulnerable people has been devastating over the years and while men are statistically most affected, landmines rob whole communities of able workers and productive land.
Poor villagers are forced by circumstance to build their homes and plant their crops in mine-filled areas. Harvesting and planting seasons often mean a significant spike in the number of casualties, as people risk their safety to make a living.
Photographer Somira Sao, who escaped from Cambodia at age three with her parents, recently returned to her homeland with Red Cross to capture the stories of landmine survivors.
“When I told people my story, they expressed genuine happiness that I had returned to understand their lives and my native country,” she said.
The resulting photo exhibition aims to share with Australian audiences stories of landmine survivors in Cambodia and to highlight the important joint work of AusAID and Australian Red Cross through the Landmine Survivor Assistance Program, which is funded by AusAID and managed by Australian Red Cross.
The exhibition explores how poverty, vocational and food insecurity affect people’s decisions to work in mined areas.
It highlights how, by tackling these issues, the program helps survivors break out of the poverty cycle so that they can live their lives with hope and dignity.
Australian Red Cross works closely with counterparts in the Royal Government of Cambodia, Cambodian Red Cross and other partners who are active in this important sector in Cambodia, to achieve the Program’s goal.
Opening in Cambodia in December 2007, the exhibition was launched in Canberra in April and is now travelling around Australia.
It will be held in Red Cross House in Queen Elizabeth Park. The exhibition will be open from 10 am to 3 pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and on Sunday from 11 am to 2 pm.
The exhibition is free and open to all interested in understanding more about the tragic legacy of landmines and the work of Red Cross.
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