Man Who Planted Landmines Works Unpaid to Clear Them

Published September 14, 2009 @ 08:03AM PT

Atonement. Noun. Reparation for a wrong of injury. Usage: "He wanted to make atonement for planting landmines, so he decided to help clear them for free."

This remarkable video is about Aki Ra's work to clear landmines in Cambodia, after he was a child soldier who planted them for the Khmer Rouge. He uses a stick and a penknife to clear the mines, and watching him do it is incredible.

Meanwhile, in Senegal, landmine clearance is helping local communities reclaim farmland: "Patrick Hirard, head of operations for Handicap’s demining programme, said the removal of one mine has an immense impact. 'It is just one mine, but that frees up thousands of square metres of land for entire communities.' " Funding gaps threaten demining, with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines demanding the African Union do more, with Egypt, Morocco, Libya, and Somalia still not signed up to the ban. But every country, it is suggested, needs to do more to destroy stockpiles and assist mine survivors.

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