Cruise Report

A group of participants are reporting back from their five-day journey through Cambodia learning about the problem of landmines.

As many as six million landmines are still buried in Cambodia, and while NGOs from various countries have been working to remove them, they still pose a danger to this day.

 

To raise awareness of their prevalence, small objects painted to look like landmines were hidden under some of the audience’s chairs. “If you are sitting on one of these chairs, imagine you have been blown up by a landmine. How would that feel for yourself, or one of your loved ones?”

 

“Their beautiful smiles tell volumes of the unimaginable tragedies and traumas they have overcome. In order to never repeat the same mistakes, we must face the reality of history, and not turn away.

P-Mac is Peace Boat’s project to help raise funds to remove landmines in Cambodia. In reality, there is a huge discrepancy in aid depending on where you go in Cambodia. In some areas where there is an abundance of aid, people have become so dependent on it that they have lost their independence. Participants point to a need for “both givers and receivers of aid to have a national plan to reach a common goal.”

The report ended with a quote, ‘One step can create one smile’. Following the session, participants came up to ask more questions about their experiences in Cambodia.