Landmines

Matt took this picture while we waited at a bus station in Phnom Penh.  This man was playing a traditional Cambodian musical instrument called a "troo" and collecting tips.  I don't know how they are usually made, but his was made with a tin can, a wooden neck, and two strings.  I asked if he would give me a short lesson if I paid him and he agreed.  I was horrible.  Since I used to play the violin and this was a bow and string instrument, I thought maybe I could make a nice sound come out, but I made a horrible screeching noise.  When he played, it was fantastic.  He was really talented.

All of the people I've seen so far playing this instrument on the streets for money have been physically disabled in some way.  This man was missing a limb.  Another man I met was blind and had suffered some sort of facial trauma.  A little boy was leading him around while he played.  His music was amazing also.

I've read that Cambodia has one of the highest amputee ratios in the world.  Around 50,000 people who have lost a limb due to landmines planted during the decades of war.  A third of landmine victims are children. There are still millions of unexploded landmines remaining in Cambodia.  They are so insidious because they harm innocent people for decades after fighting has stopped.  There is an international campaign to ban the use of landmines in war, and so far 160 countries have signed a land-mine treaty.  The United States is one of a few hold outs.  I really wish our country would participate.