Dave Reynolds of Inclusion Daily Express writes, "Cambodian Vets Build Self-Sufficient Community."
Cambodian Vets Build Self-Sufficient Community
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
May 26, 2005
VEAL THOM, CAMBODIA--During the past five years, a group of Cambodians with physical disabilities -- many of whom were enemies just a few years ago -- has pulled together to create Veal Thom, a village for them and their families.The campaign to develop the village of Veal Thom has been led by Touch Soeuly, the founder of the Amputee Salvation Association. Soeuly, who lost his leg to a landmine in 1982, is a veteran of the Khmer Rouge, which was responsible for the deaths of more than 2 million Cambodians during the country's civil war.
Because of the Khmer Rouge, along with the bombing the country experienced during the war in neighboring Vietnam, and the estimated 10 million land mines that dot the countryside, there are about 2.25 million Cambodians with physical disabilities -- representing about 16 percent of the population.
Soeuly decided to create the village because of the discrimination many have experienced, and as a way for them to take control of their lives rather than relying on others. The government pays veterans with disabilities just $20 a month.
"Even certain animals receive proper care, are kept in pens and fed," Soeuly told the Associated Press. "But many amputees have been left to simply linger."
Many in the community of 285 families live off small vegetable gardens or hire themselves out as laborers. They told the Associated Press that it's more dignified than begging for handouts or living among neighbors who consider them worthless.
Source:
Inclusion Daily Express
http://www.InclusionDaily.com
Related:
"Former enemies live together in Cambodia" (Associated Press)
http://newsobserver.com/24hour/world/story/2432768p-10730840c.html
"Cambodia: Victims of the Land Mines"
http://www.cesil.com/protected/itld0598/enschi05.htm
Excerpt from "Cambodia: Victims of the Land Mines":
'Antipersonnel landmines are devices created with a diabolic cleverness: they were not developed to kill but to physically harm people as much as possible, with the logic of forcing the enemy to undergo material sacrifices because taking care of a handicapped is more expensive than burying a dead."
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