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trace of landmine on face


trace of landmine on face
Information sur la photo
Copyright: Thanh Nguyen (ngythanh) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 500 W: 139 N: 2299] (8364)
Genre: Gens
Média: Noir & blanc
Date de prise de vue: 2007-03-17
Catégories: Vie quotidienne, Transports
Appareil photographique: Canon EOS 20D, Canon EF 70-200 F4 L, SanDisk Ultra II 2Gg
Versions: version originale
Thème(s): A quick return to Chong Kneas [view contributor(s)]
Date de soumission: 2007-04-27 5:01
Vue: 1236
Favoris: 1 [voir]
Points: 22
[Ligne directrice - Note] Note du photographe
.Take 4 (Click the number for info of entire trip)

This is another part of my report of the trek to Chong Kneas that will be a multi-day posting that we hope to be helpful to those who plan to follow our steps.

Of the entire 237km-distance between Saigon and Phnom Penh, we made 176, and the last 61-km portion of National Route #1 is under heavy construction as it is upgrading to be part of Trans-Asian Highway. Since all traffic is extremely slow, through the glass window of my bus I was so lucky to snap this picture of a Cambodian kid sitting with her adult on the roof of another bus traveling in opposite direction. I am sorry about the quality of this, but cannot skip this exposure as I look again many times at her anxious and sorrowful face. I have cropped out the part showing her amputated arm as I believe the expression of her face is more than enough to display a wounded soul.

For the previous postings, please use this theme. Thanks.



According to Hannes Schick, it is not difficult to imagine the overall number of amputations due to these deadly weapons in the country as a whole. Cambodia is one of the countries with the highest number of land mines and unexploded devices in the world. When the Americans bombed Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam they dropped hundreds of thousands of devices which had intentionally been built in order not to explode as they hit the ground but with a delayed action when they were hit by human beings or moving objects.

Other hundreds of thousands of bombs were unscrupulously dropped by aircraft which had failed to bring its destructive devices to Vietnam. When the country was under the United Nations' temporary control, over 2,000 minefields later delimited by the Control Department of the Anti-mine Cambodian Centre were reported. Other 2,632 minefields were detected in the following period up until the end of 1996. Presently, the priority is the location of the areas where land mines probably were dropped but not their removal so that most of them do not explode under circumstances controlled by experts but under people's feet or hands. Thus, it is up to the people to clean up their country from the deadly weapons manufactured and sold by Americans, Russians, Chinese, Italians, French, Turkish and Serbs. It has been estimated that it will take 175 years to neutralize the mines currently present in Cambodia.

During the conflict the placing of the mines played a key role in the tactics of the various belligerent factions. Wide areas of the country became uncultivable.

The unexploded devices are everywhere and their number is so high that people use the grenades' metal to build working tools and the bombs, after removing their explosive content, as the pillars of the houses' foundations. Although they are aware of the risks they may run, the farmers, pushed by hunger and the need to find food, also go to those fields known to be mined.

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. The lands to be mine-cleared, however, are still many.

Nevertheless, something was done at an international level in order to ban antipersonnel landmines. 96 countries signed to ban antipersonnel mines. Unfortunately some countries like China and the United States oppose clear and rigorous regulations with incomprehensible pretexts and refuse the outright ban of the mines. 110 million of invisible snipers will continue to remain lined up and hit children, old people, women, men in their everyday life's actions.


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teutza, adamchewts01, venslens, bhorerpakhi, tomauer, nhathuy, kenmac trouve(nt) cette note utile
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • teutza Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1050 W: 228 N: 1897] (10076)
  • [2007-04-27 5:15]

Hello Thanh,
this ia very beautoful portrait of this little girl that seems to be so mature..
she's a lovely kid!
TFS!
teo

Hi Thanh,

Very nice potrait. Beautiful description on your notes. Thank you for sharing.

Adam

Beautiful portrait, like a gentle touch, a very soft and gentle image, beautifuly composed, with a superb indirect light.
Thanks for sharing it with us,
Ioana

MOVING....

All my wishes to you to bring out such photographs and evoke the humaneness which we are slowly seeming to lose in the name of livelihood.let me not give points for this picture.

This picture is worth a thousand points.But let me not degrade the picture by giving mere points. i take it direct to my heart.

Thanh
the expression on her face is so natural!you can feel the pain in her eyes
marianna

What a touching picture, the face is so evocative, there seems to be so much sorrow hidden in it.
Poulomi

Nice picture Thanh. Great portrait of a Cambodian girl. Excellent moment shot. Well done. Thanks for sharing this with me. Sothy

Thanh:
Your today posting is a brillant and successful one, in term of "photo-journalism" achievement.
Let the photo speaks for itself, and let the girl's face tell the sorrow of her country, decade after decade.
Take care,
George

Excellent capture of expression...
When are you opening your gallery?...

Rick

Absolutely amazing expression, the story behind it is amazing. a very good description/note, thanks. The details are impressive, i really strong image. Thank you very much for sharing, and talking about that terrible issue with these landmines in Cambodia, terrible issue..

Thank you again.

  • Great 
  • andylj (48)
  • [2007-05-06 3:19]

Great photo ,such a sad face .

Thanks andy

Hello Thanh, A wonderful poignant capture teamed with an accurate and socially responsible set of notes. It can be a heart wrenching experience going through Cambodia. You have managed a wonderful photo here, excellent framimg (more about that later) which presents us with a dynamic scene...and your B&W conversion works a treat. It may have been an interesting exercise to have shown to the world the full version of this image...after all, it was largely through photojournalism that the 'American War' was finally brought to an end.
THank you for sharing.
Ken

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