Cambodia Landmine Museum

During Cambodia’s three-decade-long conflict, approximately six million landmines were planted in the nation, and the Landmine Museum represents an agonizing window into the realism of the country’s landmine situation.

This museum was founded in 1997 by Aki Ra, with the prime objective to make the country safe through the removal of mines from wherever he could find them. Aki Ra was forced to work as a mine layer by the Khmer Rouge, planting landmines from an age as young as five.

Later, as part of the United Nation’s endeavor to restore peace in the country during the 1990s, Aki Ra got the opportunity to work as a de-miner. Though the UN left the country in 1994, he continued the mission in his own way, even though it was not according to international demining standards. Initially, Aki Ra turned his own home located on the outskirts of the Siem Reap into a museum displaying decommissioned bombs, landmines and other explosive weapons that he had unearthed since 1995.