According to UNICEF, one in 236 people in is an amputee because of buried landmines. More than one-third of those victims are under the age of 15, and more than 80 percent of landmine victims worldwide are civilians. In alone, there are an estimated 300,000-one million undetected landmines.
These horrifying statistics are just a part of what motivated the Dallas Peace Center to partner with the United Nations Association of Dallas for a second year as joint sponsors of the Landmine Removal Project in Cambodia
The other part is anthropologist and neighborhood resident Lance Rasbridge, who also serves as refugee program coordinator for Parkland Hospital . After completing his graduate work with the Dallas Cambodian refugee community at SMU, Rasbridge wanted to give something back. So he founded the Cambodia Outreach Project, which currently maintains a three-room school and a woodworking apprentice program in . Rasbridge spends two to four weeks a year there.
His extensive knowledge of the Cambodian culture and language encouraged the Peace Center ’s interest in the de-mining project.
Says neighborhood resident Stephen Brown, who serves as chair of the Landmine Removal Planning Committee and assistant director of the Peace Center : “Lance visits the de-mining locations during his trips to , and provides valuable on-the-ground accountability for the landmine removal effort.”
The Peace Center ’s contributions help Peacekeepers and the Cambodian Landmine Action Committee to purchase equipment and train Cambodians in safely detecting and clearing mine fields in the Battambang province along the Thai/Cambodian border. Last year’s project cleared a large area where 50 families now safely live and farm.
“We literally adopt a piece of land and help fund the United Nations Peacekeepers to safely clear the mines,” explains Brown.
Rasbridge adds, “I think it’s really important to connect the local to the international. The large Cambodian refugee community in Dallas wouldn’t be here in the first place if their country had safe places for families to live and raise their children.”
The center hopes to raise nearly $30,000 for the cause this year. Donations for the demining effort may be sent to: Dallas Peace Center Landmine Removal Project, PO Box 720341, Dallas, TX 75372.
For information, call 214-823-7793 or visit dallaspeacecenter.org.
