Donor fatigue guts demining in Asia, as active conflicts draw away funding

Siem Reap, Cambodia - En Poy, a Cambodian demining worker, lost his arm and an eye to a land mine blast decades ago. This traumatic experience sparked his career with Cambodian Self Help Demining, an organization combating the aftermath of wars from the past century. However, foreign aid groups like Poy's are facing challenges as donors reallocate funds towards active conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, and Sudan, as well as newer wars like Syria and Afghanistan.

The shift in funding is further exacerbated by increased defense spending, leaving less money for humanitarian demining.

The situation in Cambodia highlights the ongoing threat posed by land mines and unexploded ordnance, even after conflicts have ended. Demining organizations argue that without international support, the unfinished work of clearing these hazards will persist, endangering communities, causing injuries and fatalities, and hindering development for years to come.

The legacy of the Vietnam War has left Cambodia as one of the world's most heavily mined countries, with chemical weapons also contributing to the ongoing danger. Since the war's end, land mines and unexploded ordnance have claimed around 90,000 lives and injured twice as many people across Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.

Demining is a painstaking process, involving surveying, mapping, clearing vegetation, detecting explosives, and destroying them. Progress is measured in meters per day, but work often grinds to a halt during wet weather. Charles Ray, a U.S. veteran and former consul general in Ho Chi Minh City, emphasizes the importance of U.S. funding in helping countries rebuild and demonstrating concern for their well-being.