Clearing The Landmines At Thai-Cambodia Border

By Mohd Haikal Mohd Isa Mohd Haikal Mohd Isa, BERNAMA’s correspondent in Thailand shares his take on the Bangkok capital city and its unique social narrative. BUACHET (SURIN PROVONCE), May 26 (Bernama) -- Every morning when Kan Rittiplang, 54, bid farewell to his family before going off to work, he knew very well that it could possibly be his last time that he would see his family. The father of three and a former captain in Royal Thai Army's Explosive, Ordnance and Disposal (EOD) unit, is a deminer with more than 30 years of experience in handling landmines and explosives. The danger associated with landmines and explosives never cowed him. "Landmines and explosives have been part of my live over 30 years, so whenever I go to work I have no fear or anything like that. The important thing for a deminer is getting the job done and never once be careless," he told Bernama in a recent interview. A deminer must also possess the right state of mind in order to complete the task safely. For months, Kan and his colleagues from the Thai Civilian Deminer Association (TDA) have been combing the jungle of Buachet for landmines and unexploded ordnance. THOUSANDS OF LANDMINES Buachet is located in northeastern Thailand near the Thai-Cambodian border, about seven hours drive from the Thai capital of Bangkok. For years, TDA with Thai Mine Action Centre (TMAC) of the Royal Thai Armed Forces have been combining forces to clear the landmines throughout Thailand, so that the land becomes usable and could returned to the locals. The jungle of Buachet where Kan currently works, sits just about 300 metres from the Cambodian border, a porous strip of land where different factions of armed groups once fought each other at the height of Indochinese conflict. "The jungle is littered with thousands of landmines with most of them being anti-personnel mine, a type of landmine that is very small, difficult to detect but possessed enough explosives to inflict serious injuries to the victims," he said calmly. Besides the landmines and unexploded ordinance, Kan and his team also need to be on the constant lookout for the numerous still active booby traps in the jungle. While Kan had got used the daunting task of clearing the landmines in Buachet's jungle, but it proved too be overwhelming for those new on the job. MOTIVATED TO BE A DEMINER "I knew that some of my staff are scared when they work with landmines, but I understand as they are new with this job," he said adding that the new members were easily stressed with the task at hand and had to be guided and constantly monitored. Kan pointed out stress could make a deminer lose concentration easily, causing accident at minefields resulting in death and injuries. For his staff, Kamphai Yaowasi, 44, said, the decision to become a deminer was easy as he wanted to settle an old score with the threat, due to a landmine incident more than a decade ago which claimed the life of his close relative. The incident which happened near the Buddhist temple, Preah Vihear, near the disputed Thai-Cambodian border, claimed the lives of his uncle and his friend while leaving another friend severely injured after they stepped onto a landmine during a hunting trip. "The tragic incident motivated me to apply for a job as a deminer when there was an opening in 2004," said Kamphai adding that, he and his group were trained with the military's EOD team at a camp in Ratchaburi province. GREW FOND WITH THE JOB Despite the danger and risks associated with the job as a deminer, he was very proud of his chosen occupation as he could help to ensure the safety of the locals from landmines and unexploded ordnance. He also said, although the meagre salary he received as a deminer was not commensurate with the risks, there is nothing to stop him. Despite the potential of death and injuries everytime he went to work, Kamphai would never trade his job for another. As his metal detector scanned the grounds in the pristine jungle for any landmines, Kamphai adjusted his EOD vest weighing more than 10kg and listened attentively to any beeping sounds generated by the German-made equipment. "Any landmine will have a small metal piece attached to it," he said calmly, as his metal detector emanated a loud beeping sound immediately after it touched the jungle's ground just in front of him and his colleague. BEEPING SOUNDS Sensing the impending danger his colleague squatted and began a slow and meticulous processes of unearthing the device, beginning with the removal of any leaves and tree branches near the spot where the beeping sounds were detected. Kamphai then thrusted a sharp metal rod into the soil several times to determine the exact position of the landmine and slowly dug the soil using his bare hands to dislodge the circular shaped object that had been entrenched in the soil for decades.. "It is a Vietnam-made anti-personnel mine," as he positively identified the origin of the landmine. Being more experienced than his colleague, Kamphai carefully picked up the anti-personnel mine weighing not more than 200gm and began dismantling its metal rod detonator from the "TNT" (explosive compound) in an attempt to deactivate the landmines. After successfully deactivating the landmine, he then slowly placed the device and its detonator in a wooden box before another team member took it away to be detonated on a later date. It was just one of the many landmines that Kamphai and his team managed to deactivate in the vast jungle of Buachet, where thousands more landmines and unexploded ordnance lay hidden, waiting for its next unsuspecting victims. -- BERNAMA