LIVING WITH THE LEGACY OF WAR
The painful aftermath of US ‘secret war’
As funding decreases for programs that serve amputees and landmine victims, some Cambodian officials are calling on Washington to pay more to fix a problem largely of its own making
By Melanie Saltzman
BANTEAY MEANCHEAY PROVINCE, Cambodia — Thousands of Cambodians — men, women and children alike — are struggling every day with the legacy of war this Southeast Asian nation has endured.
Survivors of injuries from remnants of war — landmines and other unexploded ordnance — need treatment for life, including prosthetic devices for arms or legs that were blown off. They rely on access to free rehabilitation centers funded by the Cambodian government, the International Committee of the Red Cross and NGOs to get it.
But as funding decreases, some Cambodian officials are calling on Washington to contribute more as a way to fix a problem largely of the United States’ own making.
The Medill National Security Reporting Project was produced in collaboration with GlobalPost. Follow the Deadly Debris series on GlobalPost.