SIEM REAP , Cambodia - The majestic beauty of Cambodia with its temples is balanced by the horrible reality of landmines . Landmines still pose a danger to people in the jungle , especially to those who are trying to farm . The conflicts that started in 1970 s and went into the 1990 s brought landmines which were built in the United States , the Soviet Union , Czech Republic , Bulgaria , and China to name a few countries . Experts estimate the number of landmines in the three million range in a country of eight million people . The survivors can be seen on the streets of Siem Reap , some managing a meager existence of work , some begging for assistance . My guide assured me that an area about 18 miles around the temples and Siem Reap have been cleared of landmines . Having visited enough temples the previous three days , I opted to rent a bike on my last day ( fee - $ 2 ) and visit the landmine museum . The bike looked to be something from the late 1960 s . There are only a few main roads in Siem Reap so finding the one to the museum was easy . The dirt road off the main street was bumpy with some mud holes . After pedaling for about a half - mile , I took a left onto a road in even worse condition . Passing the populated area and avoiding some tour buses and chickens , I came to the museum with the tour buses in front . There was no fancy granite sign or massive building , just a barren dirt area with some shacks and tin roofs . Having visited scores of museums , the Cambodia Landmine Museum has to be the most primitive I have ever seen for a museum . It is also the only one that brought me to tears . Some of the stories and drawings tacked on the posts and walls are from the victims of different ages . Some stories are tragic , some heartfelt , some uplifting . Unfortunately , they are true . The statistics are presented rather crudely , many people who become victims are simple farmers trying to make a living . Old rusty mines lay on the ground along the stark partitions while pictures with the descriptions , which include the manufacturing country , are stapled to the walls . Some mines are not meant to kill instantly , just to maim enough to where they die from blood loss . A video of a mine ’ s power has just finished and an Oriental man leaves with his head bowed and pats one of the small victims on the way out . Neither one says a word . Crude drawings and pictures and stories line the boards as do warning signs . Some of the money used for education is simply to show the Cambodian people the warning sign and tell them that it means a landmine . They are also taught to use a mask and gloves when clearing mines to avoid the risk of getting sick from exposure to TNT and other chemicals . Probing or poking the ground with a long , sharp stick is still the most effective way to locate mines . The safest places to step are on large rocks , small flexible trees , dense clumps of grass or a tree root . Statistics on the wall tell of the Cambodia landmines and its victims for a one - year period . People traveling accounted for 29 percent or 107 cases , another 22 percent or 82 people were killed while cutting or collecting wood , 20 percent ( 73 ) were farming , 16 percent were clearing the land , and 8 percent ( 29 ) were collecting food . Fifty - one percent of the mines were found in the forest , 10 percent in rice fields , 12 percent on a path and 7 percent on a mountain or hill . Aki Ra , who has become an international expert in landmine removal , established the museum and set up the foundations to provide assistance . He also provides a home for some victims . Da , a young man of 20 ( he doesn ’ t wish his family name known ) , is a victim who lives at the museum . Ten years ago , he and his best friend came upon a landmine when they were playing . They backed up what they thought was far enough and the friend threw a rock to detonate the mine . Unfortunately , it was the kind that exploded , bounced up in the air and exploded again . Da , instantly fell to the ground when he saw the mine rise but he lost his right arm . The friend was not as lucky . “ The farmer heard , then he come . The people help me very quickly and then they send me to the doctor , ” said Da who said he didn ’ t stay long in the hospital . “ The place where the mine exploded is near the farm . ” Da ’ s village with the landline was about 15 kilometers from Siem Reap . Through the efforts of Aki Ra and others , the jungle around Siem Reap has been cleared for about 30 kilometers . “ I am very sad because he was my best friend , ” Da said . “ When we were smaller , we always go everywhere together . During that year , we both started the same class . He was 11 years old . ” Beginning in September , he goes to school everyday to study English for one hour . An American named Alan provided the tuition for one year at the private school . “ I ’ m very happy that he helps me , ” said Da . Da spends about four hours a night getting used to writing with his left hand . He said it took some time to work on his ABCs but then progressed to sentences . one of the stories featured is about Da and the 10 chickens he trained to follow him . “ After I lose my arm , maybe two years later , I have to live alone , ” Da explained . “ My mother must go away from me and my brother also . My family is very poor . If we stay together , we can not live because we do not have food or rice and field also . We lose field when I am at hospital because we must spend a lot of money and we sold the field . Also , we sold the land in the village . ” He stayed with an uncle . His mother is getting back some of the land from the village , named Sun , but not on the scale she had before . Da has lived at the museum for 2 ½ years . He enters the 11 th grade this year . “ I want to go to university , if I pass my exam very well . I can go another two years . I promised my sponsors , I will pass my exam . They send everything to me for university . I want to study English and I also want to study agriculture . I want to become a teacher and go back to my village and teach all the children . I want to teach them all about English . Then they can help themselves when they grow up . ” For more information on the museum , visit www . akiramineaction . com or www . landmine - relief - fund . com . The museum is open daily from 8 a . m . to 5 p . m .