OMAD TIME LOOKS BACK ON THE KING OF POP’S LIFE AND CAREER Uncommon Courage The Killing Fields
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Writer Matthew Teague photographed these Uygur men, advancing upon Chinese forces, moments before they were shot. Many people carry cameras these days. Some have uncommon courage. On page 36 of this issue, in the story “The Other Tibet,” there is a photograph taken with a cell phone. The photographer was not a professional. She was a Uygur woman who documented the shooting of a Uygur man by Chinese security forces on a street in Urumqi, capital of China’s Xinjiang region. She later gave the picture to National Geographic’s photographer Carolyn Drake.
Like their Tibetan neighbors, the Uygurs have a history of struggle, but when Carolyn began covering them more than a year ago, she had no idea that the conflict would explode into one of China’s most deadly uprisings since the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. By June of this year, she thought her coverage was finished; she returned home to Istanbul. Then hints of unrest began to filter back to her. “At first I didn’t realize the severity of it. I started sending emails to my translator and friends in Kashgar, Hotan, and Urumqi, but no one responded.” She anxiously searched news sources, but the picture of what was going on seemed incomplete and unclear. There was only one way to find out: return to China. She did so in July. Carolyn, writer Matthew Teague, and a Uygur woman with a cell phone camera all took great risks to bring us the story of a struggle for human rights. Many people carry cameras these days. Sometimes they help us find the truth.
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With millions of active landmines still lying beneath Cambodia’s soil, one group of women has begun the long job of clearing the fields by hand.
The sound of gunfire has quieted along with the screams of terror, and three decades of conflict in Cambodia have finally ended. But a deadly, concealed legacy remains. During the 1970’s and 80’s. the Khmer Rouge and Vietnamese armies used landmines for obliteration just as frequently as they used guns. While the guns have run out of bullets, the landmines now lie beneath the ground awaiting indiscriminate detonation. According to a United Nations report, of the 10 countries with the most landmines, Cambodia comes fifth with between four and seven million mines left to clear. Afghanistan is at the top of the list with up to 10 million mines remaining. The UN predicts that it will take at least a century to rid Cambodia of mines, and over a thousand years to eradicate mines worldwide. This grim situation led the Australia-based war photographer Tim Page (profiled in YEN issue 15) and several of his ex-military colleagues to found the Mine Advisory Group (MAG). Luckily, Page knows Cambodia
RISKS EVERYDAY Our destination is the village of Sdau, 300 kilometres from the country’s capital Phnom Penh and one of the most heavily mined areas. Two days and too many bowls of offal later, we arrive at Sdau and are immediately confronted by a sea of red signs exclaiming, “Danger!! Mines!” We are risking our lives by entering the live minefield - a stark reminder of how Cambodians’ lives are jeopardised daily. The female de-miners are dresses like warriors in green MAG jumpsuits, protective helmets and bombproof vests. Their outfits are far from feminine but I notice a leopard-print scrunchie and a touch of red nail polish. They casually stroll into the minefield to begin their days’ work: clearing mines, by hand. One woman parts from the group and walks confidently toward us. Her name is Send Somala and she is the leader of the 15 women, who make up a team Number 12.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE What compells each woman in the team to undertake such a risky activity? Somala tells us it is a combination of financial and humanitarian reasons. “The salary is very high by Cambodian standards... Every woman in this team knows someone who has been injured or killed by a landmine. They want to stop more suffering from happening.” With 800 injuries from landmines last year, it is hardly suprising they feel so motivated. In the minefield, we are instructed to stay strictly on the pathway lined by strong. Putting one foot out of place could be potentially deadly. As we pass a young woman slowly waving her metal detector across the ground, Somala explains: “Together the women do a better job [clearing mines] than men because they are more patient. They may be physically weaker, but in this job it is patience that counts.”
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