Tun Channareth

His story

Receiving the Peace Prize for the ICBL. Oslo, Norway, 1997. Photo: Knudsen Fotosenter

Born in Phnom Penh, Reth and his family were forced to leave by the Khmer Rouge in 1975.

In 1982, as a resistance soldier on a mission near the Thai-Cambodian border, Reth stepped on a landmine. He later had both of his legs amputated. He receiving vocational training at a Thai refugee camp, where he stayed for 13 years.

In 1993 he moved back to Cambodia. Back home Reth started making wheelchairs as a way to help landmine survivors and support himself and his family.

He also got active in the mine ban movement: “I became thirsty for knowledge of the outside world, I wanted to stay alive long enough to see it, and finally contribute something of myself to it.”

He joined up with three other disabled veterans from other sides in the conflict to push for a ban on the weapon. They collected over 1,000,000 signatures from Cambodian supporters.

This led to the launch the Cambodia Campaign to Ban Landmines (CCBL), a prominent member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.

His message

Since then Reth has travelled the world with his message. He has:

• addressed Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni and a crowd of thousands at the launch of the Landmine Monitor Report 2004
• taken the ban message to the Pope, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and countless diplomats;
  

  Reth with Song Kosal and Norodom Sihamonihe, King of Cambodia. Landmine Monitor 2004 launch. Photo: Sheree Bailey

• visited countries in the Asia Pacific region that have not yet joined the treaty, urging them to do so urgently;
• met representatives of China, Russia and the USA demanding they stop production and pointing out that a Russian-made landmine caused his injury;
• addressed annual Meetings of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty since 1999 and the Hague Appeal for Peace Conference in 1998; and
• accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the ICBL in December 1997.

Today

As one of the ICBL's Ambassadors, Reth still travels the world urging governments to make landmines history. He is a role model for other landmine survivors and an inspiration to all.

“Finding ways to earn a living is still the number one priority for survivors in mine-affected communities”, says Reth.

Reth lives in Siem Riep, Cambodia, with his wife and six children. He still visits wheelchair users every day and oversees various income-generation projects for the disabled. He is a member of Jesuit Service Cambodia.