Sermsiri Ingavanija, Coordinator, Ban Landmine Project, JRSAP – JRS- Asia Pacific Issue 75, PO Box 49, Sanampao Post Office, Bangkok 10406, Thailand; 28/11/09
Ms. Wiboonrat Chanchoo is like any other normal person and in a crowd no one would notice anything strange about her. Only a careful look at her left leg would let one know that it is not her natural leg, but a prosthetic leg. “I stepped on a landmine in 1966. My father, brother, sister and I went to cut the bamboo not far from our village. I cut 69 bamboo stalks. I needed one more stalk and then I could go back home. While trying to cut this last bamboo, I stepped on a landmine. Hearing the blast, my brother and sister ran to help me. I shouted to them not to come as there could be more landmines around. I dragged myself about 50 metres to a safe area. I was taken to the hospital for an operation and upon waking up afterwards I found that I had lost my left leg below the knee. At that time I had two children. Soon after the accident my husband divorced me because of the loss of my leg. Since then, I have taken care of my children alone. Because of the loss of my leg my mobility was greatly reduced and life became very difficult because I was so slow. A job that other people could finish in one day might take me eight to ten days to finish.”
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Ms. Wiboonrat found that within her own community there were (and still are) a lot of people with disabilities (PWDs). “Nowadays, there are fewer new victims because the villagers are afraid to go to the area still contaminated with landmines. Some of the area has been cleared, but there are still many spots with mines. The villagers keep finding land mines in their paddy fields. I would like the Royal Thai Government to get the paddy fields cleared of mines and also do more for the PWDs. They are an especially vulnerable group. They need proper prosthetic legs and other mobility aids. Some of them have made their request for many years but have not received any help yet.”
During 1997-98 the government officers and village headman invited Ms. Wiboonrat to join education and training meetings on PWDs at district and provincial level. There she met with other PWDs and found that there were many in a worse situation than she. Some of them could not move or speak; some did not have shelter or food to eat. In 1999 she became the chairperson of the PWD organisation of Phan Suk sub-district, Aranyaprathet district, Sa Kaeo province.
Today, ten years on, she continues to work tirelessly for PWDs. She has been
involved in the Ban Landmines Campaign in Thailand and has represented Thailand Landmines Survivors in meetings at provincial, national and international level.
She was also involved in the campaign to urge the Thai Government to sign the Ottawa Treaty or the Mine Ban Treaty (formally the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction).
Ms. Wiboonrat may be disabled, but her heart isn’t. She continues to help other PWDs and this is her happiness.
Tags: Arms, Human Rights, Thailand, USA