Cambodia's UXO Salvage Divers

• Photographer
  Charles Fox, Cambodia

It has been over 30 years since the end of the Khmer Rouge
regime, which resulted in the deaths of an estimated 2 million
people. Cambodia and its people still suffer from the legacy of
that dark time including the deadly and hidden threat oF land
mines.The Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) has been
training de-miners and has been responsible for clearing vast
areas of Cambodia from the threat of land mines. The huge task
has now taken a new direction. Working in conjunction with the
Golden West Humanitarian Foundation, a 9-person strong group
of de-miners from 40 hopeful volunteers has been selected to
become Cambodia’s first elite salvage diving unit.
The 9 divers are being trained not only to dive and recover, but
are also learning how to do so completely blind in depths of up to
30 meters, and against the strong currents of the Mekong and
Tonlé Sap rivers