4.4 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 17 April 2025
⏱️ 10 minutes
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Fifty years after the start of the genocide that wiped out a quarter of its eight million population, Cambodia remains one of the most heavily landmined countries in the world.
More than 65,000 people have been killed or injured by explosive devices since the end of the conflict – and almost one million still live in areas affected by the remnants of war.
Aki Ra was one of thousands of child soldiers ordered to lay landmines by the Khmer Rouge after taking control of Cambodia on 17 April 1975.
He speaks to Jacqueline Paine about living under the regime and then risking his life to clear unexploded mines.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.
(Photo: A display of anti-tank and anti-personnel mines in Cambodia. Credit: Getty Images/Peter Charlesworth)
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0:00.0 | Hi Curios, I'm Dara Brien. |
0:03.5 | And I'm Hannah Frye. |
0:04.5 | And we are back for another series of curious cases. |
0:07.6 | Where we investigate the scientific mysteries sent in by you. |
0:10.9 | I would like to know if anything in the universe is truly invisible. |
0:14.7 | Why do we lie? |
0:16.1 | What happens to our brains when we fall in love? |
0:19.2 | We tackle the mysteries of the universe through audacious experiments and expert insight. |
0:23.8 | Curious cases. |
0:24.8 | Listen first on BBC Sounds. |
0:32.9 | This is the Witness History podcast |
0:35.0 | from the BBC World Service with me, Jacqueline Payne. |
0:39.2 | We're the podcast that takes you back to a key moment in history, |
0:42.9 | which we bring back to life through the memories of one key witness. |
0:47.0 | For today's story, we're going back 50 years, |
0:49.8 | when radical communist troops in the Buddhist kingdom of Cambodia in Southeast Asia |
0:54.8 | took control of the capital, Pernompin. |
0:58.6 | These pictures were made from a tank as it rolled through the streets of Plompin. |
1:03.8 | As you can see, people were out on the streets, |
1:06.6 | bathing and shearing as the Khmer Rouge arrived. |
1:09.8 | It's April the 17th, 1975. |
1:12.6 | At first the streets were empty, |
... |
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