A landmine survivor dedicates himself to helping other disabled people

Kyaw Win works on an artificial leg at the IRC-supported prosthetics center in Liokaw, Myanmar. He lost his right leg to a landmine in 2003 when he was just 15 years old. Photo: Peter Biro/IRC

Liokaw, Kayah State, Myanmar—Kyaw Win, a 35-year-old former guerrilla fighter, shakes his head as he recalls the day in 2003 that changed his life.

"I had a premonition. I knew something bad was going to happen." 

While on patrol deep in the dense forests of eastern Myanmar, Win stepped on a landmine hidden in the undergrowth. 

"There was a loud bang. I saw my foot lying on the ground. I was losing a lot of blood and I passed out." 

Win was rushed to a field hospital and after three surgeries he was left with a stump just above his right knee.

Win joined the anti-government Karenni National People's Liberation Front at age 15 and spent most of his youth battling the Burmese army or rival rebel groups. But after a 2012 ceasefire between the rebels and the government, Win put his fighting days behind him.

Today, Win dedicates himself to helping landmine victims and other disabled people. At a prosthetics workshop in Loikaw, the capital of Kayah State, he and a group of workers craft artificial limbs of all sizes. The center is one of several programs for war victims supported by the IRC.

Almost all of the amputees helped by the workshop are landmine victims. Myanmar has one of the highest rates of antipersonnel mine deaths and injuries in the world, surpassed only by Afghanistan and Colombia, according to the Swiss-based nongovernmental organization, Geneva Call.

"Landmines continue to kill and maim thousands of people every year," says Dr. Sein Hlaing, the director of IRC health programs in Myanmar. 

To help prevent accidental detonations, IRC aid workers conduct landmine awareness training in remote villages.

"We tell people to avoid areas that have been used by the military and never to walk on unused footpaths and roads," Dr. Hlaing says.

At the prosthetics center, U Buh Rah, a 51-year-old landmine victim has come to have his artificial leg refitted. His leg was blown off when he stepped on a mine while hunting in the forest near his village.

"Life became difficult," he says. "I could no longer hunt and walking was hard. I don't want my sons to hunt either, there are still too many landmines hidden in the forest."

Forced to rely on a single homemade wooden crutch, Rah was often confined to his house.  

The center provided U Buh Rah with aluminium alloy crutches and a new prosthetic leg. 

On the day of the fitting, Kyaw Win squatted in front of U Bu Rah and made sure that the new artificial leg fit snugly. 

"I learned that it takes a long time to adjust to an injury like mine," Kyaw Win says. "You need a professionally made prosthetic limb and a lot of help with rehabilitation. I am happy to provide that help."

http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/a-landmine-survivor-dedicates-himself-to-helping-other-disabled-people/