THE UNSUNG HERO

Siem Reap is in general best known through Angkor Wat, the Cambodian contribution to the world‘s cultural heritage. But the city also possesses other special things that easily escape the notice of the visitor.

If one leaves the city on national highway No. 6 heading westwards, one comes past the regional branch of HALO TRUST and this has something notable to offer the visitor. On the side of the approach road is the socalled HALOMonument, a sculpture by Sacha Constable, which honours the painstaking work of mine clearance officers who recreate the safety of areas for the general public. The sculpture was produced by Sacha Constable within the framework of the PeaceMonumentproject started in 2007 and shows a HALO deminer dressed in his typical protective clothing and with his ever-present metal detector in the course of his work.

Sacha Constable is a descendent of the famous 19th century English landscape painter and it is clear that the artistic genes of the family are manifested in her works. Particularly welcome is the recognition the sculpture pays to the many thousands of deminers and their painstaking work. These are the persons who bear the main burden of mine clearing projects but to whom mention is seldom made in official declarations and at official events.

Author: Theodor Steinbüchel