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Kay Reh injured by an explosive device as he worked in a field | © HI
Since 2012, HI has provided some 13,000 people living in nine refugee camps along the Thai-Myanmar border with information on the risks from explosive devices.
Kay Reh, 17, lives in Ban Mai Nai Soi camp in Mae Hong Son province. His family has a small farm across the border where Kay Reh often works.
On 6 May 2020, Kay Reh was working in the fields with his mother when he came across a strange object and took it back to his hut. He hit the object three times with his axe. The object exploded, and Kay Reh passed out. His mother screamed for help, and Kay Reh was rushed to hospital.
He was bleeding heavily. Despite emergency care, Kay Reh suffered injuries to his eyes, face, the left side of his chest, stomach, thigh, and the fingers of his right hand.
Although HI has already provided some 13,000 people in nine refugee camps with information, it has noted a continued lack of risk awareness among residents.
HI continues to provide risk education sessions and psychological support to victims of these accidents. HI has also supplied information to more than 1,300 students.
"I have seen many civilians killed and injured by unexploded ordnance. Informing people of the dangers is one of our top priorities,”
says Naw Wah Gay, a doctor at Ban Dong Yangh hospital, who was born in Masaw, a village in Karen state contaminated by multiple explosive devices.
HI is an independent and impartial aid organisation working in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster. We work alongside people with disabilities and vulnerable populations, taking action and bearing witness in order to respond to their essential needs, improve their living conditions and promote respect for their dignity and fundamental rights.
HI is an independent and impartial aid organisation working in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster. We work alongside people with disabilities and vulnerable populations, taking action and bearing witness in order to respond to their essential needs, improve their living conditions and promote respect for their dignity and fundamental rights.