A FTER only six months of service in the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces 22-year-old
Sain Te was lucky enough to be granted leave to travel to Phnom Penh and marry
his sweetheart.
Three days before his wedding day he was detailed to a
mine-clearing operation on Aral mountain in Kompong Speu province. It was there
that his young life was shattered when a mine exploded.
The blast caused
an eye infection that has left him blind. An infection that is curable according
to hospital pharmacist, Hel So Phal. But there is no one to buy the medicine for
him. His mother visited for three days after the accident but has never
returned. His bride-to-be cut off all contact when she learnt of his fate and it
is unlikely, as a soldier, he will receive help from a foreign
organization.
Now he lays in the dead heat of block B1B at Preah Ket
Meala military hospital. He writhes around in a constant search for comfort,
careful not to bang the stump where his right forearm used to be or open the
wound where one of the fingers of his left hand was blown away. Scars litter his
body. A testimony to the healing process that has of yet failed to take hold of
his mind. He is deep in shock and is only able to utter a few syllables. Alone,
he has all the time in the world to think of what was and what might have
been.
Things might be a little more bearable if Te could join in with the
other patients' card games or distract himself with yesterday's newspaper but he
cannot enjoy either of these things.
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