Political science major Karyn Amira ’07 was on a Vietnam term abroad her junior year when she and several friends visited the legendary Angkor Temples in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The driver they hired for the day added an unexpected stop: a landmine ‘museum.’
“It was more or less a shack nestled in the outskirts of the city. That’s where I learned about the horrific nature of landmines that continue to litter the Cambodian countryside,” Amira said.
After discovering that the United States was the only NATO country that has not signed the Treaty to Ban Landmines, “I was shocked and a bit embarrassed,” Amira said.
She was also inspired.
Back on campus, she started a grassroots political action campaign aimed at college students to encourage the U.S. government to sign the international treaty. The campaign became her senior project. It also garnered the attention of a philanthropist who is giving 100 awards of $10,000 each – for a total of $1 million – to students from 66 American colleges and universities who are motivated to build peace throughout the world in the 21st century.
The winners of the Kathryn Wasserman Davis 100 Projects for Peace awards will complete their projects this summer. Davis, who turned 100 in February, established the program to mark her milestone birthday.
Amira’s proposal is titled “Students for a Mine-Free World.”
In Cambodia, Amira met the owner of the landmine museum, Aki Ra. Once a member, by force, of the extremist Khmer Rouge that ruled Cambodia from 1975-1979, he is trained to clear up to 40 mines within an hour, Amira said. The museum also serves as his home and a safe haven for children who have been maimed and injured by mines.
“I learned that land mines are still present in many Third World countries and kill innocent civilians every 22 minutes,” Amira said. “They hinder agriculture and tourism. They cause family burdens and break international humanitarian laws. Land mines obstruct peace, as they continue to kill innocent civilians even after the end of a war. Unlike armies, they do not abide by peace treaties since they are left in the ground, waiting for local men, women and children to step on them. Land mines are the unfortunate legacies of expired warfare.
“This treaty, if signed, will prohibit the use, stockpiling, transfer and production of landmines forever,” she said.
Campus action
Last year, Amira organized two demonstrations at Union about the dangers of landmines. She is now focusing on getting college students from other schools to view her Web site, www.minefreeworld.com, which includes everything from tips on how students can help, complete with sample advocacy letters and treaties, to links to politicians’ Web sites.
With the funds from her recent award, she plans to extend her outreach to other colleges, urge students to write advocacy letters to government officials in support of the treaty and raise money for land mine clearance.
“It is time to show that a new generation has taken notice of this international landmine crisis,” Amira said. “College students are an untapped resource that must be encouraged to participate in the political process.”
Projects for Peace
100 Projects for Peace invited students from schools participating in the Davis United World College (UWC) Scholars Program to submit specific plans of action that will have lasting effects on world peace.
The Scholars Program provides grants to select American colleges and universities in support of students from all over the world who have completed their pre-university studies at UWC schools. Union joined the UWC Scholars’ community last year. The program is funded by Shelby M.C. Davis, the son of Kathryn Davis.
Among the many campuses represented in the peace projects are Amherst, Bates, Bowdoin, Bryn Mawr, Columbia, Cornell, Carleton, Harvard, Middlebury and Yale. Students will travel to more than 40 countries this summer to implement their projects and report on their experiences once they return.
For more information, visit the program’s Web site at www.kwd100projectsforpeace.org.