Most people who know me know that Human Rights Watch holds a special place in my heart.  Most people who know HRW knows that its focus on landmines — and the significant role it played in banning them — is one of the organization’s landmark victories.  Accordingly, I went to the Landmines Museum in Cambodia, a country largely affected by the indiscriminate weapon.

It was Sunday afternoon, and the Museum was located 25k outside of Siem Reap.  I made the journey via tuk-tuk with my new BFF and travel companion, Vanessa from Australia, a young journalist and NGO volunteer who I’d met on the bus ride to Siem Reap from Battambang.

The Museum was very small, but powerful.  It was pretty incredible to be there, among weapons used so indiscriminately (including by the US), to see the damage and destruction first-hand by meeting landmine victims.  I got chills when I accidentally touched the helmets worn by soldiers in the Khmer Rouge/Pol Pot regime, responsible for the virtual genocide of over 20% of the country’s population just 30 or so years ago.  It is an important experience to have.