The conflict may be over, but the danger lives on. Landmines left by insurgents and government forces have contaminated Thailand for more than four decades. Buried just beneath the surface, these weapons are designed to kill and injure those who misstep. They hide just off of well-worn paths, in fields, forests and sometimes dangerously close to places people call home.
A dismal treasure hunt, finding these weapons scattered across the countryside has been a challenge -- perhaps a bigger challenge than the country realised when it committed to being landmine-free nearly 20 years ago.
The latest deadline is set for this November. With 11 months remaining and 409sq km of contaminated area still spread around the country, Thailand will miss that deadline.
Almost 4,000 people have been hurt or killed by landmines in Thailand -- 19 in the past year. For many who've survived a run-in with these weapons, a landmine-free Thailand cannot happen soon enough.
PAST THREAT CONTINUES
In the 1970s, '80s and '90s, insurgents and government forces planted millions of landmines along Thailand's borders with Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia and Myanmar.
According to a survey conducted almost two decades ago, 27 of Thailand's provinces were affected by landmine contamination, impacting more than 530 communities and some 500,000 people.
The majority of the contaminated area was and continues to be along the Thai-Cambodian border, where some estimate that the largest landmine field in the world was planted.
Wiboonrat Chanchoo lives not far from this border, in Sa Keao province. A young mushroom and luffa gourd farmer, Ms Wiboonrat was scouring the forest near her village for bamboo trees to build a lattice when she stepped on a landmine.
"Suddenly I heard a click, immediately followed by a big boom sound," she said. "I wasn't sure what that was since it happened so fast. Next thing I knew, I saw my boot and my left leg flying in the air."
She was 29, the year was 1996. She had help from friends and family, but her husband physically abused her after the accident. Ms Wiboonrat considered ending her life but told herself that she needed to stand tall and move forward. After recovering in a local hospital, she left her husband and learned how to walk with a prosthetic leg.
Others in her village have not been so lucky.
"There are approximately 124 people injured by landmines in my village," she said. "There are also more than 100 of them that didn't make it out alive.
"It's still is a big problem in our village. We had another case just last year."
AN INTERNATIONAL PROBLEM
COPING: Mosha has learned to live with a prosthetic leg. photos: Caitlin Taylor
Landmines are not just a problem in Thailand; many countries around the world are plagued by these weapons. In 1997 Thailand and several other countries signed the Mine Ban Treaty, an international agreement prohibiting landmines.
It sets deadlines for countries to become landmine-free and outlines methods for destroying old weapon stockpiles. Countries who sign the treaty agree to provide mine risk education and assistance to landmine victims.
It's one of the world's most widely-accepted treaties. As of 2015, 28 countries with mine contamination had successfully removed all landmines in their territory. Fifty-nine countries, including Thailand, have yet to become landmine-free.
BUMPS IN THE ROAD
Thailand has not purged its landmines as quickly as it planned to when it signed the Mine Ban >> >> Treaty 20 years ago. At the time, the country was given 10 years to clear all landmines, and when it missed that deadline, was granted 10 more.
But with this latest deadline less than a year away, Thailand is not on track to make it -- not even close.
Thailand still has approximately 409sq km of contaminated area to clear scattered around the country. With an average clearance rate of about 1sq km per year between 2011 and 2015, it will be a long time before Thailand is mine-free if it continues at that rate.
And while it would be great if clearing landmines was as simple as digging them up and hauling them away, the process is much more complicated. The first step is figuring out where to look.
SURVEY SLIP
Photos: BUSABA SIVASOMBOON
In 2001, a survey attempted to measure the impact of landmines in Thailand. It concluded that 2,500sq km of the country was contaminated by the weapons.
But according to the Norwegian People's Aid (NPA), an NGO dedicated to helping countries with landmine contamination, that number was hugely overestimated.
The survey looked at the number of people and communities affected by the threat of landmines, not how much area was actually contaminated by landmines.
"The difference is that if you live in a village where you cannot use a certain area, for livelihood or recreation, because of landmines, you are impacted … but it's not the whole village that is actually covered by landmines, just a certain portion of the village," says Aksel Steen-Nilsen, country director of NPA in both Thailand and Cambodia.
He says these discrepancies slow down the landmine clearance process, which is run by the Thailand Mine Action Centre (TMAC).
"[TMAC de-miners] have been spending a lot of time clearing areas with few or no landmines. So, they've been working in the wrong places, not all the time, but some of the time," says Mr Steen-Nilsen.
Spectrum reached out to TMAC for comment, but at the time of publication had not received a response.
NPA has been working in Thailand since 2000. Its primary role is to accurately map mine-contaminated areas through evidence-based surveying.
"[We] try to verify if the areas that have been previously recorded are actually contaminated or not," says Mr Steen-Nilsen. To do this, they study maps, consult past surveys and talk to people who know the area.
"This we do by speaking with local population, military, police, that are in the area. By doing this we are actually also getting some new information so we are able to identify new areas that previously had not been recorded."
With the help of these surveys, the Thai government is able to pinpoint large areas that were wrongly labeled as "contaminated". Between 2000 and 2008, almost 2,000sq km were found to have been mislabeled.
This greatly reduced the original estimation that 2,500sq km of Thailand was contaminated by landmines. Now, more resources can be spent on actually digging up and destroying landmines.
SHORT ON RESOURCES
WATCH YOUR STEP: A landmine victim poses near a marked-off minefield. There is a concerted effort to make Thai soil safe, but the programme is well behind schedule. photo: BUSABA SIVASOMBOON
TMAC can't afford to waste its already-limited resources. According to multiple reports by NPA, TMAC is strapped as it is.
"Lack of attention to mine action by political leaders remains a major constraint on progress, resulting in lack of funds for TMAC and the mine action sector," stated a 2014 report published by NPA.
Financial constraints are also cited in a report by Thailand submitted to the Mine Ban Treaty committee this year. "TMAC did not reach peak efficiency due to limitations in the budget allocated to Mine Action," the report said. "External support was also relatively limited. Thailand therefore remains open to any foreign support, especially for related equipment and training for our staff."
The government has gradually decreased the funding it gives TMAC each year. The centre's budget fell by about 10% between 2013 and 2014 to 72.65 million baht, and then by another 3% to 68.27 million baht by 2016.
LOCATION
Geographical constraints have also slowed the mine clearing process. De-miners are faced with challenging terrain that can severely delay their de-mining efforts.
For example, some areas are difficult to access along the Laos border because of extremely dense, mountainous forests. Heavy rains during monsoon season are an issue. Mudslides can cause landmine's positions to change.
Security concerns are another problem in some remote areas. According to the same report, "Along the border with Myanmar … ethnic conflict as well as operations of drug smuggling networks have raised safety concerns to mine action teams."
ADDITIONAL EXTENSION
The Thai government is already in the process of requesting an additional five-year extension, which they will present at an annual meeting of the state parties in Vienna, Austria, this month.
In a draft of their request submitted this summer, they address some of the challenges they've faced and suggest a few solutions.
For example, they plan on training civilian de-miners to tackle clearance in areas where military personnel are at risk. The report also outlines a few ways that the clearance and survey teams can be more efficient while out in the field.
In order to clear all landmines by 2023, Thailand plans to clear about 30sq km in 2017 and 2018, and about 70sq km each year after that. As of July 31, further surveying found that about 12sq km was in fact, not contaminated. They had physically cleared about 0.1sq km.
In total, the report states that the budget for the extension period will be a little over 1.2 billion baht, some of which Thailand is hoping to secure from "sources other than the government", such as NGOs.
MOVING FORWARD
As for survivors like Ms Wiboonrat, she looks forward to the day Thailand is officially landmine free.
Since her accident more than 20 years ago, she has become a strong and vocal advocate for landmine survivors. With the help of local officials, Ms Wiboonrat helped start a support group in her village, which expanded across her province and throughout Thailand.
She says she wants to empower landmine survivors and help them get their lives back on track.
"I'm sure there are still a lot more cases that can happen in the future but at least we know we will be taken care of," she said. "No matter what happens, I'm here to support everyone, and that gives new purpose to my life."
SURVIVORS LARGE AND SMALL
The sun has barely risen when Friends of the Asian Elephant Hospital begins to stir. The dogs are the first wake up, followed by sleepy staff who live onsite. The elephants start their day with a wheelbarrow full of sugar cane stocks. They munch while leisurely watching their keepers sweep the paddocks.
Among the patients recovering from injuries and illnesses are a few lifelong residents. Those who, for various reasons, cannot return to the lives they once had. One of those elephants is Mosha.
At 12 years old, she's as playful and curious as any adolescent. Anyone or anything that comes close to her paddock is likely to get a great big sniff from the end of her trunk. If visitors stop at her neighbour's paddock before they visit her, Mosha makes a big fuss. She lives for attention and affection.
This morning, like most, Mosha stands patiently as her keeper, Palahdee, and another employee prepare to attach her prosthetic leg. They slip on a very large sock and she leans into the cast. It only takes a moment, both Mosha and her helpers are experts at this.
Once she's stable, she's off. First to the sand pit for a quick shower, then over to the fence to meet her latest visitors. She looks light on her feet.
TRAGEDY STRIKES
Mosha stepped on a landmine when she was seven months old. Her mother worked in a logging camp along the Thai-Myanmar border. She was following her thorough the forest when the young elephant's life changed forever. The lower part of her right leg was blown off.
Veterinarians and staff sprang into action when Mosha and her mother arrived at the Friends of the Asian Elephant Hospital. They gave her antibiotics and pain medication. They cleaned and trimmed the fresh wound. It didn't take long for Mosha's resilience to shine through.
The young elephant was forced to say goodbye to her mother a few months later. Her owner had decided to donate Mosha to the hospital where she would get the care and treatment she needed, but her mother had to return to work in the jungle.
Mosha has been at the Friends of the Asian Hospital ever since, and she is not alone. There are two other permanent residents at the hospital who've survived landmine explosions. One of them is missing a few toes, the other a large part of her leg, like Mosha.
According to the hospital's Founder, Soraida Salwala, Mosha and the others are only three of the 15 elephant landmine victims to come through the hospital in the last decade. Some have been lucky enough to return home, others couldn't be saved.
"Landmine injuries are the most tragic," says Ms Salwala.
JUMBO INJURY: Mosha the elephant lost a large part of her leg when she stepped on a mine when she was a calf. photos: Caitlin Taylor
SINISTER PARTS: Clockwise from above: Excavated landmines, a de-miner tests the terrain, and uncovers a deadly object. Photo: JAKKRIT WAEWKRAIHONG
