My New Heroes - Cambodia blog entry #26

Much earlier in this series of blog posts, I told you about the Killing Fields and the Genocide Museum, and about the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge in the seventies. I told you how heart-wrenching that all was. Somehow, I held my emotions in check through all of that.

A week later, still in Cambodia, I just about broke down, learning about some true heroes, ones who are turning back the clock on those injustices and making a difference in the lives of many still facing horror in Southeast Asia.

Meet Glen.

 And Gordon (with his handler and Denise).

They are African Giant Pouched Rats who have been granted the title of HeroRats.  

Nearly 60 countries have land which still contains hidden landmines and other explosives, leftover from war. These devices kill indiscriminately, and in just 2023, they caused at least 5,757 casualties, of which 84% were civilians and 37% children.

How can these explosive devices be found safely so that they can be demolished in a controlled setting? It would take a human with a metal detector up to four days to clear an area the size of a tennis court. A HeroRat can search that area in thirty minutes, because he or she is trained to sniff out the explosive and not any other metal that may be buried there.

When we hear the word “rat”, we all picture a rodent digging around in trash, carrying fleas and diseases. But rats are actually very intelligent, easy to train, and have a remarkable sense of smell. They are also perfect for landmine and explosive detection, because they don’t weigh very much, so they can’t set off a device if they step on one. Also, they can live up to eight years, don’t eat much, and are easy to transport, so basically, they are really cheap labor.

But they love doing their job and they love the treats they are rewarded with. Okay, maybe they just love the treats. But they are still heroes for anyone who lives in a country where there are still active hidden explosives in the ground.

Please click here to view to their website, APOPO, to see what else these rats have been  trained to do, and consider making a donation.

(APOPO is an acronym from Dutch which stands for “Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling”, or in English, Anti-Personnel Landmines Detection Product Development.)