You are invited to hear National Geographic journalist Mark Jenkins Today at 3:30

The Healing Fields: The Legless, the Sapper and the Search for Miss Landmine Cambodia

 

Mark Jenkins

 

Central Wyoming College, Intertribal Center,

Room 116, “Wind River Room”

3:30 PM, Tuesday, 20 March

 

Worldwide, there are tens of millions of landmines buried in over 70 countries---Angola to Afghanistan, Vietnam to Zimbabwe---one out of every three nations. Over 5000 people, mostly women and children, are maimed or killed by landmines every year. Unlike bullets, after a war ends, landmines are still alive, waiting to blow the legs off innocent farmers and shepherds. Pol Pot, the genocidal leader of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia during the 1970s called landmines his "perfect little soldiers." After 30 years of war, Cambodia is one of the most heavily mined countries on earth, but through progressive government programs and substantial foreign aid, it has become the world's leader in demining and victim rehabilitation. On assignment for National Geographic, author Mark Jenkins spent a month in Cambodia – crossing minefields, interviewing victims, and searching for Miss Landmine Cambodia---to create this photo-illustrated presentation about the horrific legacy of landmines.

 

Mark Jenkins is a critically acclaimed author, a field staff writer for National Geographic and a writer-in-residence at the University of Wyoming.  A global journalist, Jenkins covers the world writing about geopolitical issues, from landmines in Cambodia to HIV/AIDS in Botswana, ethnic cleansing in Burma to mountaineering in Pakistan.  He is the author of four books including A Man’s Life (Modern Times, 2007), The Hard Way (Simon and Schuster, 2002), To Timbuktu (Morrow, 1997), and Off The Map (Morrow, 1992).  Jenkins has published in over 50 national and international magazines and newspapers, including The Atlantic Monthly, Bicycling, Backpacker, Conde Naste Traveler, GQ, Outside, Playboy, Sierra, Sports Afield, the Utne Reader and The Washington Post. He has been interviewed by Anderson Cooper 360, Good Morning America, The Crier Report, CNN, PBS, BBC and NPR, as well as spoken on countless radio programs.  In 2009, Jenkins won the National Magazine Award for his story “Who Murdered the Mountain Gorillas” in National Geographic.

 

Mark’s visit is brought to you by CWC International Studies, University of Wyoming, and U.S. Department of Education, Title VI Grant.