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Cambodian man clears land mines he set decades ago
Aki Ra and his Cambodian Self Help Demining group have made Cambodia safer by clearing about 50,000 mines and weapons.
When the United Nations came in the early 1990s to help restore peace to Cambodia, Aki Ra saw an opportunity to begin undoing the damage he and others had done. He started training with the U.N. and helping them clear mines.
It was around this time he got the name he goes by today. He was born Eoun Yeak, but he was so skilled at clearing mines that his supervisors began comparing him to AKIRA, a heavy-duty appliance company in Japan. One reportedly commented, "He works just like an AKIRA." The name stuck.