Song Kosal's Speech [translated from Khmer]
Ban Landmines Week Press Conference, Thursday March 8, 2001

Good morning everybody. I'm Song Kosal from Cambodia, leader of the Youth Against Landmines Campaign. I want a world where every child has a chance to wear two shoes. When I buy shoes, I have to hide one shoe because the empty shoe reminds me of my missing leg and the horror of landmines. Once I went to a shoemaker and asked, "Would you make me one shoe? Would you mind helping me by making me one shoe?" "No," he said, "that would bring me bad luck." So I am asking the United States to ban landmines and give all children good luck. We gathered people want a world with no landmines where all children can play freely and not be afraid that they will lose a leg, an eye, an arm or become deaf. In my campaign I ask everybody to do one thing each day to make peace grow like a flower. Come on, United States. Do it today. Ban landmines now. Why not USA? Why not USA?