Wander down a country lane in Prasat Bakong district, Siem Reap province, and you will find the newly built Techo Peace Museum, packed with the grim relics of decades past. Landmines, cluster munitions, and heavy aerial bombs—all pulled from the earth by deminers working across the country over the years. Run by the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC), the museum has finally opened its doors after more than twenty years in the planning.
Local officials are quick to point out that the display isn't here to glorify the destructive power of old weapons, but to show people the true toll that war takes on ordinary lives. In an era saturated with AI and doctored images, the neutralized ordnance inside the museum hits harder because it is real. The exhibits include anti-personnel and anti-tank mines, alongside a massive bomb hauled out of the Mekong River in Phnom Penh back in 2022, right across from the Royal Palace. Records show a dozen were dropped there back in the day; only one has been recovered, leaving the fate of the rest—whether they went off or are still buried out there—completely unknown.
What really gets to you, though, are the personal items. Among the displays sits a prosthetic leg hammered together from scrap cartridge cases by a landmine survivor. The person who wore it is gone now, but that cold metal shell still speaks volumes about the scars of war. As local media have noted, the museum isn't just about cold iron; it also tells the story of how survivors are fitted with artificial limbs. The demining teams hope that when people come to look around, they will understand the pain of the past—and realize just how hard-won peace really is.
