Description
Sergeant (Sgt) Jodie Clark, Australian Force Communications Unit (FCU) with two homeless street children from the town of Battambang, who sitting on the bonnet of a white UN vehicle used by the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC). A UN transit van is parked in the background. In the spirit of UNTAC's humanitarian brief, Australian soldiers set up a school for the children of Battambang with money raised through their own fund raising projects. Sgt Clark would regularly check on these children's progress and occasionally treat them to a ride in a UN helicopter (see P03258.087 - P03258.089). When the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) arrived in late 1992, there were at least 200,000 orphans, a rate of infant mortality averaging nine deaths for every 100 pregnancies, a disabled rate of one out of every 238 children (mainly amputees due to landmines), and an average life expectancy of less than 50 years. Many children who have experienced the trauma of Cambodia's recent history have displayed symptoms of extreme dysfunction.
Details
Accession Number
P03258.085
Classification
Photograph
Object Type
Colour - Film original transparency (positive) other
Credit Line
Donor H Smith
People
Conflicts