"I was 11 years old when the accident happened on the way to school with some friends. We saw the bomb: it was round and small like an orange. We had no idea what it was. Huù picked it up from the side of the road, and we played with it like it was a small piece of fruit. We wanted to see who could throw it further. It exploded when Huù threw it.

	Photo: Lê Van Nhan lives by himself in a village outside the city of Than Hua, Vietnam. An outreach worker from a USAID-funded rehabilitation center in Than Hua often visits Nahn. Source: Noah Hendler

I did not know what happened. Seeing my friends lying on the land and a lot of blood frightened me... I remember someone running from the village and picking me up.

My father cared for me in the hospital for three months. He fed me, bathed me, brushed my teeth and brought me medicine. I was very sad. My life didn't mean anything to me. With my father's encouragement I overcame the biggest difficulty in my life. I was afraid that I might not be a useful person. Soon after I came home from the hospital, both my parents died, and I went to live with my brother and his family. At the time, I was unable to move on my own so I stayed inside. If I wanted to go anywhere, my brother had to carry me on his back. I couldn't go to school because I had no way to get there.

Now, I have two fake legs, but its rare that I use them. When I try to walk with them, I get very tired. My brother, sister and neighbors support me because I can't earn money on my own. They provide money and rice. Sometimes I borrow money from neighbors and then ask my brother to pay them back. I can't find a job, and I don't think any are available for me.

This is a consequence of war. It's unfair for me to be injured by a weapon from a war in which I did not fight. I want to say to the people who make these weapons, they are mak¬ing crimes. These people have destroyed my life. I was a child at the time of my accident, and now, as an adult, I have to face a lot of difficulties. I have no job, I can't make any money to feed myself, I am never happy. I am not a useful person."