After the War: The Stories of Aki Ra, Ahmed Ali, and Yoko Moriwaki
- Jun 9
- 6 min read
In the first edition of the series “After the War: Stories of Those Who Lived Through It,” we bring the stories of Aki Ra, who experienced the impacts of landmines firsthand; Ahmed Ali, and how his life and family were profoundly affected by cluster munitions; and little Yoko Moriwaki, a 13-year-old girl whose life was cut short by the detonation of an atomic bomb. These experiences reveal how war remains present in the lives of survivors even after the end of armed conflicts and reinforce the importance of humanitarian protection and disarmament in preserving human dignity.
The Impacts of Landmines: The Story of Aki Ra
Aki Ra was born amid one of the most violent dictatorial regimes of modern times, the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. At approximately six years of age, his parents died, and he was taken by soldiers to be recruited as a child soldier. Growing up to fight and survive, he was gradually trained to assemble and lay landmines. As a child, Aki Ra saw them as powerful toys and did not understand their negative impacts.
These weapons remained scattered throughout the country, buried and silent, ready to explode at any moment. After the war ended, Aki Ra, using the skills he had acquired through his training, began working as a volunteer deminer, using only a knife and a stick as tools — along with a great deal of courage and determination. In this way, he helped clear villages and fields without significant support or modern equipment, a process that restored the freedom of Cambodian society to carry out ordinary activities such as farming and playing freely, creating new opportunities for socioeconomic recovery.
As a result, Aki Ra founded the NGO Cambodian Self Help Demining Organization and, together with his team, has since cleared more than 9.5 million square meters of contaminated land. Later, he created the Landmine Museum in Cambodia, a space where he educates visitors and supports the rehabilitation of children who have lost limbs in explosions. This has made the museum more than a place of memories, but above all, a place of hope.
Today, Cambodia still suffers from landmine contamination within its territory, and the work and stories of people such as Aki Ra continue to inspire new generations, reminding us that Humanitarian Disarmament is not only about controlling and prohibiting weapons, but also about restoring the humanity and dignity that they threaten.
The Indiscriminate Consequences of Cluster Munitions: The Story of Ahmed
Ahmed Ali was a 45-year-old taxi driver who lived with his family in Blida, southern Lebanon, when, in July 2006, during the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, his life was profoundly transformed by a cluster munition attack. Amid constant bombardment, Ahmed and his family sought shelter in the basement of their home, a place that, within a residential urban area, should have represented safety in the face of the violence of war.
However, on July 19, at approximately three o’clock in the afternoon, his town was struck by cluster munitions fired by Israeli artillery. During the attack, submunitions penetrated the family’s home and reached the basement where everyone was taking shelter. In a matter of seconds, the place chosen to protect them was transformed into a scene of destruction.
The explosion left Ahmed severely injured, resulting in the loss of both of his legs. In addition, Maryam Ibrahim, aged 60, who was also in the shelter, was killed during the attack. Five of Ahmed’s children were injured, including his daughter Ola, who was only one year old. His wife, mother-in-law, and other relatives were also struck. In total, twelve people were injured in that single incident, seven of them children.
The tragedy experienced by Ahmed and his family highlights the humanitarian impacts of cluster munitions on civilian populations. Unlike weapons directed at specific targets, these weapons disperse dozens — or even hundreds — of small submunitions over wide areas, affecting civilians indiscriminately. Even places considered safe, such as homes and family shelters — like Ahmed’s basement — can be reached by their devastating effects.
Beyond the immediate damage, many submunitions fail to explode upon impact and remain scattered across the ground for years. As a result, they continue to pose a constant threat to communities, hindering the reconstruction of affected regions and putting civilian lives at risk long after a ceasefire has been declared.
The Irreversible Consequences of Nuclear Weapons: The Story of Yoko
Yoko Moriwaki was born in June 1932 in the city of Hiroshima, Japan. The daughter of a music teacher, she grew up surrounded by art and developed a passion for music from an early age. Like many children her age, she had dreams, friendships, and plans for the future, even while living in a country marked by the challenges of the Second World War.
In April 1945, Yoko enrolled in the school she had long wished to attend. However, school life had been profoundly altered by the wartime context. In addition to classes, students were mobilized for activities related to the war effort, such as growing food, building air-raid shelters, and demolishing buildings to prevent the spread of fires in the event of bombing raids.
Despite the hardships imposed by war, Yoko sought to preserve moments of normality in her daily life. In her diary, she recorded simple events from her everyday routine and her expectations for the future. Her writings reveal that behind the context of war there was an ordinary girl, full of dreams and hopes.
On August 5, 1945, Yoko made her final diary entry: “Starting tomorrow, we will work at the demolition site. I will do my best.” The following morning, she left home as she did every other day. She said goodbye to her family, crossed the city, and headed to the meeting point with her classmates.
Shortly after eight o’clock in the morning, as they were preparing to begin demolition work, a flash illuminated the sky over Hiroshima. At 8:15 a.m., the first atomic bomb ever used in an armed conflict was dropped on the city. In seconds, a devastating combination of blast, extreme heat, and radiation transformed Hiroshima into a scene of unprecedented destruction.
Yoko and her classmates were approximately 700 meters from the hypocenter of the explosion, directly exposed to the effects of the bomb. Most of the students in the area died at that moment, except for Yoko, who, gravely injured, was taken to a relief station near the city. There, at the age of 13, she died while waiting for her mother to arrive.
Her death was one among thousands of lives lost that day. It is estimated that approximately 7,200 students died as a result of the bombing of Hiroshima. However, Yoko’s story reminds us that the impacts of nuclear weapons cannot be understood through numbers alone. Every victim has a story, a family, dreams, and plans that were irreversibly interrupted.
The stories of Aki Ra, Ahmed Ali, and Yoko Moriwaki took place in different contexts, separated by decades, continents, and types of weaponry. Even so, all of them reveal that the impacts of war extend beyond the military sphere and directly affect civilian populations. Whether through landmines that remain active for decades, cluster munitions that indiscriminately strike entire families, or nuclear weapons capable of destroying lives and cities in seconds, the effects of armed violence persist long after the fighting has ended. By giving voice to these experiences, the project “After the War: Stories of Those Who Lived Through It” seeks to remind us that behind the statistics there are people, families, dreams, and futures that have been silenced. These stories invite us to reflect on the importance of Humanitarian Disarmament in building a lasting and positive peace.
Written by: Mayra Ghotme
Reviewed: Fernando Fiala
09/06/2026 BRT
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the institutional position of Dhesarme.
References
HUMANITY & INCLUSION (HI). Dedicating his life to mine clearance: the journey of Aki Ra, a former child soldier. Lyon: Humanity & Inclusion, 2023. Available at: https://www.hi.org/en/news/dedicating-his-life-to-mine-clearance-the-journey-of-aki-ra-a-former-child-soldier. Accessed on: June 9, 2026.
DOCHERTY, Bonnie. Flooding South Lebanon: Israel's use of cluster munitions in Lebanon in July and August 2006. Cambridge: Human Rights Clinic, Harvard Law School, 2008. Available at: https://humanrightsclinic.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/2008-Docherty-Flooding-South-Lebanon.pdf. Accessed on: June 9, 2026.
HIROSHIMA PREFECTURE. Yoko's Diary. Hiroshima: Hiroshima Prefecture, [n.d.]. Available at: https://www.pref.hiroshima.lg.jp/uploaded/attachment/662812.pdf. Accessed on: June 9, 2026.
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