A life ruined

Guan Yimin is fully aware of the dangers posed by armaments discarded by the Japanese in 1945. He lost his left hand, the forefinger of the right, and the sight in one eye at age 11, when a shell with which he was playing exploded. "My classmates found several small shells buried in the soil and gave two to me. I played with one of them and it went off. I lost consciousness, and when I awoke, I was in the hospital," said the 52-year-old from Daqiaoxi village in Dunhua city, Jilin province.

The injuries make it difficult for Guan to perform even the simplest tasks. When the temperature dropped dramatically in early May, he went out to collect firewood to heat the small house he shares with his mother. After two hours, his wheelbarrow was still half-empty, even though there was plenty of wood lying on the ground, so a couple of neighbors came to Guan's assistance by collecting wood and helping him push his barrow back home.

The childhood accident ruined Guan's life, according to his elderly mother. "My son used to be a good student, but he quit school after he was disabled. With no education and lacking the ability to work, no one wanted to marry him. His father died many years ago, so I'm really worried about how he will cope after I pass away," she said.