Pic of the Day: Clearing a rocket propelled grenade from a rubber tree plantation
Quang Tri province, Vietnam, 2007.
According to military records, each square metre of land in Quang Tri received more than 63kg of ordnance from aerial and naval attacks during the Vietnam War.
www.maginternational.org/vietnam
by Jamie Franklin
Earlier this year I made my first visits to MAG’s programmes in the Middle East and North Africa, and indeed my first ever visits to Northern Iraq, Southern Lebanon and Libya.
The first country visited was northern Iraq, or Iraqi Kurdistan. The first thing that strikes you on arriving in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, is just how different it is from the news stories you hear of Iraq. Even though I knew the difference existed before traveling, it was something else to actually see and experience it. I certainly never imagined that we would be walking around Ainkawa (the area of Erbil where MAG’s office is) and visiting the ancient citadel, bazaars and minaret park without a single security concern.
The people are friendly, welcoming, polite and generous; always eager to speak to you about their country, history and surroundings. Each meeting or visit was accompanied by the traditional sweet tea (think sugar with tea, rather than the usual way around!) and each meal was a feast of hot flat bread, meat skewers or kebab, salad, Kurdish rice, numerous sauces (apricot, beans, tomatoes), and sliced raw onions; so much so in fact that we managed on a small breakfast and lunch as there simply wasn’t room for dinner…
But the most striking thing is the level of impact that MAG and landmine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance has had for the people here. Visiting now we would have overlooked some of the impact ourselves had our colleagues from the Iraq program not been there to brief us. A main road busy with traffic that MAG cleared as part of the emergency response in 2003; towns with access to water after an area for the construction of a reservoir was cleared; fields now safe for agricultural development; and a bridge we are driving over that was built by the Kurdish Regional Government three years after MAG had removed landmines, now links communities on the south side of the river. This provides easy access to medical services, reducing travel times by several hours in summer and enabling access in winter that wasn’t possible before. Other signs of development are more easily spotted, such as the building of a University on cleared land close to Chamchamal; and construction of new housing on cleared land, enabling families displaced by Saddam’s forces to return and reclaim their ancestral lands.
Despite the achievements and progress to-date a significant amount of landmine and cluster-munition contamination remains. The job is far from over and landmine and UXO clearance is needed now as much as ever in order to support the continuing return of displaced people to their land and the reclamation and revitalisation of once productive land. Iraqi Kurdistan still has a long road to travel to reach a state where landmines and UXO have no impact on its people and needs the continuing commitment and support of the donor nations in order to complete this journey
Photo (c) Sean Sutton/MAG
by Sile Sammon
MAG is using dogs alongside manual deminers to clear the Wat Chrap Kraham minefield near Stae Chipov Village in Cambodia.
The village has seen seven casualties in recent times, as the land surrounding it is a crucial resource for villagers wanting to farm and cultivate. Ly Sothmat is one of the farmers to benefit from land MAG has cleared, but back in 1979 he became a Khmer Rouge soldier at the age of 18.
“I used to lay mines, not in this village, but a few miles away,” he said. “I would place anti-personnel mines on top of anti-tank mines. When I laid the mines I used to feel sad, but I had to do as I was told - I had to follow the orders I was given.”
He went on to say: “I am very thankful that MAG has cleared my land, it will make a huge financial difference to my life and my family. I can use the land to plant more crops, which I can then sell for a profit. I’ll be able to buy more equipment for both my house and my farm.”
Specially trained dogs are capable of leading a handler quickly to buried explosives, which can speed up demining and suspect ‘area reduction’ projects by up to 300 per cent. In the correct circumstances dogs can increase efficiency in establishing whether medium- and low-risk areas of contaminated land are safe to be released or whether they contain evidence of explosives that need to be cleared manually.
Photograph (c) Sean Sutton / MAG
by Sile Sammon and Sean Sutton
Since 1997 MAG has worked clearing the land surrounding the small village of Chisang in Battambang, Cambodia. The area was of strategic military importance during conflicts involving the Khmer Rouge, the Cambodian Government and Vietnamese troops over three different periods of fighting between 1979 and 1996. Landmines laid during that time and other remnants of those conflicts still affect the villagers today. However, MAG’s teams have now cleared more than 1,000 dangerous explosive items and released 470,000 sq/m of land, which is now safe to farm and develop. The future’s certainly looking brighter for the villagers of Chisang…
“Before the mines were cleared, the children were not happy and couldn’t concentrate in lessons. They were scared every morning coming to class as they had to walk through land they knew had landmines. Now MAG have cleared around the school the children have space to run and play and are much happier…”
Kiet Chhon, teacher at Chisang School.
“I was very scared that either I or one of my animals would step on a mine. While they were clearing, MAG found 10 items around the house and on our land. My family now have more land to grow crops. Before we had limited access and didn’t feel safe, but now we have more room to work and we feel that we can live safely.”
Sum Bo, farmer in Chisang.
“I have two boys and a girl who are all in school and I came to work at MAG to support my children. One part of my job I really enjoy is returning to visit the people now using the land that we cleared. During my time with MAG I have destroyed around 500 mines and more than 1,000 items of unexploded ordnance.”
Chea Ratha, Supervisor of MAG Mine Action Team 3.
“Before the mines were cleared I was very scared for my safety; I was afraid I would lose my hand, my leg or worse. I was also very frightened for my family. My brother-in-law lost a leg and my brother lost an arm and is blind. The field was full of mines, so I never went there, I was too frightened. I’m so happy that my land is now safe to farm and that my family is now safe. We can move around freely and I can plant extra crops such as bananas and coconuts.”
Tem Yan, farmer in Chisang.
“I was born in Chisang village but during the war I went to Battambang. When I returned in 1997 the land was highly contaminated, in particular the land around the pagoda. The local authorities provided land to returning villagers to build their houses, but this was still contaminated. Many people had accidents. Both my brothers-in-law have lost their legs in landmine accidents. Now the land has been cleared I’m very happy; there have been no more accidents since MAG worked here.”
Thoun Run, member of the Chisang Pagoda Committee.
All photographs (c) Sean Sutton/MAG
