Landmine Commercial Controversy

Recently there has been a lot of media buzz around a commercial put out by the U.N. Mine Action Service. If you have not seen the ad, it involves a typical American, middle class, suburban scene. Two girls soccer teams are playing a game in front of their parents. One of the girls steps on a landmine hidden in the field and is severely injured.

The tagline the end of the commercial asks "If there were land mines here, would you stand for them anywhere?"

The public service announcement has not run on any stations as most stations feel it is too graphic and disturbing for a general audience.

I respect what the U.N. Mine Action Service is trying to say in this spot. Having seen first-hand the horror of landmines and unexploded ordnance, I too would like people to witness, and somehow identify with, this horror and get involved personally in the cause.

But what happens to most families is even more horrific than this ad can possibly convey. The family in this ad most certainly has health insurance... they certainly will not have to sell their home to pay for medical treatment for their daughter. They will not have to sell all of their farm animals to help pay for her prosthetics. The daughter is most likely not one of the major breadwinners in the family and working in the fields to help support the family.

Like I said, I respect what the U.N. Mine Action Service is doing here. I think the ad should run... however, the reality is much more horrifying.

There is a brief video here of me visiting a boy who lost his lower legs and arm to a landmine... the reality to me... with no actors, no sets and no special effects, is much more telling: http://www.cpi.org/multimedia/nghia_in_hospital_3_05_med.wmv