Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Nghia's Making a Steady Recovery!

Toan posts this story from the field about the progress of our young friend, Nghia. You can read more about Nghia here.

One day in August 2005, I received a phone call from the Medical Liaison in Hue informed that Nghia wanted to have prosthetics legs. We CPI staff were very happy with this good news�

I came to visit Nghia on a weekend day August 27^th at his house in Hue. Seeing him sitting on the wheelchair outside the house, he looked so relaxed with a smile on his face when he saw me. He looked great and a bit fatter compared to 3 months ago. As a new school year is coming, I brought him a box with CPI logo, in which there are several stuff like pen, eraser, etc and asked him if he was ready to get back. He seemed very excited in answering me: �Yes, I want to go back to school this year. I have missed my classmates and teachers a lot but I have to delay this for some time�. He then smiled at Son, the Medical Liaison, with a shy look �I went to Hue Central Hospital on August 24^th for checking if I can wear prosthetic legs. It is good that the doctor said yes. And I have my legs measured already. I may have it in 10 days. I then need to stay in the hospital for a month to practise. I am longing for that from now�.

I could see his eyes twinked with the light of happiness. In fact, he had changed a lot in his spirit. From being upset and depressed after in uxo accident in March, the smile is now quite often in his face. His voice is also now more clearer and stronger. He told me that he really wanted to use the prosthetics which would help him walk a bit at first. Even though it is not real legs, he could be more confident in standing on his own legs instead of the wheelchair.

Sunday, August 28, 2005

Recent Accidents

Hi Chi and the Vietnam CPI Staff,

I am so sad to read about these last two accidents. I send my support to you guys because I know it is very difficult to see death and destruction every week. I can't even imagine having to see the devastation time after time.

I go there only about once a year and it takes me a while to recover from the reality of innocent farmers, children, and scrap metal collectors maimed and killed. I've been back here around three weeks and I am still thinking about Nghia (the 13 year-old boy who lost both feet and one hand in March) every day. It is haunting me. And his is only one case out of so many.

Sending support from here...

Always,

Joan


Wednesday, August 24, 2005

August 25: One man killed, house down to ashes


The phone rang just as we enter the office after lunch break. Another UXO accident had just happened in Vinh Lam commune, Vinh Linh district. The informant just briefed that it was a serious accident involved a man killed and the house was completely burned down.

The house is located at the end of Tien Lai village; and as we were walking to it, we saw our neighbor, Cliff Allen, the Technical Field Manager of MAG, was walking in the opposite direction. His hands were holding two UXOs. Behind him was another MAG�s deminer carrying more UXOs. They found these within the family�s property.

The scene looked devastating. The house, or it should be more correctly to say what ever remain of the house, were still burning as we stepped in. Smoke was coming up from everywhere. The house had completely burned down to ashes, included furniture, clothes and a motorcycle. Some men were spraying water from a tiny water hose onto burning things to put out the fire; most of the villagers were standing out as more UXOs were suspected to be present. Several MAG�s deminers were checking the back yard of the house with their metal detectors. Three men were wandering along the bamboo fence, searching for any remains of the poor man.


The victim was Truong Quang Quyet, a 52 years old man. The accident happened at 10:15 when he was tampering a large caliber UXO in a corner in the back of the house. At 10 o�clock, Quyet�s wife was watching TV with her daughter when Quyet got home on his motor bike. He propped the bike and went directly to the kitchen. Fifteen minutes later the wife told her daughter to set the table for lunch and just as the girl entered the kitchen, a loud explosion occurred from the back corner of the house. The explosion knocked down the house and set everything on fire. The wife, after gathered her wits, ran out and screamed out loud for help.
The first men arrived at the site rushed into the flaming home and pulled out the panicked girl (luckily, she was unhurt), and looked for the father. They did not find him in the flame. The powerful blast had thrown him out in a red dirt path outside the house, about 20m from the detonation point.
According to the chairman of Vinh Lam commune, this is the worse accident happened in the area for the last 15 years that includes lost of live and property.

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Father of Five Killed by Bomb in Vietnam


Sounds of lament could be heard from a distance. Neighbors were quietly preparing for the funeral. An altar was set up right at the main entrance to the living room. A green curtain separates the altar from a bed in which laid the body of Nguyen Duy Khanh covered under a rush mat. On one side of the bed laid Khanh�s two sons facing down on the cement floor. They�d been shocked and exhausted for crying too much. On the other side of the bed were the rest of the family members: sisters, mother and daughters, all were grieving.

The accident happened at 5p.m on the previous day, August 23rd, 2005. Khanh and one of his sons, Nguyen Van Chung were hoeing land in an area about 3 kms east from Nhi Thuong village. It is a sandy hill by the coast of Gio Linh known as �hill 31� to locals. The hill once served as the starting point of the McNamara�s line, a defensive system established along the southern edge of the DMZ. Chung was about ten meters away from his father when he heard an explosion. He turned around and saw his father was down on the ground. He rushed up and realized that the father was in serious condition: he lost his left hand, broke his right arm and the right thigh was broken off. Khanh was bleeding hard and this scares the young boy. He ran out to look for help and returned with four more men. The injured was taken to commune aid station and then forwarded to district hospital but Khanh couldn�t make it. He died on the way.
Khanh is 52 years old and is father of 5 dependent children. His first daughter is a college student while the youngest child is still in the 6th grade.

Monday, August 22, 2005

US-Vietnam War Continues to Claim Lives, Limbs In Central Vietnam

QUANG TRI, Vietnam - August 22 - The US-Vietnam War continues to claim lives and limbs here in Central Vietnam. Bombs that lie scattered across the landscape detonate on a regular basis killing and maiming adults and children on a regular basis.

51 year old Tran Ca was clearing weeds last week near an ancestral tomb in Quang Tri Province, Vietnam when his hoe hit a piece of unknown ordnance. The piece exploded and he died from his injuries in the hospital an hour later. His son in law, Ky was slightly injured in the accident.

Also last week, 17 year old Tran Dinh Quan lost an eye and a hand when a piece of ordnance he discovered exploded and nearly killed him. He was removing brush from a bomb crater near his home to raise fish for his family. Bomb craters are commonplace in this part of Vietnam which still feels the effects of a war that ended long ago.

Although the Vietnam War ended 30 years ago, by some estimates over 350,000 tons of bombs that did not detonate when dropped remain in the ground. This ordnance regularly claims lives and limbs in this still war-ravaged province. Since the conflict ended in 1975, nearly 40,000 Vietnamese have been killed by by these munitions.

Clear Path International serves landmine and bomb accident survivors, their families and their communities in former war zones in Southeast Asia. This assistance takes the form of both direct and indirect medical and social services to survivor families as well as equipment support to hospitals. Current Clear Path projects are in Vietnam, Cambodia and on the Thai-Burma border.


Thursday, August 18, 2005

BOY LOST HAND AND EYE IN WAR-ERA UXO ACCIDENT


The explosion badly injured Quan. He lost the left hand, left eye and two fingers in the right hand. In addition, he was seriously injured in his chest and two legs. After the accident, he was taken to Quang Tri General Hospital for first aid and intensive treatment.

Tran Dinh Quan had just finished his study at grade 11 nearly three months ago and will be in the last grade at High school next school year. During his summer holidays, he stayed at home and often helped his parents with housework and farming. August 9th 2005 was a free day to Quan as he decided to excavate a bomb crater in his garden to make it become a pond for raising fish.

No one else in the family could help Quan on that day because they were all occupied with other farm jobs. Therefore, Quan had to start his work very early in the morning to avoid the sunshine. Rain and sun had made soil in the bomb crater so soft and loose that was much easy for Quan�s work. Everything went through quite smoothly in the morning even though he had finished a small part of the work. A short nap after lunchtime had filled Quan with more energy. Quan thus felt very excited to continue his work. As he dug slowly in the middle of the bomb crater, he found a bullet. He then stopped digging and got into the house. He was a bit curious to know what the bullet was, whether it had exploded or not. He then dropped in into the floor and stepped away to turn on the TV. It suddenly detonated. It was at 14h at that time. Luckily, no one else except Quan was at home to be injured.
Quan is the third child in the family of 7 members. His parents are farmers. His eldest brother, who is now 23 years old, had to stop school to attend a vocational training for learning a job to help his old parents. The next child is also a son who completed High school already and was unemployed at the moment. The two youngest, one aged 14, learning at the 9th grade and one was born in 2001, still very small.
When CPI staff came to respond to the accident and met Quan�s family members in Quang tri General Hospital, they seemed to be panic and felt very wretched. They could not believe what had happened to Quan, who was lying in the hospital bed in very bad condition because of the severe injury.

A Destructive Blast Occured in Central Viet Nam



The place looked as if there was a strong typhoon had just gone through: trees with torn up leaves; broken bricks, roof tiles scattered around as two third of the house was demolished. There was not even enough space inside the house for the coffin. Thus it was put in the front yard, sheltered by cheap plastic tarpaulin. Next to it sat two thin and small kids, one boy and one girl, and a woman. All three of them wore funeral�s white bands on their heads. They sat quietly on the wet ground under the tiny temporary shelter, staring out in the rain.

There was a group of locals gathered around a young lady in the front yard, donating their small bank notes for the funeral ceremony of the passed away guy and for medical treatments for the injured guy. The scene was quiet and devastated looking.

The accident happened at 17:30 hours on August 10th, 2005. There were all together 4 people at or near the scene. However, nobody really knew what exactly Nguyen Ngoc was doing as he was alone in a corner out side the house. His younger half brother, Tran Lai was inside the house and Ngoc�s two children were pilling fire woods in the front yard. One common thing that was confirmed by all locals that the explosion was very loud; and, just by a quick glance, everything within a radius of 5 meters was all destroyed.



Ngoc was killed right on the spot. The blast took him really hard as Ngoc had completely lost the lower half of his body from the waist down, included his two hands. Lai, at the time was separated from the blast by the house�s wall, also received a tiny frag in his head. The two children received minor cuts on their faces and back from broken pieces of roof tiles and bricks that felt on them.
The seat of the explosion was a small hole about 25cms in diameter and 15cms deep. According to MAGs technicians, it was possibly a 76mm projectile that went off on or near the surface while standing on end. A motorbike lay close to the remains of the building also had sustained damages.
After the accident, Lai was taken to local health center for first aid and transferred to Quang Tri General Hospital in the following morning for intensive treatment.

Congratulations Imbert - 50 Medical Shipments!

Congratulations Imbert, for accomplishing 50 medical equipment shipments to war ravaged countries! It is a wonderful program because American hospitals purchase new equipment when the old equipment is sill in perfect condition. Instead of wasting perfectly good beds or X-Ray equipment or a CAT scan machine, Imbert sends them to medical staff who desperately need them. Sometimes there is overstock of new supplies which he can send.


When our group was in Danang last month Dr. Than proudly took us to a room to show us the beautiful new scanning aparatus that he received in a shipment; he said he uses it all the time and it is really useful in his practice. The Danang Orthopedic and Rehabilitaiton Center treats 1,000 uxo victims per year, 100 new uxo victims.
It is heartbreaking to meet with highly competent doctors who tell us about losing patients or not being able to help someone because they lack the tools. Imbert's tenacity for pursuing the shipment program is very impressive. He has found generous donors for containers. In this program everyone wins.
Thanks, Imbert!

Sunday, August 14, 2005

Foot Doctor Helps Poor

Our good friend and CPI advisor Dr. Frank Cobarrubia is profiled this week in the THE BULLETIN out of Bend, Oregon.

Dr Frank is one of those remarkable people you feel fortunate to know. He has given so much of his time to help others that you wonder if he ever has time for himself.

>Please read more about Dr. Frank here.

Thursday, August 11, 2005

One Killed, Two Injured by US-Vietnam War Era Bombs

One Killed, Two Injured by US-Vietnam War Era Bombs

Quang Tri Province, Vietnam- One man was killed and two other men remain hospitalized after encountering US-Vietnam War era ordnance this week in central Vietnam

On August 10th, 32 year old Nguyn Ngoc was working outside his home with his brother Lai when when a decades old rocket exploded killing Ngoc on the spot. Lai received head injuries and is currently in the hospital. The victim's family home was demolished in the blast.

In a separate incident on the same day, Nguyen Van Canh, 40, was hoeing in his garden when he struck an unknown piece of ordnance and it exploded. He received major injuries to his intestines, lost two fingers and sustained major shrapnel wounds in his legs. At this writing he remains in intensive care.

Although the Vietnam War ended 30 years ago, by some estimates over 350,000 tons of bombs that did not detonate when dropped remain in the ground. This ordnance regularly claims lives and limbs in this still war-ravaged province. Since the conflict ended in 1975, nearly 40,000 Vietnamese have been killed by by these munitions.

Clear Path International serves landmine and bomb accident survivors, their families and their communities in former war zones in Southeast Asia. This assistance takes the form of both direct and indirect medical and social services to survivor families as well as equipment support to hospitals. Current Clear Path projects are in Vietnam, Cambodia and on the Thai-Burma border.

More information about Clear Path International can be found on the web at www.cpi.org.

Tuesday, August 9, 2005

Cruel Summer: Bombs of Vietnam War Continue to Kill and Maim

Cluster bombs and other ordnance left over from the Vietnam War continue to kill and maim civilians in Vietnam 30 years after the war ended here.

Below is a brief on just some of the accidents that occured in Central Vietnam for the month of July 2005:

July 6th a man in Quang Binh Province disturbed a piece of unknown ordnance while farming and sustained major injuries to his chest and legs, broke both his collarbones, suffered severe burns on his face and lost three fingers on his left hand.

On July 8 in Quang Tri Province, 14 year old Duong Ba Tien was found dead on his parent's farm after he apparently disturbed an unexploded bomb while harvesting crops.

On July 9th, 28 year old Phan Van Huong lost sight in one eye and partially in the other after a sub-surface piece of ordnance detonated while he was weeding in his garden.

On July 12th A 22-year old man sustained serious unjuries to his chest, face and arms when a cluster bomb detonated while he was clearing bushes.

On July 15th an 8 year old boy received minor inuries to his eyes when a piece of ordnance exploded in brush burning outside his home

On July 19th in Ha Tinh province a 14 year old boy lost his left hand and injured his left leg after finding a piece of ordnace near his home.

Also On July 19th in Quang Binh Province, Le Cuong, a 37 year old man was killed while farming after he accidentally detonated an unknown piece of ordnance now thought to be a cluster bomb.

On July 22nd 41 year old Nguyen Cuu Lam was killed while scavenging metal in Quang Tri Province.

On July 29th 17 year old Pham Van Kien sustained major abdominal injuries when he and his friends discovered a piece of ordnance near their home.

Although the Vietnam War ended 30 years ago, by some estimates over 350,000 tons of bombs that did not detonate when dropped remain in the ground. This ordnance regularly claims lives and limbs in this still war-ravaged province. Since the conflict ended in 1975, nearly 40,000 Vietnamese have been killed by by these munitions.

Clear Path International serves landmine and bomb accident survivors, their families and their communities in former war zones in Southeast Asia. This assistance takes the form of both direct and indirect medical and social services to survivor families as well as equipment support to hospitals. Current Clear Path projects are in Vietnam, Cambodia and on the Thai-Burma border.

More information about Clear Path International can be found on the web at www.cpi.org.

Saturday, August 6, 2005

HRW: Destroy Stockpile of Unsafe Cluster Submunitions

While we call ourselves a "Landmine Victim Assistance" organization, it is really accurate, but much more wordy to say "Victim of Unexploded Ordnance Assistace" organization.

Bombies, or cluster bombs, kill and injure more people in Vietnam than landmines. The cluster bomb is the landmine's more deadly, and less famous cousin.

I missed this story last week about cluster bombs so here it is from the

Human Rights Watch:

U.S.: Destroy Stockpile of Unsafe Cluster Submunitions

(Washington, D.C., July 21, 2005) - Despite some positive developments in its cluster munition policy, the United States retains-and still is willing to use-at least 728 million old, unreliable and inaccurate cluster submunitions, Human Rights Watch said today in a briefing paper. "The Pentagon should destroy its stockpile of dangerous and outdated cluster submunitions," said Bonnie Docherty, researcher in Human Rights Watch's Arms Division. "These submunitions pose great risks to civilian populations and should never be used."

Please read the rest of this article here.


Journal of Mine Action Article on Clear Path

An article written by CPI Co-founder Imbert Matthee is appearing in this month's online version of the Journal of Mine Action.

Survivor Assistance Profile: Clear Path International

Rebuilding Shattered Lives in Southeast Asia


You can read the article here.


Imbert, far left (in more ways than one, really) interviews a landmine survivor in Cambodia.



Thursday, August 4, 2005

A Day in the Life of CPI's Duc and Chi


Chi and Duc work in our office in Vietnam and work with beneficiaries in their homes. We call these visits "field trips" and sometimes the travel can be quite far. Chi has filed this report.

After one and a half weeks of being tied up with important office work, by Friday afternoon, our field trip plan was filled up with due activities that can�t be delayed any further: We got reports of six new accidents came in and one House Hold Grant need to implement in 7 different communes of three provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh and Quang Tri. This would usually mean a lot of mileage to travel.

Thus, our first thing on Monday morning of August 2nd, 2005 was getting the preparation work done for a two-day field trip: Phone calls to working partners and families were made; obtain all necessary forms related; check/charge camera�s batteries and top up our truck, a 4x4WD Nissan Patrol.

sunrise.jpgI got up at 4:30 am on Tuesday morning, and Duc arrived at 4:50 to pick me up. The air in the early morning was so fresh and clear. The photo you see is of the sunrise.
We joined the traffic on highway 1, heading north. Our first destination of the day is Ky Anh district of Ha Tinh province, which is 200km away. Highway 1 is in good condition, however, we usually name it as the �low speed-highway� since the speed limits are very low (maximum 35km/hour when in town and 60km/hour when out town). If you exceed more than 20% of the limits then you would end up with a 1,500,000VND fine (equal US$ 100.00) and a hole is punched into your driving license (When you get three holes in the license, you are not a driver of some sort anymore for you have to go back to driving school and start learning from the beginning)� Anyway, we got to the first destination after almost 4 hours drive, passed by several speed-control points on the way without any trouble.
Case # 1: Vo Dinh Thao; born: 1991. Accident Date: July 18, 2005. Injury: Lost left hand, Knee injured.

With good and quick coordination from the district and commune officials, we parked out truck in a shade and followed the commune guide to the first home in Tan Thang village, Ky Tan commune when the clock showed 09:05. The first impression we got was the sound of a Vietnamese pop music song playing loudly from a tiny dirt house. Photo: Vo Dinh Thao 02. Luckily, the boy was at home, alone, listening to the music came out from a VCD (the only valuable asset in the house). His name is Vo Dinh Thao, born in 1991. He stood up to receive us and the white bandage on his left stump caught our eyes. The accident happened to him at 15:00 on July 18, 2005 when he was out in the field getting fresh grass to feed the family�s cow. While he was digging up the grass, his hoe blade hit something subsurface, which immediately responded in a loud explosion. The powerful blast cut off three fingers on his left hand and badly crushed the other fingers. Fragment also penetrated into his left knee. Locals nearby heard the explosion rushed out and immediately took him to the commune aid station and then forwarded him to the district hospital in the same afternoon. After 12 days of treatment, Thao was released from the hospital on July 29, 2005. The doctors had already removed all the fragments in his knee; however, they had also amputated his hand by the wrist joint. Thao said that he doesn�t feel hurt anymore at the wounds, but it would take him more time for the knee skin to heal before he can fold his knee.
While we were talking, Thao mother, Nguyen Thi Minh, came home. She is a short, middle aged woman. Look at her face, one can tell that she is not in good health and had been through a difficult life. With the participation of the mother, the family story is revealed clearer. Mrs. Minh has been living with her two sons and Thao is the youngest. A work accident happened to her in 1979 when she was a worker at a rock quarry. She and other workers stood at the bottom of the quarry, manually exploit and move small rocks when a large rock from up above suddenly felt down on her. Minh�s small body was all buried under it. She was rescued and transported to the hospital. The woman survived from the accident with a long scar on her head behind the ear, the left thigh bone and toe bone were broken. She was entitled for an early retirement with a monthly compensation of 300,000VND (equivalent to US$ 20.00). Since then, she was unable to do anything other than some light house work. There has been no presence of a father in the small family. The mother had struggled a lot to raise her two sons. Two months ago, her first son (Thao�s older brother) returned home after two years away in the south for a living. He gave his mother 5 million VND (US$ 320.00) asked her to buy a cow and took the rest of his saving down town and brought home a set of VCD and speakers. After the family reunion, life resumed its usual pace. Daily, the two brothers took turn to take care of the cow and some farm work while the mother would cook meals and raise three small piglets at home. Mrs. Minh said that she goes to the market every other day and would spend all together about 10,000VND (US$ 0.6) for food for the three of them. (Apparently, her monthly compensation of 300,000VND is the only stable income for the family). On the day of the accident, she had 250,000VND, still not enough for emergency treatment. Thus she had to apply for an emergency loan of 1 million VND with an interest rate of 1.5%/month. The total medical costs were almost US$ 100.00.
After reimburse the medical cost for the family, we said goodbye to the family and walked back to the truck, still, our thoughts were with the family and their living circumstance.
Case # 2: Duong Van Sy; Born: 1976. Accident Date: Jan 18, 2005. Injury: Died on the way to hospital.

Our next destination was Ky Lam commune. We arrived at the commune�s people committee at 10:45. With a previous introduction phone call from our district partner, the commune leaders and police received us at their office with a brief on UXO accidents in the area. Until then, we realized that there had been two UXO related accidents happened here in 2005. One back in January, the second was just three days ago, on July 29th. We decided to visit both families.
The commune policeman first took us to the home of Duong Van Sy�s parent-in-law. We met Sy�s wife with her two small sons and Sy�s mother-in-law, who slowly told us what happened on the day back in January�
It was January 18th, 2005; and everyone was busy preparing for the wedding party for their second daughter that supposed to be held at home on the next day. Duong Van Sy and his brother-in-law, Pham Huu Nam were assigned to set up a temporary rain shelter in the front yard. Photo: Duong Van Sy 2: Sy�s parent-in-law�s, the accident site In the morning, the two brothers had brought home enough bamboos and other materials for the work; and now, in the afternoon, they would put up the palm leaf roof. At 5p.m., all the palm leaves were already in place, the only thing left was to tie the leaves to the bamboo frame. Sy went inside the home and brought out a bunch of small size steel wire while Nam went into the kitchen for a large knife. They sat on the ground, put the wires on a wood junk and used the large knife to chop them into short pieces. The small wires stuck into the soft wood instead of breaking into pieces. Sy told Nam go look for a metal junk as an anvil. The boy went to the back yard and took out an 82mm mortar that he found in the morning when go cutting bamboo. At this time there was nobody around except the two of them; and neither Sy nor Nam would think of anything else other than chopping those wires into short pieces. The explosion came shortly after that, turning the small and quiet village into chaos. Both men were found seriously injured but Sy was worse. He died on the way to the district hospital. Nam�s major injuries were in his eyes.
The wedding was cancelled. The temporary shelter was then quickly finished with help from other men in the village to serve as a place for funeral ceremony. The families were divided: some went to the district hospital taking care of the injured one while others would take care of the funeral and burial ceremonies at the village. The family had to sell 2 buffaloes and borrowed another 12 million dongs from the neighbors for the ceremonies and medical treatments.
Sy�s two sons are all small. The first one is 4 years old; the second is only two. His wife, Pham Thi Van is 23 years old. In the above photo Chi is granting the family financial support to help with the children's schooling as well as funeral expenses for their father.
Case # 3: Pham Van Kien; Born: 1988. Accident Date: July 29th, 2005. Injury: Abdomen, colostomy.

Kien�s family has a cassava farm in a hill about 2 km from the village. On July 29th, 2005, he left home at 7 to do some weeding for the cassava. He was alone at the farm, but down the hill foot there were 4 kids herding their cows. At 9, Kien�s mother returned home from the local market, and just as she entered the house, she heard an explosion. She thought somebody were digging a well and use explosive to break the hard layer of rock. 15 minutes later, a lady rushed into her house with the bad news that her son was seriously injured on the farm. Kien�s older brother immediately run up to the farm and saw 3 kids were trying to get his brother down the slope; blood was springing out from his abdomen. Kien was taken to the commune aid station and forwarded to the district hospital.
We met Kien�s mother and brother at the house. The father and a sister had already gone and stayed at the hospital to look after Kien. Kien�s mother told us the accident happenings. Tiredness and anxiety was written on her face.
We said goodbye to the mother and the brother after assuring them that CPI would help cover all the treatment expenses. We arrived at the Ky Anh district hospital at 12:05. There we met the father, the sister and an aunt. Kien was awake. He wore a colostomy bag. The father said that a piece of fragment penetrated into his abdomen and punched 4 holes in Kien�s intestine and that the surgery lasted 2 and a half hours.
Kien family owns a poverty card; an official certificate that verifies that the family�s monthly income is below the poverty line.
Case # 4: Phan Duy Bay; Born: 1978. Accident Date: June 6th, 2005. Injury: Killed on spot.
We left Ky Anh district, Ha Tinh province to driving south to Quang Trach district, Quang Binh province. Duc and I didn�t talk much to each other as our thoughts still with those families we�ve just visited. The beautiful green color of the rice paddies on our way to Quang Luu commune helped reduce a little bit of our pitiful feelings.
We arrived at Phan Duy Bay�s home at 16:27. Received us was Bay�s mother, holding her youngest grand son in her arms. The wife was still some where on the field.
Bay is the youngest sibling in his family; and according to the local tradition, the youngest child is to live with and take care of the parents. He got married in 1999, and his wife, Nguyen Thi Nga became a new member in the family. Their first son came out the next year, and the second was born in 2003. Being the major bread winner of the family, Bay had been struggled for a living. He sold his labor to different jobs for the exchange of any kind of profit. His wife is helping him with the farm work, raising the two small children and taking care of her mother-in-law.
One day Bay met a man in the next village, who told him of a new way to earn a living. The new job requires frequent travel. Bay usually leaves home at 5a.m. and won�t returned until 7 p.m. The average income is 30,000VND/day (equivalent to US$ 2.00); sometimes is 50,000VND/day. The more he works, the further he has to travel, as the scrap metal would run out after a while.
It was June 9th, 2005 and Bay left home a bit earlier than usual. He couldn�t earn much during the last three days, thus today he decided to go further� The afternoon of the day was dragged in pain for Bay�s mother and wife. The bad news reached home at 2 p.m but Bay�s body was not taken home until 9 p.m.
Bay�s wife returned home from work, and as soon as we introduced ourselves, I saw tears in her eyes as she grasped her youngest child into her lap.
Case # 5: Pham Van Dao; Born: 1983. Accident Date: January, 2004. Injury: Lost 90% of eye sight.

Our next beneficiary is Pham Van Dao. This is not a new accident case as it happened back in January of 2004. We already responded to the accident, supported the family with all medial treatment for his eyes. Then the family�s living condition was assessed and we decided to help the family purchase a cow for them to generate their income. It is also a suitable work for Dao to take the cow out for grass. Mr. Pham Van Tuyen, Dao�s father had spent 4 days in the neighboring villages and he finally located a 5 year-old-female cow in a village 8 km away.
We �escorted� Mr. Tuyen to the cow�s owner to accomplish some required paper work and pay our assistance (66,6% of the total value in cash). It was getting dark as we drove to the place. The cow�s owner is a 78 years old woman, with very nice characters. She currently owns two cows and wants to sell one to get money spending on other things. The agreed price was 4.5 million VND (equivalent to US$ 290.00) and to our own assessment, the cow would worth more than that as she was in her pregnancy and would deliver a calf in three months time.
At 7:30, we said goodbye to the kind lady to take Mr. Tuyen back to his home. We still have another 50km to drive on the �low-speed highway� to get to a place to rest.

Case # 6: Nguyen Van Cuong; Born: 1968. Accident Date: July 19th, 2005. Injury: Killed on spot.

We started the second day of our field trip with 40km drive. The work we did yesterday was assessed as �productive�, though full of sorrow. This morning we head west of Quang Binh province, take the new Ho Chi Minh highway to Phuc Trach commune.
After short greeting and introduction at the commune people�s committee, an official took us to the victim�s home of Nguyen Van Cuong. A small, wooden house located next to a big catholic church. Like other homes we visited yesterday, there was nothing in the house that worth more than 100,000VND (US$ 6.00). The couples (Cuong and his wife) lived here with their two children. Their son is three years old and their daughter is nearly three months old. For a living, Cuong used to follow his buddies go to the forest to collect firewood; he also trades his labor for any kind of work. But for the last three months he had to stay or work near his home for his wife had just has a baby.
On July 19th, 2005; Cuong got up and cook breakfast for his wife. He didn�t leave his home till 8 o�clock. He intended to work through lunch as the work place is 5 km from home and it would take him one hour just to get there. His work didn�t last long since at 10 o�clock, his hoe blade hit something and an explosion occurred. When locals arrived at the scene, Cuong was found dead.
Though we had tried our best to stay calm during the visit, the grieving wife and the image of their three months old daughter made a deep impression in our souls.

Wednesday, August 3, 2005

Toan and Son's Wedding

Thank you to Chi for sending photos of Toan's wedding to the home office. Below is a picture of the happy couple with Duc on the left and Chi on the right.

TOAN'S WEDDING 06.JPG


Pentagon to Resume Landmine Production

This release was sent to us from the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and reprinted from HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH. Clear Path International takes no official stand on this issue believing our work speaks for itself.

Washington, August 3, 2005
Human Rights Watch


The Bush administration appears poised to resume the production of antipersonnel mines, Human Rights Watch said today in a new briefing paper.
The United States, which has not manufactured antipersonnel mines since 1997, will make a decision in December whether to begin production of a new antipersonnel mine called Spider. The Pentagon has requested a total of $1.3 billion for development and production activities for another new antipersonnel mine called the Intelligent Munitions System, with a full production decision expected in 2008.

Human Rights Watch said that these developments are the result of the Bush administration�s landmine policy announced in February 2004 under which the U.S. abandoned its long-held objective of joining the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, which comprehensively prohibits the use, production, trade or stockpiling of antipersonnel mines.

"We are beginning to see the bitter fruit of the new Bush administration landmine policy," said Steve Goose, director of Human Rights Watch�s Arms division.
"The U.S. appears well on the way to resuming production of antipersonnel mines. Renewed export and renewed use of these inhumane weapons may not be far behind."
The United States has not exported antipersonnel mines since 1992 and has not used them since 1991 in the Gulf War.
According to a media report which the Pentagon has yet to confirm or deny, in May 2005, the U.S. Army was to begin deploying to Iraq a new remote-controlled landmine system called Matrix, which relies on technology developed for Spider.
Human Rights Watch expressed concern that a new U.S. proposal for an international prohibition on export of landmines that do not self-destruct will pave the way for the resumption of U.S. export of antipersonnel mines that do self-destruct. A self-destructing mine blows itself up after a set period of time. For a critique
of self-destructing mines, see http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/02/27/7681.htm
"Any future production, trade or use of antipersonnel mines would put the United States squarely at odds with the emerging international consensus against the weapon, and would draw strong criticism from its closest allies," said Goose.
A total of 145 countries have joined the Mine Ban Treaty and another eight have signed but not yet ratified. This includes every member of NATO, as well as Japan, Australia and other key military allies. With very few exceptions, nearly every nation has endorsed the goal of a global ban on all antipersonnel mines at some point in the future. Even many states not party to the Mine Ban Treaty have stopped production, trade and use of the weapon.
Human Rights Watch said that States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty would have to consider ending any investments they may have in U.S. companies producing or exporting the new antipersonnel mines. States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty cannot "assist" in any way with acts that are prohibited by the treaty.
American officials have often claimed that U.S. mines are not a significant factor in the global landmine problem, and it is likely that this argument would be used in part to justify any decision to renew production of antipersonnel mines. However, the U.S. exported over 5.6 million antipersonnel mines to 38 countries between 1969 and 1992. Deminers in at least 29 mine-affected countries have reported the presence of nine different types of U.S.-manufactured antipersonnel mines and four types of antivehicle mines, including both non-self-destructing and self-destructing types.
Human Rights Watch believes that the Bush administration should reverse its decision not to join the Mine Ban Treaty, and should not insist on the right to use self-destruct antipersonnel mines indefinitely. In its briefing paper, Human Rights Watch recommends that:
- Research and development on or production of mines or munitions capable of being victim-activated should be immediately halted. Continued funding for the Spider program should be made contingent on the removal of the battlefield override feature. Continued funding for the Intelligent Munitions System should be dependent on the compliance of this program with the Mine Ban Treaty.
- The Department of Defense should publicly clarify whether the Matrix mine system has already been deployed, and if it is capable of being victim-activated. The Department of Defense should also provide details on target identification and the protections afforded civilians in areas Matrix mines are used.
- The Department of Defense should clarify current policy regarding use of Claymore mines with tripwires, and should prohibit such use everywhere, including South Korea.
- The U.S. Mine Export Moratorium should be made permanent. Any interpretations of or exceptions to the Mine Export Moratorium should be publicly disclosed, as well as what understandings the United States observes regarding the transfer of mines prohibited by CCW Amended Protocol II.
- The appropriate Congressional committees should be notified on an annual basis of any export or transfers of antipersonnel mines, regardless of the intended purposes of the mines or the number of mines.
"Back in Business? U.S. Landmine Production and Exports" is available in English at http://hrw.org/backgrounder/arms/arms0805/

Mine Survivor to Bike Across Death Valley

The following is a press release from our friends at Mines Advisory Group and Stuart Hughes

mag2.jpgStuart Hughes, a BBC World Affairs Producer, who lost his leg in a landmine explosion in 2003 while covering the war in Iraq, is planning to cycle through Death Valley, California - one of the hottest places on earth - to raise �15,000 for the Mines Advisory Group (MAG). Funds raised will be used to help MAG clear dangerous remnants of conflict across the world.



On Monday 1st August, Hughes will launch the MAG / Ceia USA Death Valley challenge by starting his temperature acclimatisation in the special hothouse facility at The British Olympic Medical Centre, Harrow. Death Valley has summer temperatures averaging well over 100� Fahrenheit and has an annual rainfall of only 1.96 inches. The Centre uses a special chamber to create extreme conditions � heat, cold and altitude � to help elite British athletes in their training.
Stuart, who has just returned from covering the Tour de France, originally started cycling because he found walking difficult with his prosthetic leg. He is currently cycling 100 miles a week in preparation for the Death Valley challenge and will lead a team of four other cyclists on the 200 mile trip through the Valley in November 2005. Currently stationed in Iraq with the BBC, one co-cyclist Craig Summers, Safety and Security Adviser for the BBC�s High Risk Team, is overcoming the security issues by training on a stationary exercise bike in Baghdad!
Since stepping on an anti-personnel mine in 2003, Hughes has given talks across the UK and overseas to raise awareness of the scale of the international landmine problem. Hughes says �As a landmine survivor myself, I am proud to support MAG�s efforts to rid the world of these horrific weapons. By doing this gruelling challenge, we hope to raise enough funds to help clear the real death valleys � those areas across the world that are blighted by landmines.�
Nick Fellows of the British Olympic Medical Centre says: �Our acclimation chamber provides the perfect training environment for any competitive sport in extreme environments. The British Olympic Squad found it invaluable in their preparation for the Athens and Salt Lake City Olympics and a few sessions here will certainly stand Stuart in good stead for his Death Valley quest.�
Known for its �first-in last-out� approach to mine-infested regions of the world, MAG clears the way so that international aid agencies can safely deliver humanitarian assistance to war-torn communities. MAG employs more than 2,300 people worldwide and has destroyed close to two million landmines and unexploded bombs since 1992.
Stuart, who has just returned from covering the Tour de France, originally started cycling because he found walking difficult with his prosthetic leg. He is currently cycling 100 miles a week in preparation for the Death Valley challenge and will lead a team of four other cyclists on the 200 mile trip through the Valley in November 2005. Currently stationed in Iraq with the BBC, one co-cyclist Craig Summers, Safety and Security Adviser for the BBC�s High Risk Team, is overcoming the security issues by training on a stationary exercise bike in Baghdad!
Since stepping on an anti-personnel mine in 2003, Hughes has given talks across the UK and overseas to raise awareness of the scale of the international landmine problem. Hughes says �As a landmine survivor myself, I am proud to support MAG�s efforts to rid the world of these horrific weapons. By doing this gruelling challenge, we hope to raise enough funds to help clear the real death valleys � those areas across the world that are blighted by landmines.�
Nick Fellows of the British Olympic Medical Centre says: �Our acclimation chamber provides the perfect training environment for any competitive sport in extreme environments. The British Olympic Squad found it invaluable in their preparation for the Athens and Salt Lake City Olympics and a few sessions here will certainly stand Stuart in good stead for his Death Valley quest.�
Known for its �first-in last-out� approach to mine-infested regions of the world, MAG clears the way so that international aid agencies can safely deliver humanitarian assistance to war-torn communities. MAG employs more than 2,300 people worldwide and has destroyed close to two million landmines and unexploded bombs since 1992.