A Certificate of Merit Awarded to Clear Path in Vietnam

DONG HA, Vietnam � I don�t often write about ceremonies. Most of the time they�re just for looks, photo ops, grip and grins. When you have an all-hands-on-deck agenda to get things done, fluff and puff can be kind of a nuisance.

But the recent presentation to CPI of the Certificate of Merit from the Provincial People�s Committee of Quang Tri was different to me. It was a real milestone in our seven-year history as a humanitarian mine action organization.

It was a chance to stop climbing for a moment, turn around and look down to see how far we�ve come with the commitment of our donors, the dedication of our staff and the unwavering support of our local partners, in particular the Quang Tri PC.

Vietnam is where we started and it�s still by far our largest program. Quang Tri, the central province most heavily affected by the war in Vietnam, is where it all began.

The Certificate of Merit recognizes international organizations for their assistance to Vietnamese people in need. In Quang Tri, we�ve served 3,204 beneficiaries and spent nearly $860,000 on survivor assistance programs. Next year, we�ll serve 1,040 in the province.

In Vietnam as a whole, we�ve served 4,664 people impacted by ordnance accidents and their family members in 14 provinces since 2001. They are people such as Do, a log trucker from Hue who lost part of his right hand and eyesight when he tried to free his truck from a muddy road two years ago and an unseen piece of ordnance war-era ordnance exploded.

Clear Path paid for his eye operation and glasses, then gave him a $250 grant to start raising rabbits in a narrow space behind his family�s house where he built a roof and cages for the breeding project.

Do�s wife is the main breadwinner, making and selling a local noodle product. But Do�s rabbit sales, which are still modest but expected to grow quickly each year, boosts the couple monthly�s income by 20 percent and strengthens the shy survivor�s self esteem.

�I feel I am contributing to my family,� he told me. �I feel useful.�

In 2001, our first full year of survivor assistance, we served 199 people. This year, we�ve served 1,428. Our assistance to new accident survivors expanded quickly to most of central Vietnam, while our comprehensive medical and socio-economic support to existing survivors (injured since the end of the war in 1975) extends to beneficiaries in four districts north and south of the former Demilitarized Zone.

Besides the growing financial backing from many grassroots donors each year, we�ve secured steady funding from the United Nations Association�s Adopt-A-Minefield campaign, the U.S. State Department and the McKnight Foundation.

Recently, we signed an agreement with the International Trust for Demining & Victims Assistance in Europe for their support in Vietnam. ITF International Relations Director Iztok Hocevar is traveling with me to Vietnam and Cambodia to see our work first-hand. He attended yesterday�s ceremony.

In 2008, we�re planning to double the number of districts where we serve existing accident survivors and families. The new districts will be Dong Ha in Quang Tri, Quang Ninh in Quang Binh, A Luoi in Thua-Thien Hue and Dai Loc in Quang Nam � all heavily affected by accidents with wartime explosives.

Our core Vietnamese staff of five � Toan, Chi, Phuong, Nhi and Duc � have done an incredible job building our program in a country where the accident victims are as scattered throughout the countryside as the ordnance that was dropped and fired during the war and where the typhoon season can make project implementation very challenging. First they worked under the direction of Kristen Leadem, then Hugh Hosman and now on their own.

What started as a small project to help a few people has blossomed into large-scale effort to serve the innocent victims of the war�s destructive legacy. Yesterday�s ceremony was an occasion to take stock in that and realize that all of us linked to CPI � donors, staff and partners � are helping nearly 5,000 people recover and get on with their lives in this country.

And that�s the reason why I am writing about the Certificate of Merit. The recognition is for all of us.

Congratulations.

13-year-old Boy Blinded by Burma Army Landmine

From the Free Burma Rangers website:

On 19 November, 13-year-old Saw K'Tray Soe detonated a landmine while gathering bamboo soot leaves to make a roof for his family's house. The mine blew up in his face, severely injuring his eyes and throat. His 8-year-old sister was nearby and was also injured by the explosion. The children are from Lay Kee village, on the border of Toungoo and Papun Districts, northern Karen State.

The mine was laid by the SPDC two months ago during their activity in the Ta Ler Ker Ko and Kaw Daw Ko areas. On 16 August, 2007, Burma Army division 88 entered Lay Kee village, burned down one house, and laid landmines, one of which eventually injured Saw K'Tray Soe and his sister.

Warning: The following link with the rest of the story contains very disturbing photos:
http://freeburmarangers.org/Reports/2007/20071205.html

Read about Clear Path International's work with Burmese landmine survivors here.

Landmine activist/traceur tries to cross Central London without touching the ground

Via BoingBoing.net

An anti-landmine activist/traceur (one who practices parkour) working with the Dangerous Ground Project tried to cross all 50,000 square metres of central London without touching the ground. The resulting video is part parkour excitement, part chilling reminder of the risks that people all over the world face from the landmines that surround their homes, schools and places of work.

Check out the video here: http://www.dangerousground.org/kbps.html

Good News, Bad News For Mine Clearance In Countries Where Clear Path International Has Assistance Programs

The year 2006 held some good news and some bad news for the countries where Clear Path has assistance programs for landmine accident survivors, according to Landmine Monitor

Landmine clearance efforts in Cambodia and Afghanistan led the way in global mine removal, accounting for 55 percent of the world's total in 2006. But the use of anti-personnel devices and casualties increased sharply in Myanmar (Burma) during the year.

The below is a release from the International Campaign to Ban Landmines:

TOO MANY STATES NOT ON COURSE TO MEET MINE CLEARANCE DEADLINES

GENEVA, Switzerland � 12 November 2007 � Many states are not on course to meet their Mine Ban Treaty mine clearance obligations, according to Landmine Monitor Report 2007: Toward a Mine-Free World. The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) releases the 1,124-page report at the United Nations today.

Landmine Monitor reports on the global landmine situation and scrutinizes the implementation of and compliance with the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. Landmine Monitor Report 2007 is the ninth annual edition of the report.

Time is running short for 29 countries with treaty-mandated clearance deadlines in 2009 or 2010. Despite a treaty provision allowing 10 years to complete mine clearance, 14 states are almost certain not meet their 2009 deadlines: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Chad, Croatia, Mozambique, Niger, Peru, Senegal, Tajikistan, Thailand, the United Kingdom (for clearance of the Falkland Islands/Malvinas), Venezuela, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.

Even more seriously, despite having almost eight years to initiate clearance, France, Niger, the United Kingdom and Venezuela have failed to even begin clearance operations.

�Some countries that should have met their clearance deadlines will probably not be able to do so,� said Mr. Stuart Casey-Maslen of Norwegian People�s Aid, Landmine Monitor�s Mine Action Editor. �Both donors and mine-affected countries must work harder to ensure that countries live up to their obligations under international law.�

Demining programs in 2006 cleared 140 km2 of mined areas and 310 km2 of battle areas. A significant increase in battle area clearance was recorded over 2005, primarily in Iraq. Afghanistan and Cambodia alone accounted for over 55% of all mined area clearance in 2006. Operations resulted in the destruction of 217,000 antipersonnel mines, 18,000 antivehicle mines and 2.15 million explosive remnants of war (ERW).

Government use of antipersonnel mines declined further, with only Myanmar/Burma and Russia continuing to lay new mines. Non-state armed groups in at least eight countries used antipersonnel mines or improvised explosive devices, which is also a decrease.

A total of 5,751 mine and ERW casualties were reported in 2006, a decrease of 16% from 2005, although Pakistan, Myanmar/Burma, and Somalia recorded increased casualty rates due to conflict. Lebanon noted an approximately tenfold casualty increase. Three-quarters of recorded casualties were civilians, and 34% of civilian casualties were children. Worldwide, 473,000 survivors were identified as of August 2007.

Only 11 of 24 states with significant numbers of survivors have made substantial progress towards their 2005-2009 objectives for improving the provision of assistance and ensuring survivors� rights. Funding for survivor assistance comprises only 1% of total mine action funding. Progress toward meeting the needs and rights of survivors should be regarded as insufficient.


�Mine-affected countries and international donors must give greater priority to the physical and economic rehabilitation of survivors, as their needs are not being adequately addressed,� said Katleen Maes of Handicap International, Landmine Monitor�s Victim Assistance Editor. �These people must not be forgotten.�


Mine risk education reached approximately 7.3 million people in 63 countries in 2006-2007. Although this is an increase from 2005-2006, 13 countries urgently need to improve their mine risk education efforts. No mine risk education was recorded in 36 countries and one area affected by mines or ERW.

Of the 20 largest mine action donors, 15 provided more funding in 2006 than 2005. Funding for mine action was US$475 million in 2006, an increase of some $100 million from 2005, and the highest level ever recorded by Landmine Monitor. Much of the increase was due to emergency funding for the clearance of explosive remnants of war in South Lebanon.

�While donor states responded quickly to ERW contamination in Lebanon, what is needed is multi-year funding by national and international donors,� said Mr. Anthony Forrest of Mines Action Canada, Landmine Monitor�s Mine Action Funding Editor. �Funding levels in 2006 have set a new standard for the global commitment to mine action, against which future funding levels will be judged."

Antipersonnel mines face increased international rejection, as four more countries joined the treaty (Indonesia, Iraq, Kuwait and Montenegro), bringing the total to 155. �Ten years after the negotiation and signing of the Mine Ban Treaty, the stigmatization of antipersonnel mines continues to spread. Even those who have not yet joined the treaty are largely abiding by its core obligations,� said Steve Goose of Human Rights Watch, Landmine Monitor�s Ban Policy Editor. Seven more countries completed destruction of their stockpiles of antipersonnel mines; in total, 81 States Parties have destroyed nearly 42 million stockpiled mines.

�While overall compliance with the treaty has been impressive, there have been some disconcerting developments,� said Goose. These include a UN monitoring group reporting shipments of antipersonnel mines to Somali factions by two States Parties (Eritrea and Ethiopia, which strongly deny the accusations), two states missing their stockpile destruction deadlines (Afghanistan and Cape Verde, both of which have now completed the task), and Venezuela indicating that it continues to derive military benefit from mines laid around military bases�a potential treaty violation of the prohibition on use.

The treaty prohibits the use, production, and trade of antipersonnel landmines. It requires clearance of mined areas within 10 years and the destruction of stockpiled antipersonnel mines within four years. Landmine Monitor Report 2007 reports on landmine use, production, trade, stockpiling, demining, casualties, survivor assistance and mine action funding in 118 countries and areas.

Landmine Monitor is coordinated by an Editorial Board drawn from four organizations: Mines Action Canada, Handicap International, Human Rights Watch and Norwegian People�s Aid. It constitutes a sustainable and systematic way for NGOs to monitor and report on the implementation of a disarmament treaty.

Landmine Monitor Report 2007 and related documents are available at 08:00 GMT at www.icbl.org/lm/2007on 12 November.

For more information or to schedule an interview contact:

Ms. Jackie Hansen, Landmine Monitor Project Manager, Geneva (GMT+1), Mobile +41-76-222-6968 or +1-613-851-5436, email lm@icbl.org
Ms. Simona Beltrami, ICBL Advocacy Director, Geneva (GMT+1), Mobile +39-33-3714-2251, email simona@icbl.org

2007 Evening of Hope Benefit for Landmine Survivors Brings in $50,000!

SEATTLE � Landmine accident survivors, particularly in Vietnam, have reason to smile after Friday�s 2007 Evening of Hope MC�d by KING 5 TV�s Evening Magazine Host John Curley at the College Club.

Our third annual Seattle fundraiser, generously underwritten by the law firm Marler Clark, brought in more than $50,000 for our direct assistance work. That amount is a 43 percent increase over last year�s $35,000.
For central Vietnam, the $50,000 will be doubled through a matching grant from the U.S. State Department and then doubled again by the International Trust Fund for Demining & Victims Assistance.

In short, the evening raised a total of $200,000!

With other fundraising efforts and grant requests made to private-sector donors, we now expect to easily raise the matching totals from State and the ITF for $400,000, allowing us to assist 1,700 landmine survivors in Vietnam by the middle of 2008.

Credit for the gala�s huge success goes to Clear Path�s new volunteer Special Projects Coordinator, Melody Mociulski, who worked tirelessly on the benefit since spring. She called around town for the best venue, procured new auction software, initiated outreach, recruited guests, procured auction items and managed the evening�s complex administration.

In preparations for the evening, she was supported by volunteers Sandy Schubach and Kathy Hashbarger. Sandy arranged the dessert auction that raised thousands of dollars and recruited volunteers, while Kathy recruited guests, procured auction items and assisted at the event.

Volunteer prosthetic technicians Duane Nelson and Jody Riggs awed the audience with their deeply moving presentation about their three months providing artificial limbs to Burmese refugees in remote camps on the Thai-Myanmar border.

The evening was attended by West Coast board members Nancy Norton, Lori Trieu, Mark Kruse and Laura Willingham, and by Burma advisor Dr. Tao Shen Kwan Gett.

John Curley, MC and auctioneer, was better than ever, teasing and good-heartedly taunting the crowd of more than 110 into a bidding frenzy over dessert and items in the live auction, including a cruise donated by Holland America Lines (with roundtrip airfare from Alaska Airlines), a week at a farm house in Provence, a week at a ski condo in Whistler, lunch with Tom Robbins, a movie night at Yonder Theater and two tickets at the 103.7 FM Mountain Music Lounge.

The staff at the College Club could not have been more accommodating and fun work with before, during and after the event.

I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped make our 2007 Evening of Hope the highest netting fundraising event in our seven-year history:

Event sponsor:
Marler Clark, Llc.

Silk Circle donors:
Kom Consulting, Alan & Sarah Black and Michael Bryant Brown & Kayla Black.
Lotus Club donors: Virginia & Dusty Davison; Clyde & Lois Laughlin; Aroma Creations; Cascade DAFO; Gordon & Cathryn Sandridge, Margaret Roben, John & Veronika Geilfuss, Jane & Charles Ekberg, Mickie & Bob Stowell, Bryce & Sherry Holmes, Matt Kenney, Brent & Madeline Olson, Dan & Kathleen Huxley and David & Ann Bruce.

Table captains:
Melody & Michael Mociulski, Karen Fredrichs, Kathy & Rick Hashbarger, Keith & Lucia Ryan, Marcie Lagerloef, Margaret Connor and Laura Willingham.

Auction donors:
Holland America Lines, Alaska Airlines, Seattle Symphony, 103.7 FM The Mountain, Melody & Michael Mociulski, Geraldine Ferraro/Four Swallows/Barbara Jeantrout, Faces First, Greg Atkinson, Craig Freeman, Claire Henning, Karen & Mark Fredrichs, KUOW, Tom Robbins, Karen & Imbert Matthee, Island Fitness, Renew Day Spa, Kristen Leadem, Tom Lent, The Traveler, Lori Trieu, Bainbridge Police Department, Eagle Harbor Books, Pet Vacations, Rancho Winslow, John & Andrea Adams, Bainbridge Vineyards, Bellezza Dolce, Eleven Winery, Pam Wachtler-Fermanis, Alan Vogel Design, Woodleigh Hubbard, Cher Vrieling, Ten Mercer Dinner & Drinks, Cihan & Bonnie Anisogula, Old Mill Microcomputing, Erin Hults, Grace Harris, Blackbird Bakery, Town & Country Markets, Gene Juarez Salons & Spas, Bon Bon, Sonya Marinoni, Rick & Kathy Hashbarger, Frank Buxton, Bowie Salon & Spa, Arlene Johnson.

Volunteers: Melody Mociulski, Duane Nelson, Jody Riggs, Sandy Schubach, Kathy Hashbarger, Thuy Nguyen, Cezanne Allen, Mike Gormley, Ann Strickland, Keith & Lucia Ryan and Erin Hults.

Running marathons for landmine surivors: Thanks Darcy!

Working with Clear Path International has offered me the great privilege of meeting many amazing people around the world. Not a day goes by that I don't think about the folks that tirelessly, quietly and selflessly continue to support this important work.

Mr. Darcy Ike is positioned well within the group of amazing folks with whom I have been honored to cross paths. Mr. Ike runs marathons, 34 so far and has chosen to contribute to Clear Path with the completion of the past several and hopefully the next handful in the future :)

In the photo below from a recent marathon on Maui, Darcy is wearing a shirt that was designed by his friend Tim Geer. It features a simple drawing of Aung San Suu Kyi and two messages - on the front "Free Aung San Suu Kyi" and on the back - "Running for Clear Path".

Stay tuned for more about Mr. Ike's efforts but for now all of us here are grateful for the miles that he has tread for Clear Path International.

In Burma, child soldiers bought and sold

Even more cruel than landmines, which steal limbs and lives most often from the innocent, is the use of child soldiers, which steals childhoods and souls from the defenseless. It is an act of the truly evil and desperate.

No surprise, then, to see this recent report (link to a 2.1 meg PDF) from Human Rights Watch detailing the use of child soldiers in Burma (Myanmar).

An excerpt from a story on the report on Reuters is below.

Source: Reuters Alertnet | Human Rights Watch

NEW YORK, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Myanmar is filling the ranks of its depleted armed forces with children as young as 10 and may try to capture even more boys after the recent crackdown on pro-democracy protests, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday.

The former Burma is so desperate to replenish its army after desertions and attrition that children are bought and sold by military recruiters. They are beaten and held as virtual prisoners while the government denies it is happening, the report said.

Myanmar's military government, under international scrutiny for its brutal suppression of the biggest pro-democracy protests in 20 years, insists that its armed forces are made up of volunteers over 18, the 132-page report said.

However, out of 20 former soldiers interviewed by Human Rights Watch, all but one estimated that at least 30 percent of their fellow trainees were under 18, the report said.

"The government's deployment of the army in September 2007 to attack Buddhist monks and other peaceful protesters may increase the vulnerability of children to recruitment even further," the report said.

"Even before the crackdown, young men were often reluctant to join the military ... The use of the army in the attacks, killings and detention of protesters may further discourage voluntary enlistment, and prompt recruiters to seek out even greater numbers of child recruits," the report said.

YouTube: Thank you, Martha!

This video was shown on the 10th anniversary Celebration of Martha Hathaway's work with landmine and bomb survivors in Vietnam, Cambodia, Afghanistan and the Thai-Burma border.

The music is Natalie Merchant's "Kind & Generous" off of her CD OPHELIA and is used with permission.

It was shown (as a surprise to her) at on October 13th after a letter from the US Dept of State was read and before a speech by Senator Patrick Leahy and a performance by Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion.

Senator Leahy Honors Clear Path | Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion Perform to a Sold Out Crowd

Great news from the Vermont Office of Clear Path International! Our event with Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion was a huge success bringing in around $10,000.00 in donations and ticket sales! We sold out of over 200 tickets and it was standng room only... and those standing didn't seem to mind as Sarah Lee and Johnny put on a stellar performance.

Before the show, CPI honored one of its own... it was CPI executive Director Martha Hathaway's 10th year in mine action. In honor of this occasion, Senator Patrick Leahy spoke before Sarah Lee and Johnny took the stage and spoke to the need for a ban on landmines and praised the work of Clear Path International. He then presented Martha and me with a framed copy of comments he made about Clear Path that are now in the Congressional Record.

This was a great honor for Martha, Clear Path and me. Please see photos below and more pictures from the event can be found at this link.

Thank you Sarah Lee, Johnny and Senator and Mrs. Leahy!! I also especiallly want to thank John Goodrow from Leahy's office... he is truly an unsung hero... he fields so many calls for the Senator's attention and has done so much for so many. Thank you, John, for your good work for us and for many, many other causes. The photo below, with the Senator, was taken by John.






A special thank you to our sponsors for the event:

A Safe Place Self-Storage, Alchemy Promotional Products, Bickford Real Estate, Chandler 4 Corners, Dorset Union Store, Engel, Powell & Spivey, P.C., Express Copy Inc., Finn & Stone, Inc., Bob Gasperetti Furniture Maker, Gunterman Tennis Schools, H.N. Williams Store, The Inn at Manchester.Inn At West View Farm, Lisa Laberge Interiors, Long Ago & Far Away,Main Street Realty McWayne Jewelers, The Mountain Goat, New Morning Natural Foods, Northshire Bookstore, The Orvis Company,Perfect Wife Restaurant, Simple Coffee, Susan Sargent Designs, The Kitchen Store At J.K. Adams

10th Anniversary of Public-Private Partnerships at US Dept of State's Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement

Ten years ago an initiative was begun at the US Department of State that would energize the mine action community in a creative and exciting way. In October of 1997 the State Department initiated the Humanitarian Mine Action Public-Priivate Partnership Program. Clear Path has benefitted greatly from the program as have 56 other NGOs.

Thank you to the great people at the WRA office who have helped CPI immeasurably... we could not do the work we do without their support...

Congratulations folks!!

The below is a press release from their office:

10th Anniversary of Public-Private Partnerships to Reinforce Humanitarian Mine Action

The U.S. Department of State is pleased to mark the tenth anniversary of its Humanitarian Mine Action Public-Private Partnership Program, which enlists civil society support for clearing persistent landmines and explosive remnants of war, teaching mine risk education, and rendering assistance to survivors of landmine accidents around the world. Since its founding in October 1997, this Public-Private Partnership Program has grown to include 57 non-governmental organizations, civic associations, educational groups, and corporations. Working with the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs' Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, these partners have contributed resources that reinforce U.S. Government efforts to combat the global landmine problem. Recognizing that donor governments alone cannot solve the problem soon enough - even with the United States Government's more than $1.1 billion in mine action assistance since 1993 - these groups are speeding the pace at which affected countries can be freed from the humanitarian impact of landmines and other explosive hazards.

The U.S. Department of State thanks the following Public-Private Partners for their valuable contributions to humanitarian mine action:

Adopt-A-Minefield | Association of Volunteers in International Service | Center for International Rehabilitation | Center for Teaching International Relations | Children of Armenia Fund | Colombian Center for Integrated Rehabilitation | Clear Path International | C King Associates | Cranfield University | DanChurchAid | Danish Demining Group | DC Comics | Demining Agency for Afghanistan | Freedom Fields USA | Global Care Unlimited | Golden West Humanitarian Foundation | Grapes for Humanity | The HALO Trust | Handicap International France | Help Handicapped International | Health Volunteers Overseas | Humpty Dumpty Institute | International Eurasia Press Fund | Iraq Mine and Unexploded Ordnance Clearance Organization | Julia Burke Foundation | Kids First Vietnam | Landmines Blow! | Landmine Survivors Network | Lipscomb University | MAG | Marshall Legacy Institute | Medical Care Development International | Messiah College | Mine Action Information Center | Mine Clearance Planning Agency | Newsweek Education Program | One Sri Lanka Foundation | PeaceTrees Vietnam | People to People International | Polus Center | Prestige Health Care Technologies | Prosthetics Outreach Foundation | Roots of Peace | Rose Charities | Dr. Ken Rutherford/Missouri State University | Save the Children | Schonstedt Instrument Company | South Florida Landmine Action Group | Spirit of Soccer | Students Partnership Worldwide | Survey Action Center | United Nations Foundation | Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation | Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund | Warner Bros. | World Education | World Rehabilitation Fund

To learn more, visit the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement website at www.state.gov/t/pm/wra, click on "Public-Private Partnerships," and also see the Safe Passage newsletters at www.state.gov/t/pm/wra/partners/c14838.htm.

Congratulations Sally Taylor and Dean Bragonier!

The Clear Path International family just got a little bigger and a little cuter with the birth of Bodhi Taylor Bragonier, born to Clear Path's dear friends Sally Taylor and Dean Bragonier on October 4th! Dean and Sally founded the TRANQUILITY PROJECT to raise funds for landmine survivors in Cambodia.... which is how we all became friends. Sally has come to Vermont a couple times to perform and support the work of Clear Path.

Congratulations guys!!

AP: Villagers flee Myanmar�s deadly landmines

The story below is from the Mae Sot Clinic on the Thailand - Burma (Myanmar) border that Clear Path International has been supporting since 2002.

Villagers flee Myanmar�s deadly landmines

...In 2005, at least 231 people in Myanmar were killed or maimed by landmines planted by both the government and insurgent groups including the Karen National Liberation Army, the armed wing of the KNU, the report said.

People treating the victims in Thailand fear that the figure is rising.

Cynthia Maung, the founder of the Mae Tao Clinic, said the number of landmine victims has been growing since 1997 and thinks that it may double this year as the junta�s troops advance through Karen State.

�Every year we receive about 30 to 40 landmine victims,� she told AFP, adding that she�s seen nearly 50 cases so far this year.

Read the rest of the story here.



A landmine survivor is fitted at the Mae Tao Clinic in Mae Sot

Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion with Senator Patrick Leahy Benefit Clear Path International!

Sarah Lee Guthrie, the granddaughter of Woody Guthrie and the daughter of Arlo, will be returning to perform in southern Vermont with her husband, the critically acclaimed Johnny Irion on Saturday October 13th at 6:30 pm at Dorset Vermont's Long Trail school!



The event will benefit Clear Path International's work with landmine and bomb survivors in Vietnam, Cambodia and the Thai-Burma Border. Speaking before the event will be long-time Clear Path supporter and landmine victim advocate, Vermont's Senator Patrick Leahy.


Please click the BUY NOW button below to purchase tickets!

Acoustic Magazine had this to say about Sarah Lee and Johnny's 2005 CD entitled "Exploration":

"The celebrated Guthrie musical legacy appears to be in capable hands. This duo debut from Arlo's daughter/Woody's granddaughter and her singer-songwriter husband carries the family folk-music torch into rock and country territory with style and spirit to spare."

Read more about Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion here: www.sarahleeandjohnny.com



Thank you to our sponsors!



A Safe Place Self-Storage, Alchemy Promotional Products, Bickford Real Estate, Chandler 4 Corners, Dorset Union Store, Engel, Powell & Spivey, P.C., Express Copy Inc., Finn & Stone, Inc., Bob Gasperetti Furniture Maker, Gunterman Tennis Schools, H.N. Williams Store, The Inn at Manchester.Inn At West View Farm, Lisa Laberge Interiors, Long Ago & Far Away,Main Street Realty McWayne Jewelers, The Mountain Goat, New Morning Natural Foods, Northshire Bookstore, The Orvis Company,Perfect Wife Restaurant, Simple Coffee, Susan Sargent Designs, The Kitchen Store At J.K. Adams

Esquire: The Devil in the Dirt

Source: http://www.esquire.com/the-side/blog/landmines-092107

There are so many landmines in Afghanistan, the country is literally about to blow. But removing these mines is no easy task. An exclusive report from Kabul.

By Jeffrey Stern



A member of the United Nations mine-removal team in Afghanistan delicately holds the fuse from a soon-to-be detonated ERW.



KABUL, Afghanistan -- There is a landmine museum in Kabul. It�s a single poorly lit room with portraits on the wall of kids suddenly made asymmetrical by munitions left behind. Armies withdraw, but they don�t pick up after themselves.

Here, on display, are all the devilish devices men have dreamt up to disassemble one another. Claymores, rocket propelled grenades, rounds the size of your forearm. The cases are open, so you can reach in and pick the things up.

They have mines from America, China, Italy, Pakistan, Russia, Egypt; everyone seems to have buried relics somewhere in Afghanistan. The tags on the unearthed weapons are simple: �Russia; trip wire; operational pressure 250kgs; 1000 pieces chopped steel rod.� �Pakistan; claymore; electrical initiation; 600 6-millimeter steel ball bearings.� They�re less �improvised� than buried propane tanks wrapped in nails on roadsides, but the idea is the same.

And just like IED�s, they�re assigned sterile-sounding acronyms. The agencies deal in ERW�s and UXO�s -- Explosive Remnants of War and Unexploded Ordinance, respectively -- so they might talk courteously about these things that keep refugees from repatriating, rob families of their breadwinner, and don�t know an advancing soldier from a child fetching water, so that the kid giving you the thumbs-up when your armored SUV rumbles by will one day take a wrong step and be ripped apart by a six hundred steel ball bearings. Something like that happens twice a day in Afghanistan.

Read the rest of this article here.

Rutland Herald: CPI continuing to grow its reputation as a force for humanitarian relief

Dorset organization raises land mine awareness

September 11, 2007
By PATRICK McARDLE Herald Staff

DORSET - Clear Path International is continuing to grow its reputation as a force for humanitarian relief with new developments this year in Afghanistan and Slovenia.

For the first time, Clear Path is operating a program in Afghanistan in partnership with an American company and the Department of State.

Clear Path, which has offices in Dorset and Seattle, has also received a promise of almost a quarter million dollars from a nonprofit organization in Slovenia which will allow it to continue and expand their work in Vietnam.

Martha Hathaway, the executive director of Clear Path, said it was important for the organization to get the kind of wider recognition that leads to expansions like the one it has recently undertaken.

But Hathaway is much more interested in talking about the work Clear Path is doing and the need in the countries it operates than in congratulating Clear Path on its efforts.

In Afghanistan, Clear Path will be creating victims' assistance programs which has been part of its mission for some time.

Hathaway founded Clear Path in 2001 with her husband, James, Kristen Leadem of Dorset, and Imbert Matthee of Washington, as a land mine removal organization. Now, the group works primarily in assisting victims and raising awareness.


Kristen Leadem (left) and Martha Hathaway of Clear Path International in the Vermont office.

In Afghanistan, Clear Path will be working as a subcontractor to DynCorp International which has a contract with the Department of State's Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement. Hathaway said the Clear Path office in Kabul, which has been operating since April, is staffed partially by Americans, working to engage Afghanis in the process.

"The State Department is worried about projects that are not self-sustaining," Hathaway said.

Hathaway said because the government of Afghanistan already had a national strategy for helping victims of land mines, who not only have to deal with their injury but access issues and loss of income, Clear Path would look for ways the State Department can assist the local agencies. That is likely to include things like organizing a national workshop on victims' assistance or creating a system for building ramps and making schools accessible.

While Clear Path has already had some success with similar programs in Cambodia and along the Thailand-Burma border, Hathaway said that didn't necessarily make things easier when they expanded into a country like Afghanistan that has suffered greatly from the use of land mines.

"Every country impacted by land mines is different but we can take the bits and pieces of institutional knowledge we've gained over the years and apply it where it makes sense," she said.

According to Clear Path, an average of 90 people are injured by land mines or explosive remnants in Afghanistan every month and about half die before they can be treated.

The grant from the Slovenia-based International Trust for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance also presents new opportunities for Clear Path.

Under the agreement, the trust will raise $230,000 from among its 27 government and private-sector donors to match what Clear Path raises from the United States government and donors.

Hathaway said this is the first time Clear Path has received funds from the trust and marks the trust's first efforts in Southeast Asia.

The trust was founded about 10 years ago to assist people in the Balkans but Hathaway said as land mines became less of a threat in Europe, charitable organizations there have begun to look at ways they can help victims in other places.

According to Hathaway, Clear Path will use the money to assist ongoing efforts in Vietnam through capital purchases and the hiring of new staff rather than to create new programs.

Despite Clear Path's successes, which have led to more contracts and funding, the need is still great and money remains an issue.

The problem of land mines, especially those which remain after a war is over and injure civilians, gained international attention more than 10 years ago through the support of several well-known figures, primarily England's Princess Diana.

Land mine removal is expensive, however, and organizations like Clear Path, which assist with rehabilitation and the development of resources so victims can earn their own living, are in it for the long-term.

"Donor fatigue is a real problem," Hathaway said.

While Clear Path is raising more money than it has in the past, it comes from fewer donors, primarily the large donations like the ones from the trust, rather than the numerous pledges of $50 or $100 they received in the past.

Clear Path also has the disadvantage of being based in Seattle and out-of-the-mainstream Dorset, far from the significant donors based in New York City or Washington, D.C.

Clear Path has raised money through benefit concerts and a music CD. Its next concert will be on Oct. 13 at the Long Trail School in Dorset with performers Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion, introduced by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

For more information on Clear Path on the Internet, visit its Web site at www.cpi.org.

Contact Patrick McArdle at Patrick.mcardle@rutlandherald.com.

Iraq: Which minefield should we clear next?

From the Reuters Alertnet blog, Sean Moorehouse writes about the work of Mines Advisory Group in Iraq:

We were visiting the almost-vertical Qalat minefield, part of a minebelt that meanders for tens of miles across the harsh terrain of the Kurdish mountains.

Why, I wondered, did MAG choose to clear Qalat, instead of any of the countless other bits.

Fkry and I continued our inspection of the perimeter of the minefield, which was marked by a line of red-painted sticks, about 30cm (12 inches) high, running vertically up the hillside. A 2-metre (2.2 yards) wide path had been hacked out alongside them, to give the deminers access to their working lanes.

Just as importantly, the path allowed for casualty evacuation in the event of a mine accident. An ambulance stood waiting at the other side of the minefield and stretchers were dotted about in strategic locations. The highly trained medic tried to keep himself motivated, but it wasn't easy to sit around for seven hours a day hoping to have nothing to do.

Read the rest of this story here.

Shell explosion kills 3 family members in Vietnam

Source: Chinadaily.com

HANOI -- A couple and their three-year-old child were killed when an ammunition shell exploded in Vietnam's central Quang Nam Province, according to local newspaper Youth on Wednesday.

The explosion occurred at the victims' house in Duy Xuyen District on Tuesday afternoon when the 31-year-old man named Pham Van Thang was trying to break the shell for scraps. His wife, standing nearby, and the child held in her arms were killed on the spot.

According to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund of the United States, during the Vietnam War from 1965-1975, the US Armed Forces deployed more than 15 million tons of bombs, mines, artillery shells and other ordnance in the country, in which 10 percent did not detonate as designed.

Local scrap collectors often saw of unexploded ordnance (UXO) for metal and explosive, while small children play ammunitions by breaking them, resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries annually.

Now, there are over 300,000 tons of UXO in Vietnam, estimated local officials

Howstuffworks.com: How Landmines Work

So many people come to our site to learn how to clear landmines, that it seems many of you may be interested in how landmines work.

The below is an excerpt from a great article by Kevin Bonsor for the website Howstuffworks.com:

Mines are often laid in groups, called mine fields, and are designed to prevent the enemy from passing through a certain area, or sometimes to force an enemy through a particular area. An army also will use landmines to slow an enemy until reinforcements can arrive. While more than 350 varieties of mines exist, they can be broken into two categories:

Anti-personnel (AP) mines

Anti-tank (AT) mines

The basic function of both of these types of landmines is the same, but there are a couple of key differences between them. Anti-tank mines are typically larger and contain several times more explosive material than anti-personnel mines. There is enough explosive in an anti-tank mine to destroy a tank or truck, as well as kill people in or around the vehicle. Additionally, more pressure is usually required for an anti-tank mine to detonate. Most of these mines are found on roads, bridges and large clearances where tanks may travel.

...

Landmine detection is a slow, methodical process due to the danger involved in locating landmines. While location technology is improving, the following conventional techniques are still relied on heavily:

Probing the ground - For many years, the most sophisticated technology used for locating landmines was probing the ground with a stick or bayonet. Soldiers are trained to poke the ground lightly with a bayonet, knowing that just one mistake may cost them their lives.

Trained dogs - Dogs can be trained to sniff out vapors coming from the explosive ingredients inside the landmine.

Metal detectors - Metal detectors are limited in their ability to find mines, because many mines are made of plastic with only a tiny bit of metal.

Read the rest of this article here.



Below is a brief video on clearing landmines in Vietnam narrated by Clear Path International's executive director, Martha Hathaway.

O & P Edge: CPI Clearing the Way for a Safer Future

The below is an excerpt from a very well-written and researched piece by Brady Delander who interviewed Martha, Imbert and me. He would have talked to Kristen too, but she is pretty busy over in Afghanistan at the moment!

Thanks, Brady!!

CPI: Clearing the Way for a Safer Future

By Brady Delander

Will and determination help expand worldly mission of Clear Path International.

James Hathaway was late for his flight�"of course," he says�when he saw his opportunity. Imbert Matthee was deep in the jungles of Vietnam when the purpose of his efforts crystallized. Such is the world of humanitarianism. Anything can happen at anytime? it usually does.

Hathaway and Matthee, along with Martha Hathaway and Kristen Leadem, are the co-founders of Clear Path International (CPI), an organization established in 2000 originally dedicated to the removal of unexploded ordnance�landmines, clusters bombs, etc.�in war-torn locations around the globe that now focuses on helping the victims of such explosions. "There is certainly no shortage of work," says Martha Hathaway, CPI's executive director and co-founder.

The bulk of that work is deadly serious. With programs in Vietnam, Cambodia, along the Thai-Burma border, and now Afghanistan, the realities of war�even wars that ended more than 30 years ago�could not be any more dramatic. Dealing with the everyday horror can be overwhelming, but Matthee recalls a moment that makes even the most trying days seem worthwhile.

Read the rest of this story here.

Landmine explosion in Vietnam kills 3 children

Source: International Herald Tribune

HANOI, Vietnam: A land mine left over from the 1970s exploded in northern Vietnam, killing three children and wounding six others, two seriously, state media reported Sunday.

The three children, all aged 10, were killed at the scene as they tried to extract scrap metal from the land mine on Friday in Lai Chau province, the Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper said.

Six other children, also the same age, were wounded and two remained in critical condition, the newspaper said.

Read the rest of this article here.

Clear Path International, International Trust Deal offers new hope for landmine, bomb survivors in Vietnam

Source: ThanNien News:

The agreement's first proposal commits ITF to raise $230,000 from among its 27 government and private-sector donors to match the funds Clear Path is raising from the US State Department and US-based private-sector.

ITF's funds would bring CPI's total Vietnam budget for the 2007 - 2008 fiscal year to nearly $500,000, making it possible to provide services to more than 1,700 survivors of accidents caused by landmines and other unexploded ordnances (UXO) in at least four central coast provinces.

ITF's funds would be used to provide direct medical and socio-economic support to survivors and support several projects expanding physical and rehabilitative services available to persons with disabilities in their communities.

Read the rest of this article here.




Clear Path International President, Imbert Matthee (left) signs new agreement to give hope to civilian victims of war with ITF Head of Department for International Relations Sabina Beber Bostjancic.

Man Learns to Walk Again After Losing Limbs to Decades-old Bomb in Vietnam

Photo by Rick Gunn

On May 10, 2006 in Que Son district, Quang Nam province Vietnam, a bomb left over from the US-Vietnam war exploded and severley injured two men. One suffered the loss of multiple limbs; the other, after several hours struggling against death at the district hospital waiting for an ambulance to arrive, died in the intensive care unit.

The survivor, Nguyen Dinh Vinh, the eldest of the four siblings, was born in 1982. However, Vinh had been raised by his grandmother since he was only five years old. His parents, who also live in the same village, do farm work to raise the other three children.

In October 2005, Vinh married a farm girl. The grandmother happily accepted a new member to her small house. The young woman took care of farm work, the old woman prepared meals for three while Vinh worked as a brick layer. At Vinh parent�s home, Thi, the next sibling and his parents were the main laborers. The last two siblings were students of secondary school. Life went on with its normal pace for everyone in the family.

Vinh sometimes went to big cities where there was more work available. A full day work�s wage would be VND 50,000 (equivalent to US $3). However, Vinh couldn�t save much. He had to return to the village for his wife was in the late month of pregnancy. There�s not much for him to do at home, but Vinh needed to stay around his wife and prepare for their first child to come. To everyone�s joy, a baby girl was born in late April 2006.

After returning home, Vinh made himself available for any type of work in exchange for cash. On May 10th, 2006, Vinh and his younger brother, Thi were reclaiming farmland in the forest. The two brothers had been hired for several days to work on that plot. The progress was good as they both were young and strong.

The accident occured at about 11:00 a.m when Thi was digging up a tree stump. In close distance, Vinh was bending down, pulling fallen branches away. A loud explosion woke up the quiet forest as Thi�s pick hit the ground. The ordnance was subsurface and thus, nobody knew what it was; but the powerful blast knocked two men down on the ground. Locals, guided by the explosion, arrived at the site and took them to the district hospital. They both were in critical conditions: Three out of four limbs on Vinh were badly crushed. Thi received injuries in his chest and abdomen. At the district hospital, the doctors decided to forward them to provincial hospital as they both need surgery as soon as possible. The next four hours passed in vain as the only ambulance of the district had already dispatched and the only thing they could do was just wait for another ambulance to come up from some 90 kilometers away to pick them up. Despite of his strength and youth, Thi died at the DaNang general hospital at 3 p.m.. He was taken back to the family within the same night.

The family was once again divided. One group stayed home preparing for the funeral, the other went to the hospital to take care of the injured. After 10 days of treatment, Vinh asked the doctors for permit to go back to the district hospital as the family�s money and energy was running out. The request was approved. Vinh stayed another month at the district hospital before release.

In March 2007, Vinh came to the Danang orthopedic and rehabilitation center for having prosthetics made. At the examine room he met Huyen, a CPI�s medical liaison here. The sad story was once again revealed. Vinh was then guided with procedures for reimbursement of expenses of the first treatment and assistance for his rehabs from CPI.

Based on the receipts sent by the family, CPI was able to reimburse all medical expenses for the two brothers along with nutritional and transportation supports as stated by its policy. The total amount for two was VND 5,586,971 (US $349.18). With this assistance, the family was able to pay back what they borrowed from their kind neighbors.

Vinh is now able to walk again. However, with the loss of his left hand, his working capacity is greatly reduced. At the time this narrative is being composed, Vinh stays at home to look after his daughter while his wife spends the morning selling vegetable at the local market and the afternoon on farm work.

Elephants "Learn" to Avoid Land Mines in War-Torn Angola

In the past I have posted about elephant landmine victims on the Thai-Burma border. The article below from National Geographic shows that elephants are learning to avoide minefields... but they are not sure how, exactly.

Ian Whyte is senior researcher at South Africa's flagship Kruger National Park, which has an estimated 13,000 elephants within its boundaries

He said the animals may well be able to develop the ability to avoid mined areas. But exactly how they do it�whether it's by true learning or by an ability to detect the mines somehow�is a matter of conjecture.

"Maybe they are able to smell the mines," Whyte said. "They move about with their trunks right on the ground, and it could be that they pick up the scent in this way.

"But they are also intelligent animals which move in groups. Maybe they learn to avoid places where they see other elephants get blown up."

Read the rest of this article here.

Clear Path Burma Site: Landmine death toll rises in Karen state

This news comes from the Clear Path International funded landmines victim clinic at the Mae Tao clinic on the Thai-Burma border.

Souce: Democratic Voice of Burma

Landmine death toll rises in Karen state

July 05, 2007 (DVB)�The number of people killed by landmines in Karen State has increased dramatically this year as tensions continue between rival Karen rebels, according to staff at the Mae Tao clinic on the Thai-Burma border.

Saw Eh Thamwe, the coordinator of the clinic�s mine victim department, said that the clinic had treated 16 people injured by landmines in June alone and that increased tensions between the Karen National Union and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army were to blame.

�This year has the highest number of land-mine cases due to intensified fighting. in previous years, there were as few as ten landmine cases a year but in the first six months of this year we had 30 cases,� Saw Eh Thamwe said.

Married couple U Pho Htin and Daw La Pyait from Maw Htoo Tha Lae village near Myawaddy were bought to the clinic yesterday after they were injured by a landmine while gathering bamboo shoots in the jungle in the early morning.

�The wife lost both of her legs and her husband has gone blind. Because their wounds were quite serious we have sent them to the Mae Sot hospital with the assistance of the [International Committee of the Red Cross,� Saw Eh Thamwe said.

See photos of our work on the Thai-Burma border here.
See previous blog posts on the Thai-Burma border here.

China clearing landmines on Sino-Vietnamese Border

Source: China View

PINGXIANG, July 15 (Xinhua) -- His heart pounded as rivulets of sweat trickled down his face in the semi-desert heat. Wei Lianhai's hands, moist with perspiration, snipped the wire of a landmine laid in the Friendship Pass area, on the border between China and Vietnam.

"Hurrah!" shouted the 30 soldiers of the demining team of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). "Long live peace!"

The landmine Wei cleared on July 5 marked the end of more than 100 days of demining work, making the Friendship Pass zone a mine-free area.

"We've been working so hard to see this day," Wei said.

First constructed in the Ming Dynasty some 600 years ago, the Friendship Pass is situated in Pingxiang City in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

It has always served as a strategic border defense for the southern frontier of China. It was destroyed by the French invasion forces during the Sino-French war in 1885 and destroyed again by the Japanese during the Second World War.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s at least 10,000 landmines were laid within a three-kilometer radius of the Friendship Pass. The destructive devices were left behind since then.

Read the rest of this article here.

Reuters: Decade after Diana campaign, few use landmines

From Reuters:

Decade after Diana campaign, few use landmines

Mon Jul 16, 2007 9:31 AM BST
By Peter Apps

LONDON (Reuters) - Ten years after the death of Princess Diana and the first global treaty against antipersonnel landmines, experts say only a handful of rebel groups and perhaps one state dare use what has become a pariah weapon.

note from Clear Path: The one state is the state of Myanmar (Burma). Clear Path funds clinics to assist landmine survivors on the Thai-Burma border. You can read more here.

Landmine clearance agencies say it will likely take another decade to clear probably the world's two most affected countries -- Angola in southern Africa and Cambodia in Southeast Asia -- both the scene of long-running but now ended civil wars. Ongoing conflicts delay clearance in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

But fewer are now being laid and many activists have moved on to a campaign against cluster munitions in the aftermath of last year's Lebanon war, which left much of the country's south seeded with small unexploded bomblets.

"There is a global stigma attached to landmines now," said Paul Hannon, executive director of pressure group Mines Action Canada.

Read the rest of the article here.

Jody Riggs: Burma�s situation is real!

note: Jody Riggs is currently volunteering on the Thai-Burma border with Clear Path International. He sent me this post by email. You can read more of his blog here: http://bcitpando.blogspot.com/index.html

This is not history! That is what continues to ring in my head. My name is Jody Riggs and I am a student prosthetist from Canada. The atrocities that I am reading about and the repercussions that I am witnessing are current events, happening just over those hills and across the Moei or the Salween river in Burma.

The victims of malnutrition, curable diseases, displacement from homes, forced labour, unfair imprisonment, landmine explosions are all around me. This is heart wrenching, though if we don�t keep faith how will these Burmese ethnic groups keep their faith?

Over the past four weeks I have been inspired to keep hoping and to assist in the solution. The work of international volunteers, representatives from various media sources and most importantly the Karen and other ethnic groups themselves do fill small voids but so much more needs to happen.

My life has been changed, my heart hurts each time I contemplate the depth of this situation. There needs to be more international awareness so that change can be brought to Burma. I encourage you to take a minute and look at this news article, my pictures and search topics like Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Thai Burma Border Consortium, Free Burma Rangers, Clear Path International.

Choose to be aware�

In Another World, You Are An Illegal Refugee With Nothing To Your Name

note: Duane Nelson is blogging from the Mae Tao Clinic in Mae Sot, Thailand where Clear Path funds a prosthetic clinic for landmine survivors. The post below was sent in by him today.

This week I had the opportunity to see the contrast between two worlds that literally rub shoulders yet are essential separated by a great chasm. In one world, you are a citizen and have access to free healthcare and sanitation and technology, in the other world, you are an illegal refugee with nothing to your name.

The Mae Toa Clinic on the Thai-Burma border is founded and run by refugees. The prosthetics department manager is an astounding and committed man. He does not make money and will never be able to buy his family a truck, or a home, or a vacation. His workshop lacks government funding and only survives by donation and outside funds. His shop is built on rented land and therefore lacks stability and his limited budget doesn�t allow for expensive tools. They make do with their space and use what they have. They have no specific prosthetics grinding machines, no specialty tools, no ventilation extraction for harmful chemicals and dust, no glass windows, no waiting room, no casting room, no privacy for patients.





Despite these lacking luxuries they are a very productive shop effectively fabricating 200 prostheses per year free of charge, and training 10 new prosthetists in that same time.

Approximately 3km away there is another prosthetics work shop� at the Mae Sot Municipal Hospital. This is a Thai government funded facility. The manager here parks his beautiful new 4X4 out front and steps into his immaculate and polished lab. All the most specialized, advanced and brand name equipment line the walls. There is a ventilated grinding room, an outfitted casting room, a well stocked storage room, and a huge personal office with a solid wood desk, computer, and phone. This is a fantastic place to work for the manager; he�s got it made, life is good. Everything is funded by the government and the advanced prostheses are provided free of charge to Thai citizens. The only problem is, there is no work�he sits around all day� approximately only 50 prosthesis are made here in a year� because there is no need.


Unless of course, he could welcome landmine survivor refugees into his clinic. On his geographic doorstep lies one of the greatest volumes of prosthetic need in the world. But, he is forced to charge refugees up to 20,000 baht for a leg when most of them are lucky if they can afford a bag of rice.


Its kinda warped, this contrast of worlds. The ability to meet the needs in a greater way is right here, 3km away. I guess it�s the same question of "why do people still starve in today�s world when we all know there is plenty of food to go around?".

Rice Mill Project Fires Up in Rural Cambodia!

For the past few years Clear Path has been raising funds and support to build a rice mill / vocational skills training center in Battambang, Cambodia. It has required a TON of work from many people to make this all come together, and this week we took a major step in making this dream a reality.

Its not often that I actually get giddy by someone firing up a big 'ol diesel powered generator, but that's the emotion I settled upon as the most appropriate description, when they cranked up the rice mill the first time for me. Its not often, come to think of it, that I would even recognize a diesel powered generator or any of the multitude of tools and metal appliances which go into making a rice mill. And, yet, throughout the last few months, I've become more familiar with all things rice related than I ever thought possible.

While I feel that I still have more questions than answers... I definitely can speak at great length and even somewhat intelligently on a host of rice related issues, including various ways to power a mill (alternative fuel is so trendy and appealing right now), by-products of raw rice and their individual uses, various qualities and types of rice, and actual outputs - like how much rice is produced from the raw format, and how quickly. I still consider my specific specialty to be the singular act of eating rice, which I'm quite good at, but I am learning.

The rice mill is a massive undertaking. It has been the focus of months of hard work by the folks at CVCD and CPI. It is part of a larger plan, which aspires to create a continuous source of revenue to fund ongoing programs targeting the landmine/UXO survivors in Battambang province, while simultaneously providing food security to many more. The rice mill will continue to make possible vocation training programs, micro credit availability, and other initiatives designed to increase the quality of life for these survivors.



Every month, when I make trips to the site of the mill, I see bits of progress. At first, I was overwhelmed by the huge warehouse and stock of rice. But, as time has gone by, trip by trip, the warehouse has continued to fill itself with machinery. More and more pieces and parts, none of which I could name if I tried (in English or Khmer), but which give the distinct impression that they are a part of something bigger, have begun to fill the empty spaces. Last week, while wandering around on my own, investigating new and interesting additions - I heard the roar of the diesel engine, and realized everything was spinning, turning, moving, gyrating. The belts were doing what belts do, pulleys were pulling, parts that are supposed to shake were shaking, and the entire place hummed, like... well, like a working rice mill. I've been told there is still fine-tuning to do. Its not ready to actually throw rice in just yet. But, its close. And, I had no idea that after watching months of progress, debating at length the merits of different purchasing options, contracts, suppliers, budgets, etc.. how giddy the sound of that mill would make me. The true test will be when I can sample the rice. That's when my real expertise will kick in, and I will know for sure, if the rice mill is working.

Clear Path International to Assist Afghan Landmine Survivors As Part of U.S. Department of State Contract

KABUL, Afghanistan � Clear Path International (CPI), a U.S.-based humanitarian mine action nonprofit organization, has received a multi-year contract from DynCorp International to start a landmine survivor assistance program in Afghanistan on behalf of the U.S. Department of State.

With an average of 90 casualties from landmine and explosive remnants of war per month, Afghanistan is one of the world�s most �mine-affected� countries. Nearly half of all casualties die trying to reach a hospital. One in every 10 adult men is a victim of a landmine or explosive remnant of war. Women and children are also victims. Landmine and explosive remnants of war contaminate 27 of the country�s 29 provinces.

Clear Path�s subcontract with DynCorp International supports program design, led by long-time CPI consultant Kristen Leadem in Kabul, and survivors assistance services at least through 2008. It is part of larger humanitarian mine-action effort sponsored by the Department of State�s Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement.

�The intention of the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement program in Afghanistan is to complement existing efforts here and increase capacity in support of Afghanistan's national survivors assistance plan,� Leadem said.
Survivor assistance services range from medical care, physical mobility and rehabilitation to vocational training, income-generation, and sports activities. Capacity building services can include equipment, training and technical support to local hospitals, clinics and community-based rehabilitation centers.

Since 2000, Clear Path International has assisted nearly 4,000 survivors of accidental landmine and explosive remnants of war incidents in Vietnam, Cambodia and along the Thai-Burma border. It has also sent 65 containers of medical equipment and supplies to 25 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America (www.cpi.org).

The Department of State�s Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement (www.state.gov/t/pm/wra) is one of the world�s largest sponsors of mine clearance, risk reduction education and survivors assistance. It has directly funded Clear Path�s programs in Vietnam and Cambodia and some of the organization�s public awareness and fundraising efforts in the United States (www.abilitytrek.org).

DynCorp International is a U.S-based company that provides support services to military and civilian government institutions in such areas as aviation, infrastructure development, security and logistics (www.dyn-intl.com).


Clear Path International consultant, Ed Pennington-Ridge, examining the prosthetic leg of a landmine survivor at the Sandy Gall Afghan Appeal prosthetics workshop in Jalalabad, Nangahar Province Afghanistan. Photo: Kristen Leadem, 2007

U.S. reverses position and is now willing to negotiate a cluster bomb treaty

Source: International herald Tribune.

GENEVA: U.S. officials said they are willing to start negotiating a treaty on the use of cluster bombs, reversing their previous position that no new agreement on the weapon was necessary.

But the United States still rejects a proposed global ban on the weapon, which 46 countries began negotiating in Oslo in February. Instead, Washington wants to negotiate another treaty, which goes less far, within the framework of the 1980 United Nations Convention on Conventional Weapons.

The U.S. position has changed "due to the importance of this issue, concerns raised by other countries, and our own concerns about the humanitarian implications of these weapons," said Ronald Bettauer, head of a U.S. delegation to talks on the treaty this week in Geneva.

"It was determined that the United States should support the initiation of a negotiation on cluster munitions within the framework of the convention," Bettauer said Monday.

The United States said November that it was opposed to a new treaty because it said there were sufficient controls on the weapon in existing treaties.

It said cluster bombs, used carefully, have important military uses, like attacking artillery positions or runways, armored columns and missile installations. Washington wants to limit the impact cluster bombs have on civilians and improve their accuracy.

Read the rest of this article here.

In the photo below, a CPI funded deminer prepares to remove a decades-old cluster munition in central Vietnam. CPI no longer funds demining work and instead focuses on victim assistance efforts.

Clear Path International Issues Micro Loans in Rural Cambodia

Last Friday, Clear Path International and our Cambodian partner, Cambodian Volunteers for Community Development, issued micro loans, for the second time, to our farmer cooperative members, many of them landmine / UXO survivors, all of them desperately impoverished rice farmers.


Clear Path International issuing micro loans in Battambang, Cambodia.


Muhammad Yunus experimented with microlending in Bangladesh in the 1970's and made such a success of his program, that he and his Grameen Bank won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. He made microlending popular, and it seems that everyone working on poverty issues has read his book (myself included) and everyone has a version of his program incorporated into theirs. While I don't believe that micro lending alone is a one-stop shopping solution for ending all poverty, it certainly seems to be making huge differences in the lives of the disenfranchised.

Rural Cambodians tend to be extremely poor. The World Bank released a report on social inequality in Cambodia earlier this month, and noted that the number of people living below the poverty line did decrease between 1994 and 2004, from 47% to 35%. Good news, but 35% of 14 million people, is still an awful lot of people living on less than $2 per day. The rural poor definitely lack access to credit. They live very far from major cities. They tend to have no collateral. And, they usually need such small amounts of money, that its not cost effective for traditional banks to lend.

When interviewing some of our cooperative members, I find varying reasons for their need. Some have land, but no machinery or tools to till the land for planting. Many cannot afford the rice seed it takes to get started. Others have been affected by crisis' which have rendered them in debt and unable to climb out. Perhaps a family illness which required medicine or medical care, or the loss of the family's breadwinner. I talked to one man who borrowed money to send his grown children to Thailand, in search of employment. They returned without finding work. Yet, the debt remains.

While banks are not lending to these rural poor, someone is. The process involves a middleman. I don't have a mental image of what this "middleman" looks like, but I know the interest rates are high, the re-payment schedule is aggressive, and the farmers tend to end up in a cycle of debt, often not able to save enough seed to replant the following year. My only experience with a cycle of debt involves having a credit card in college, with no real job and too many distractions from studying. But, I had a safety net. I called them my parents. These farmers do not have that safety net. Their cycle of debt doesn't end.

Last year was our maiden voyage into micro credit. We issued loans of up to $250.00 to 25 families. We had a 100% payback rate. The interest rates are reasonable, the schedule allows for the loans to be returned after the harvest season. We even accept rice in lieu of cash. The farmers worked together, taking advantage of lower prices when buying in bulk, reducing transportation costs by purchasing for the entire community when going into town, and by holding each other accountable. The farmers I spoke to expressed real joy when able to finally pay off the middleman or save enough seed for the following year. Its not the end of their poverty. It won't solve all of their problems. But, its a start.

Associated Press and YouTube: Agent Orange Still Haunts Vietnam, US

Trien Meng Hiep, 9, against wall, is hugged by another boy at a "Peace Village" center in Tu Du hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on Friday, May 25, 2007. Both of the boys were born with severe physical deformities typical of spina bifida and which hospital officials suspect to have been caused by their parents exposure to dioxin in the chemical defoliant Agent Orange. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

By Ben Stocking, Associated Press Writer | June 14, 2007
DANANG, Vietnam --More than 30 years after the Vietnam War ended, the poisonous legacy of Agent Orange has emerged anew with a scientific study that has found extraordinarily high levels of health-threatening contamination at the former U.S. air base at Danang.

"They're the highest levels I've ever seen in my life," said Thomas Boivin, the scientist who conducted the tests this spring. "If this site were in the U.S. or Canada, it would require significant studies and immediate cleanup."

Soil tests by his firm, Hatfield Consultants of Canada, found levels of dioxin, the highly toxic chemical compound in Agent Orange, that were 300 to 400 times higher than internationally accepted limits.

The report has not yet been released, but Boivin and Vietnamese officials summarized its central findings for The Associated Press.

Earlier tests by Hatfield, which has been working in Vietnam since 1994, showed that dioxin levels were safe across most of Vietnam. But until the study of the old air base at Danang, the consulting firm had never had access to some half-dozen "hotspots" where Agent Orange, a defoliant designed to deny Vietnamese jungle cover, was stored and mixed before being loaded onto planes.

The study is the product of a new spirit of cooperation between Washington and Hanoi -- after years of disagreement -- toward resolving this contentious leftover of the war that ended in 1975.

On a visit to Vietnam last fall, President Bush and Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet agreed to work together to address dioxin contamination at old Agent Orange storage sites. They are expected to discuss the issue further when Triet visits Washington next week.

Read the rest of this article here.

A YouTube Video on birth defects caused by Agent Orange is below. Be warned, this is very dificult to watch.

United States Campaign to Ban Landmines Expands Its Mandate to Include Cluster Munitions Advocacy

A letter from the United States Campaign to Ban Landmines:

June 14, 2007



Dear USCBL Supporter,

We are pleased to inform you that the Steering Committee of the US Campaign to Ban Landmines recently agreed to expand the mission of the coalition to include advocacy toward a prohibition on the use, production, and transfer of cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians.

Cluster munitions differ from antipersonnel mines in a variety of ways, but their effects on civilian populations are often similar. Cluster munitions are weapons that can disperse up to several hundred smaller submunitions � sometimes referred to as �bomblets� - over wide areas. They have indiscriminate effects that kill and injure civilians during attacks. One typical cluster bomb can blanket blomblets over an area several hundred square meters. They also often fail to detonate as designed, leaving hidden bombs scattered across landscapes and causing severe and lasting humanitarian and development consequences similar to antipersonnel mines.

The Steering Committee was compelled to expand the mission because the effects of cluster munitions in many ways mirror landmines, many USCBL organizations are already working extensively on cluster munitions, and many in the advocacy community believe that concentrated action now can lead to concrete results,. After extensive discussions, the Steering Committee revised the goals of the USCBL to include:

-- U.S. accession to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty and policies that move towards accession: a U.S. ban on the use, production, stockpiling, and transfer of antipersonnel landmines;
-- increased resources for humanitarian demining and mine risk education programs;
-- increased resources for victim rehabilitation, assistance, and psychosocial and economic inclusion;
-- enactment of a U.S. prohibition on the use of cluster munitions in or near populated areas;
-- enactment of a U.S. prohibition on the use, production, stockpiling, and transfer of cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians; and
-- U.S. support for an international instrument prohibiting cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians.

The Steering Committee does not envision that the addition of cluster munitions will diminish the organization's work to ban landmines. A comprehensive ban on antipersonnel landmines is, and will remain, the primary goal of the coalition.

We are all eager to begin work on combating the enormous threat to innocent life that cluster bombs pose. This expansion will provide advocates like you with new opportunities to take action. Please continue to check the USCBL website (http://www.banminesusa.org/) for updates reflecting the expansion. We are in the process of adding material on cluster munitions, including background information, action suggestions, and updates from campaigners around the country.

Thank you for your support for a mine-free world and we look forward to working together on this new endeavor.


Sincerely,

Scott Stedjan
USCBL Coordinator

*******************************************
US Campaign to Ban Landmines
c/o Friends Committee on National Legislation
245 2nd Street NE
Washington, DC 20002
Tel: (202) 547-6000
Fax: (202) 547-6019
Email: landmines@fcnl.org
www.banminesusa.org

To make an online donation to the US Campaign to Ban Landmines, go to: http://www.banminesusa.org/support/body.html.

To subscribe or unsubscribe to the U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines email list, go to: http://lists101.his.com/mailman/listinfo/uscbl

Here is a video on Cluster Bombs:

Traveling to the Clear Path International Vocational Skills Training Site for Landmine Survivors in Battambang Cambodia

I've been in Cambodia for 5 months now. While I'm based in Phnom Penh, the rice mill Clear Path International is constructing to train landmine survivors in vocational skills is in Battambang province. I make trips monthly to check on progress, meet with program recipients, and discuss issues with the project manager. Its definitely become a more interesting experience now that the rain has started. The upside of course, is in the pure physical beauty of this country. The vivid greens of rice growing never disappoint, and are far more asthetically pleasing than the recently harvested, often burned landscapes, steeped in browns and blacks of the dry months. I don't know that I will ever get tired of staring at the distinct shade of green specific to a crop of rice. If I worked for Crayola, I would make a crayon and call it "rice". It would be the best green ever.





The downside is the roads. Cambodia is not known for having particularly good roads to start with. Once you get into the provinces, you appreciate flat surfaces with an entirely new vigor. It takes about 2 hours to get from downtown Battambang to our site in Seam Village. That's during the dry season, and assuming you don't get a flat tire. In the rainy season there are new things to consider, such as when hitching a ride with one of these silly looking tractor-trucks that my Cambodian colleagues call "cow engine cars", how long will you wait until its full of people and ready to depart? Or, once at the site, how long should you wait for a truck to head back to town before starting to walk? Another debate I've had, is when sitting on top of a truck filled with rice, and the truck starts sliding towards the edge of the road and dangerously close to the marshy water, at which point do you jump - is it right before the truck goes over or is it a few seconds prior, to ensure you aren't trapped under all those kilos of rice? Of course, if you go too early, and the truck doesn't topple into the marsh - have you ruined your camera and embarrassed yourself for nothing? OK - maybe it wouldn't be for nothing. Its funny enough to see a barang (foreigner) on these trucks - I imagine one hurling themselves over the edge and into the water would be a good story for the other passengers.

On my most recent trip, it had not rained recently, which led us to believe the roads were manageable in our pick-up truck. This was true for the ride to the site. The roads were dry enough and we made it without incident. Of course, throughout the afternoon, as the clouds rolled in, I wondered how long before the rain would start. As it turns out, it began just as we piled back into the truck to head home. While my colleagues have never seen snow in their lives, I realized on that long ride back - that they would be excellent snow-drivers. The roads become thick, in feet of mud, with every move a negotiation between not sliding off the side, and not ending up stuck in the muck, tires hopelessly spinning. The big difference between the snow filled streets of home and the muddy mess here, is in the other traffic you pass. As opposed to other cars in a similar situation, here you mostly pass wagons, pulled by oxen, with huge wooden wheels, soaking children on bicycles, small herds of cattle making their way home, and kids playing football (soccer) on the side of the road. Oh, and there was also the guy in the middle of the road holding the snake. I foolishly asked if he was going to eat it, and realized the stupidity of my question when I received three resounding "yeses" from the other three people inside the cab. I guess there isn't another good reason for being in the middle of a rainstorm holding a snake, if not to catch dinner. I am still naive.

Its out in rural Cambodia where I am most able to appreciate the small joys in life. We made it there and back without having to push the truck or walk home. I didn't fall off a huge rice truck. I didn't have to catch a snake for dinner. And, I didn't even have pig brain in my soup. At least not on this trip.

Duane Nelson on the Thai Burma Border

webmaster's note: Duane Nelson and Jody Riggs are volunteering at the Mae Tao clinic in Mae Sot on the Thai-Burma border.

From Duane:

Each day here in Mae Sot I become more educated about the political/military situation inside Burma. It is a tragedy that has gone on far too long without sufficient resolve. As just one regular man, the problem seems too big and almost unapproachable to me. The war, if you want to call it that, is deep-rooted, its got history, and it involves entire people groups and nations. How can I change anything?


For me, I must hold a different perspective. I think about the individuals. I�ll never be able to fix Burma�s injustice on my own. However, maybe today I can help just one persons pain be a little less� bring a smile to a fatherless child�s lovely face, hold hands with a war injured blind man, sit still for a while beside a cripple, or make a new leg for one landmine survivor.

To anyone that works with CPI or partners in similar work � never let your work become impersonal. Make every interaction personal, and remember the individuals. One person at a time.

Two New Volunteers Reach the Thai Burma Border

webmaster's note:Duane Nelson and Jody Riggs are volunteering at the Mae Tao clinic in Mae Sot on the Thai-Burma border. Here is the first, of what I am hoping will be many, of his blog posts from the border!


Duane and Jody enroute to the Thai Burma border!

Growing up within an average income family in western Canada I very literally had any opportunity before me if I was willing to look for it and pursue it. Dream it� and do it. No fear, no impossibilities, no cruelty, no guns, no poverty, no hunger, no fences, and no landmines chaining me down.

So, after enjoying a true childhood and proper education and many positive life experiences I have found a dream and a passion which I am pursuing to be a large part of my life work � prosthetics. Currently I am very fortunate to be studying Prosthetics and Orthotics in Vancouver. Within this program I found a very good friend and colleague who shares the same passions as me. Early in the year we began to talk about taking our skills to the developing world for the summer months between terms (and hopefully much more in the future).

We both wanted to do this as a way to give to those that do not have the simple luxury of �dream it� and do it�. Our talk grew into an exciting reality when we came across Clear Path InternationaI on the internet. CPI created an opportunity for us to bring our prosthetics skills to an area of the world in which fear, cruelty, guns, hunger, impossibilities, and landmines are a part of life for the men, women, and children who live here. �Here� is the Thailand/Burma border. Ethnic groups inside Burma have been violently forced from their villages by the military regime and have traveled through a jungle littered with landmines in order to reach some kind of temporary safety.

Thus far we have spent one week here on the border. It has been an overwhelming amount of emotions through my heart and mind everyday. In an instant, a landmine is detonated, forever changing the life of one man or even one child. How do things go on like this everyday in the same world I grew up in?

As prosthetists here, we have quickly learned that at this time it is essential to replace lost arms and legs. However, the greater cause is for enough to be done politically that we no longer have a job here�

Dutch Rehab Hospital Signs Agreement To Support Landmine Survivors on the Thai-Burma Border

ARNHEM, Netherlands -- Stichting Groot Klimmendaal (www.grootklimmendaal.nl), a major physical rehabilitation center in the Netherlands, has agreed to help Clear Path International's landmine survivor assistance efforts along the Thai-Burma border.

Under a two-year agreement, the Dutch hospital will provide $30,000 in funding and facilitate the involvement of its professional rehabilitation specialists as volunteers in eastern Thailand where CPI has an active program fabricating prosthetics, offering physical therapy and providing full-time care for landmine accident survivors from Burma.

The agreement was arranged by Lobke Dijkstra, physical therapist and CPI country representative in Thailand who splits her time between her job at Groot Klimmendaal and Clear Path's base in Mae Sot on the Thai border with Burma. CPI will maintain accommodations for volunteers from Klimmendaal and elsewhere, and help prepare them for their specialized activities in the border region.

Groot Klimmendaal's funding will be used to help cover CPI's two-year $130,000 budget for its survivor assistance activities along the border, including the training of new prosthetics fabrication technicians, continued support for existing fabrication workshops, creation of new workshops and fulltime care for severely disabled survivors in one of the largest refugee camps.

The two partners, who leave the door open to continue their relationship beyond 2008, hope their collaborative effort will channel new expertise to CPI's programs offering assistance to landmine amputees.

Already, Dijkstra's involvement as a physical therapist has led to training and better integration of physical rehabilitation in survivors' use of prostheses. A second professional volunteer from Groot Klimmendaal with expertise in psychological rehabilitation is expected to go to Thailand this fall.

Groot Klimmendaal, a 120-bed facility, has specialists in 16 fields related to rehabilitation, ranging from physical therapy and ergo therapy to musical, games and psychological therapy. It provides more than 135,000 hours of rehabilitation services to patients per year.

Since it was founded in 2000, Clear Path has provided medical, social and economic services to 4,000 landmine accident survivors in Southeast Asia, including more than 500 along the Thai-Burma border.