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.