Surviving the Peace: Angola

How much shall I donate to MAG’s work in Angola?

What if one in every 334 people you knew was an amputee?  Not one in every 334 veterans or diabetics—but one in every 334 men, women and children from all backgrounds.  Furthermore, what if this tragedy occurred nationally and the factor causing the loss of limbs also contributed to the malnutrition of one in every three people?  Would you and your neighbors demand an investigation?  Email your congressperson or other governmental representative?  Call your lawyer?  Think about it.  What WOULD you do?  Unfortunately, if landmines caused the problem, you might not be able to do very much at all.

I recently received a copy of the latest MAG America Quarterly Review from Mines Advisory Group (MAG).  MAG is an international organization that saves lives and builds futures through the destruction of weapons in conflict-affected countries.  I extracted the following information about Angola from that quarterly review.

• Angola’s civil war lasted 27 years and ended in 2002.  Today, landmines still contaminate all 18 provinces in the country.
  
• Angola’s population exceeds 18 million.  The number of Angolan casualties due to landmine/explosive remnants of war is unknown.  Estimates, however, range from 23,000 to 80,000.  At one point, there was thought to be approximately one amputee per every 334 people in Angola.
  
• Angola is an agrarian society, using the land for food, water and livelihoods.  Land contaminated with landmines is not safe for such usage.  Although Angola possesses a wealth of fertile land, only 3% of all arable land is currently being cultivated.  Thus, studies have illustrated that more Angolans have died from poor water, sanitation, disease and malnutrition than from direct injuries.
  
• Sixty-eight percent of Angola’s population lives below the poverty line of $1.70 per day.  Twenty-eight percent live on less than $0.70 per day.
  
• During the civil war, 500,000 Angolans sought refuge in other countries.  In June 2012, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) ended refugee status for Angolans living in neighboring African countries.  In select provinces, the only land available to these returning refugees is contaminated with landmines and unexploded bombs.

MAG has worked in Angola since 1994, (1) deploying Mine Action teams to address the incredible need for clearance and, (2) employing local Community Liaison Teams (CLT) to teach their fellow Angolans about the danger that surrounds them and how to avoid it.  CLTs also gather vital information from the local population relating to the physical location of unexploded ordnance and suspected mine fields.

With so many refugees returning, the work of the CLTs will be more critical than ever.  From February to May, 2013, MAG America is running a $100,000 fundraising campaign for Angola.  The funds will be used to deploy a life-saving Community Liaison Team for five months.

You can make a difference.  To donate to this campaign, go to http://www.magamerica.org/ and click on the red “Donate Now” button.  In the comments section of the donation form, be sure to indicate that you want to donate to the $100,000 Campaign for Angola.

And please watch the new documentary posted on the MAG site — Surviving the Peace: Angola.  The link can be accessed from the http://www.magamerica.org/ home page.

Warm wishes and stay safe,

Laurel Anne Hill, Moderator
(http://www.laurelannehill.com)

Landmine Statistics: Numbers To Count On

The number of unexploded landmines in this world is huge and all too real.  Unfortunately, nobody knows that number.  Records about laying mines were lost or never kept. Identifying markers were removed.  Survivors responsible for planting mines in war zones went home.  Vegetation grew.  Sands shifted.  Governments and humanitarian organizations could only estimate the numbers of residual landmines as they attempted to determine the scope of the overall problem.

In mathematics, the square root of a negative number is called an imaginary number.  In landmine statistics, the roots of the landmine numbers are often products of the imagination and educated guesses.  It’s tricky to count buried objects you haven’t unearthed.

For example, when doing research about landmine issues, I frequently stumble upon the number, 110 million — an estimate of the global number of unexploded mines to be removed.  The United Nations’ website displays the 110 million figure, while referencing an article by Nicolas E. Walsh and Wendy S. Walsh in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization (WHO) 2003.   Pertinent text from that WHO bulletin includes the following:

Many mines remain from the Second World War; in addition, since the 1960s as many as 110 million mines have been spread throughout the world into an estimated 70 countries.

If one investigates the reference sources for that 2003 WHO bulletin, one will discover a report commissioned by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) issued in 1996 and revised in 1997.  In that ICRC report, The U.S. State Department estimated the number of uncleared landmines around the world to be about 84 million in a total of 64 countries, with 2-5 million new mines being put in the ground on an annual basis.  Thus, the 110 million figure appears to be an estimate derived from earlier estimates and the number of years that elapsed between preparation of the ICRC and WHO publications.

Fast forward to current times.  I’ve yet to find evidence that the 110 million figure often cited in today’s blogs and articles takes into account the number of landmines removed or planted since 2003.

To add to the confusion, a table in the 2003 WHO bulletin lists the estimated number of landmines in 21 of the 70 affected countries, including Egypt and Afghanistan.  The mine total for those 21 countries alone exceeds 110 million.  And according to “Explosive Remnants of War and Mines Other Than Anti-Personnel Mines” global survey 2003-2004, issued by Mines Action Canada, 75-80% of the 23 million landmines listed for Egypt are actually explosive remnants of war (ERW).  ERW are not technically landmines, although they can produce the same devastating results.

As for the numbers of landmines in Afghanistan?  The 2003 WHO report estimated 10 million in that country.  But I have encountered other published estimates ranging from 100,000 to 30 million.  HALO Trust, a knowledgeable nonprofit organization specializing in the removal of the hazardous debris of war, estimates that no more than 640,000 landmines have been laid in Afghanistan since 1979 (the year the Soviet Union started providing the Afghan government with military assistance against the Mujahideen).

Is it any surprise that humanitarian de-miners these days often talk about buried landmines in terms of land-area to be cleared and returned to productive use?  “Hectares” and “kilometers squared” may not sound as dramatic as “landmines,” but the numbers associated with them probably convey more accurate information.

After all, when discussing statistics it’s nice to have numbers you can count on.

Warm regards,

Laurel Anne Hill

Minds Clearing Land Mines: Are you as smart as a rat?

Okay, what's a new low-tech way to clear land mines?

Hello!  We are glad you stopped by to visit our site.

Are you as smart as a rat?

If so, bring your low-tech, innovative ideas to MINDS CLEARING LAND MINES.

• Wars end but buried land mines become the surprise gifts that keep on giving.
• Angola alone has 6 million hidden, unexploded ordnance.
• It costs $3 to plant a land mine and $300-$1,000 to get rid of it.
• HeroRATs have been trained to sniff out land mines but additional low-tech detection solutions are needed.
• One small idea could potentially prompt one large step for mankind.

The Problem
How to effectively detect and destroy/deactivate land mines through means that can be easily and inexpensively deployed.

The Solution
Get people involved in thinking of creative ways to solve the problem of land mines in an affordable, readily available way.

Why we think this can be accomplished
Creative problem solvers don’t necessarily have to be experts to solve problems.  Orville and Wilbur Wright owned a bicycle repair shop, yet they invented the airplane.  More recently, students were asked to develop an inexpensive blood centrifuge for use in third world countries.  They modified a simple salad spinner to hold blood vials.  This world contains a lot of talented people whose creativity has not yet been tapped.

Why we think this should be accomplished
Land mines kill and injure civilians and render land impassable and unusable for decades.  They exist in over 60 countries around the globe from Belgium to Egypt and Angola to Cambodia.   Flat terrain can sequester them.  Hilly terrain can, too.  Mines can be hidden by soil or overgrowth.  It has been estimated, that with the currently available eradication techniques, it will take 1,000 – 2,000 years to rid the world of the landmines already in place.

Land mines are designed to maim and kill.  They activate based on weight, trip wires or both.  Some bounce up to shoulder height and spray sharp objects over a distance of 200 meters or less.  Others detonate below waist level.  Land mines do their job 24/7 without discrimination.  Land mine eradication requires detection and thereafter safe detonation or deactivation.

Join our community of MINDS CLEARING LAND MINES and share your ideas.