A MAG Iraq Community Liaison (CL) team arranged a Mine Risk Education session for 20 villagers, labourers and IOM staff.
During the session one of the villagers told MAG’s CL staff that although they know it’s dangerous, some people walk past the warning signs into a minefield to pick fruit from an orchard every year during harvest. Another of the villagers told MAG she had found a mine in her garden once and, in order to get it away from her children, she’d picked it up and thrown it.
This incredibly risky type of behaviour is what MAG warns against during MRE sessions, teaching people just how dangerous it is and informing them how to contact MAG’s response team when they find potentially deadly items.
Despite the difficulty of the terrain and the minefield’s remote location, a MAG team cleared 300m2 and safely removed 11 anti-personnel landmines, which were later destroyed.
The result of this partnership was that, only nine days later, IOM were able to restart the project to build the karez, which in turn will nourish the nearby village, allowing people to grow crops in safer areas that were previously too dry and increase this year’s harvest.
“I just would like to tell you how impressed I have been by the response of MAG to our request for help,” said Lucie from IOM.
“MAG assessed and cleared the site in a really short time, and provided our team and beneficiaries with MRE training. It was so fast and professional. Really impressive! Now we can continue our project safely and the villagers are protected from mines, at least in that area. Thank you so much for your great work,” she added.
Our thanks to the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, US Department of State for funding this work.
(Source: Mines Advisory Group)
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