Survive the Peace
LANDMINE EDUCATION &
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT GUIDE
Fundamental Principles of the
Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
Humanity
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, born of a desire to
bring assistance without discrimination to the wounded on the battlefield, endeavours, in its international and national capacity, to prevent and alleviate human suffering wherever it may be found. Its purpose is to protect life and health
and to ensure respect for the human being. It promotes mutual understanding,
friendship, cooperation and lasting peace among all peoples.
Impartiality
It makes no discrimination as to nationality, race, religious beliefs, class or political opinions. It endeavours to relieve the suffering of individuals, being guided
solely by their needs and to give priority to the most urgent cases of distress.
Neutrality
In order to continue to enjoy the confidence of all, the Movement may not take
sides in hostilities or engage at any time in controversies of a political, racial,
religious or ideological nature.
Independence
The Movement is independent. The National Societies, while auxiliaries in the
humanitarian services of their governments and subject to the laws of their respective countries, must always maintain their autonomy so that they may be able at
all times to act in accordance with the principles of the Movement.
Voluntary Service
It is a voluntary relief movement not prompted in any manner by desire for gain.
Unity
There can only be one Red Cross or Red Crescent society in any one country. It
must be open to all. It must carry on its humanitarian work throughout its territory.
Universality
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, in which all societies
have equal status and share equal responsibilities in helping each other, is worldwide.
Table of Contents
The Landmine Crisis ........................................................................... 4
Landmines and Canadian Youth ............................................................. 5
Using the Guide ................................................................................ 5
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Landmines: The Basic Facts .................................................................. 8
Questions and Answers ....................................................................... 9
The Landmine Ban Treaty ................................................................... 11
The Work of Demining ...................................................................... 12
Mine Injury: More Than a Medical Problem ........................................... 13
Mine Injuries: An Epidemic ................................................................ 14
Nature of Mine Injuries ..................................................................... 14
The Cost of Treatment and Physical Rehabilitation ................................... 15
Conclusions .................................................................................... 15
The Profiles of Three Victims of Anti-personnel Mines ............................. 16
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Welcome ........................................................................................ 20
Participatory Learning ........................................................................ 20
Using the Activities ........................................................................... 21
I Thought We Could Play Here ........................................................... 21
Where in the World are the Landmines?................................................ 22
Design a Landmines Poster or Slogan ................................................... 23
Just Try One Morning ........................................................................ 23
Get to the Market ............................................................................. 24
Essays by “Children of Landmines” ...................................................... 24
Essays ....................................................................................... 38
Be an Inventor ................................................................................. 27
A Call to the World .......................................................................... 27
An Ordinary Day Video ..................................................................... 28
Landmine True or False Quiz .............................................................. 31
What Would it be Like? — A Visualization Exercise ................................ 33
Every 22 Minutes.............................................................................. 35
Sample Landmines Public Session ........................................................ 42
TAKING ACTION
What Can I Do? ............................................................................... 49
Ideas and Action .............................................................................. 50
Recommended Learning Resources ....................................................... 52
Canadian Red Cross offices ................................................................ 53
CREDITS: George Chandler and David Pardoe, editors; Sylvie Michaud, design and layout;
Marina Markoc and Brock Nichol, art and illustrations.
The red cross emblem and designation Red Cross are reserved in Canada by law for the exclusive use of the
Canadian Red Cross and for the medical unit of the armed forces by the Geneva Conventions Act, R.S.C.,
1985, C G-3.
81999 Canadian Red Cross
ISBN: 1-55104221-5
03/01 revised
Our thanks to the
Canadian International
Development Agency
and the Department of
Foreign Affairs, Mine
Action Team: publication
of Survive the Peace has
been made possible with
their generous financial
assistance.
The Canadian Red Cross
wishes to recognize
these contributions and
to express its gratitude
for this important
support.
Survive the Peace is an
educational publication
of the Canadian Red
Cross. Please address
questions, comments
and contributions to:
Canadian Red Cross,
National Office,
170 Metcalfe Street,
Suite 300
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 2P2
Tel: 613-740-1802
Fax: 613-740-1978
E-mail:
[email protected]
Web Site:
www.redcross.ca
Surviving Landmines
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Su the peace
The Landmine
Crisis
No, no don’t look at the
sky, they cannot do you
any harm from above
anymore.
Lower your head because
the danger is in your
mother earth.
If you survived the war, try
to survive the peace!
— Melisa Dzanovic,
14 years old, Bosnia
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Canadian Red Cross
Every day the doctors and nurses
of the International Red Cross look into
the frightened eyes of men, women and
children whose limbs have been shattered by anti-personnel mines, sickened
by the knowledge that they must perform yet one more amputation.
Our physiotherapists look into the
eyes of those who feel they have lost
their dignity because they can no longer
provide for their families. Far too often, humanitarian workers from Red
Cross — and from other organizations
concerned with the landmines problem,
such as Mines Advisory Group, United
Nations, Handicap International,
UNICEF, Halo Trust — see fertile farmland lie fallow while communities go
hungry..
They have seen enough of the pain
and anguish these weapons inflict. It
was their reaction to this seemingly interminable suffering that prompted thousands of organizations and hundreds of
thousands of individuals to join with
governments to work for a total ban on
landmines.
In 1997, the involvement of Diana,
Princess of Wales, in the landmines
issue, and then sadly, her sudden death,
brought increased attention to these invisible, indiscriminate weapons. The
global ban treaty — signed in 1997 in
Ottawa by over 123 countries and now
binding international law as of March
1, 1999 — is a major breakthrough
which offers significant future hope for
the eventual worldwide eradication of
landmines.
However, still today throughout 70
countries, there are more than 60 million landmines in the ground, patiently
awaiting victims. In many countries,
after years of fighting, the conflicts are
finally over. But for the 2,000 people
worldwide each month who step on
landmines — that is one every 22 minutes — surviving the peace is as much
of a challenge as surviving the war.
The Canadian Red Cross is committed to refocusing public attention on
the on-going humanitarian crisis caused
by landmines, which have been rightly
called “weapons of mass destruction ...
in slow motion” — and on the role we
in Canada have in helping to provide
lasting solutions.
Introduction
Landmines
& Youth:
What’s in it for them?
Of the more than 24,000 anti-personnel mine related deaths and injuries each year, it is estimated by the Norwegian People’s Aid organization that
up to 30 per cent are children below
15 years of age. The International Red
Cross estimates that at least 25 per cent
of the world’s mine victims are children.
Even if arms manufacturers deny
allegations that some landmines are designed to look like toys, they surely
cannot deny that some oddly shaped
mines (such as the “butterfly mine”) attract children. Many poor children cannot resist the temptation to play with
these new “toys” even if they are aware
of the inherent dangers. Also, children
cannot see mines like taller adults can,
and they cannot read or recognize
warning signs as they stray off safe
routes while playing games or taking
short-cuts.
In most cases, even when it is only
suspected that there are buried mines,
the life of a child is severely restricted.
The parents will stop sending their children to school and prevent them from
doing their routines. This, in turn, often leads to a loss of education and
employment skills training that puts the
youth at an economic disadvantage
when they become adults.
At present, mine clearance and
victim rehabilitation efforts are happening at a very limited and slow pace,
although, since the signing of the Ottawa Treaty, the pace has started to increase somewhat. This is partly due to
a lack of political will, but also because
not a lot of money and resources are
available for these activities. The
Landmine Ban Treaty came into being
in large part due to the actions of ordinary citizens from around the world
getting involved and speaking with one
voice. Canadians were a part of this
movement and still have an important
role to play in helping develop greater
public awareness and support for the
badly needed humanitarian solutions.
Youth, especially, can benefit a
great deal from becoming involved in
community action campaigns — a sense
of empowerment, increased confidence, and enhanced practical skills.
Using the Guide
This guide, consisting of three
parts, is designed for use by Red Cross
staff, volunteers, and educators who are
looking for some usable resources
around this issue.
The Background Information section has been designed to provide you
with a foundation on the landmines issue which will guide you in working
with audiences.
The Learning Activities section contains ideas and activities, both fun and
educational. They are designated by age
group but most can be adapted to suit
a wide range of ages and educational
goals.
The Taking Action section tells how
to involve students, schools and communities in addressing the issue and
contributing in a practical way to solutions, as well as how to gain access to
the wealth of available information
about landmines.
Please call your local Red Cross
office if you want some further ideas or
assistance in promoting landmines
awareness and community action opportunities.
I am only 18. I have
somehow managed to
survive this dirty war.
But I wonder whether I
have really survived.
Should all my life be
permanently markeds with
the word MINE?
I want to run through
flowery fields with my
girlfriend, I want to pick
the first violet for her, to
climb trees in forests. I
want to lie in the grass
and watch the sky for
hours. I want to dream.
— Admir Mujkic, Bosnia
Surviving Landmines
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Notes...
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information
if there were no mines
I feel freedom in every moment, I feel it in my soul.
Everything is so big, so free.
I listen to murmuring streams and singing birds,
and I feel the spring call me.
Nature wants to grow and to love.
And I love.
I love my friends. I love my street. I love the sun and yellow
dandelions scattered in the meadow...
And then
The sun becomes dark, birds stop their song. Silence.
A young man is walking down the street, without a leg.
No, he did not lose his leg during the war. It happened
recently. He was picking the first spring flowers.
Maybe he was in love, a forgotten mine took away his
young dreams.
It is clearer to me now why my grandpa often says:
How will I work in the field, there are so many mines
planted there?
My grandpa’s question steals away my spring dream.
It brings anxiety.
If there were no mines, everything would be so endlessly
big and free.
Haseda Suljanovic - 7th grade
Srpska kostajnica
Republika Srpska
Surviving Landmines
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the basic facts
Estimates vary, but we know that in 88 nations there are tens of millions of landmines
currently in the ground, along with countless unexploded ordnance (UXO).
More than 22 million antipersonnel mines have been destroyed in recent years by more than
50 nations. However, it is estimated that more than 250 million landmines remain in the
arsenals of 105 countries.
Landmines have a devastating effect on society. Most countries affected are poor countries in
the developing world with few resources available to cope with the social, economic and
medical consequences of this scourge.
Landmines can’t tell the difference between a soldier and a civilian – or between war and
peace. Civilian casualties caused by landmines during peacetime continue to account for a
significant portion of total landmine casualties. In some cases, the conflict ended recently; in many others, the conflict ended a decade or more ago.
Many of the landmines currently in the ground cost between US $3 - 30 to produce, but between
US $300 - 1,000 to remove. Humanitarian mine clearance is a slow, meticulous process.
More than two-thirds of the of the world’s nations have signed the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty,
making it the fastest entry into force of any international treaty in human history–a clear indication of the widespread international rejection of any use or possession of antipersonnel mines.
We have turned the tide in the battle against the use of landmines – they are no longer being
used on the scale of the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s when millions per year were being
implanted, and when mines were clearly being laid at a much greater rate than being removed.
Still, anti-personnel mines are being used in approximately 20 current conflicts, involving 11
governments and 30 rebel / nonstate actors.
The number of landmine producers has dropped in recent years from 54 to16. The 38 who
have stopped production include a majority of the big producers. We have even seen significant
reductions among some of the 16 producing countries which have not signed the Ban Treaty,
such as the United States, Russia and China. There have been no major shipments of mines
dating back some five years.
Rates of injury / death due to landmines are declining as a result of the Ban Treaty and
increased demining activity. However, tens of thousands of people still living can count
themselves the victims of landmines worldwide. In some countries, 29% of mine victims
lose one or both legs, while for other war casualties, the amputation rate is 2%. Each artificial
limb costs about US $150, but when all medical and rehabilitation costs are included, it can
cost as much as $10,000 to provide adequate care for most survivors.
Between 1979 - 1999, the International Red Cross set up 51 projects in 25 countries for the
physical rehabilitation of war victims ... producing 198,000 artificial limbs, almost 10,000
wheelchairs, and 200,000 pairs of elbow crutches.
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Canadian Red Cross
Red Cross
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Background Information
landmine campaign
Questions
& Answers
How does the International
Red Cross Movement help
landmine survivors?
In 1994, having witnessed and
worked to alleviate the extreme pain
and suffering felt by landmine survivors, the International Red Cross/Red
Crescent Movement spoke out against
landmines, calling for a total ban on
these indiscriminate weapons against
humanity. The Landmines Must Be
Stopped campaign lent significant momentum to the already existing International Campaign to Ban Landmines,
and to the signing, in December, 1997,
in Ottawa, of the treaty banning antipersonnel mines.
In addition to ongoing advocacy
initiatives , the Movement’s strategy in
assisting landmine survivors is to save
lives and reduce suffering. The International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC):
n
operates 50 emergency care and
rehabilitation centres in 25 countries
n
provides emergency medical assistance, including surgery and
prosthetics, to landmine survivors.
n
engages mine-affected communities,
including vulnerable populations such
as children, in mine-awareness
training.
n
employs ‘delegates’, such as doctors,
nurses and prosthetic technicians, in
mine-affected countries around the
world.
What is the Landmine
Survivors Fund?
The Landmine Survivors Fund was
officially launched by the Canadian Red
Cross in November, 1997, as a way of
providing funds for emergency care,
rehabilitation (including the fitting of
prostheses) and re-integration programs
for landmine survivors. The Fund also
exists to support mine-awareness programs in countries affected by mines,
and landmine education initiatives in
Canada. The goal of the Landmine Survivors Fund is to help victims become
survivors.
How does the Canadian Red
Cross help victims in mineaffected countries and raise
awareness about the dangers
of landmines?
The Canadian Red Cross provides
funding and personnel directly to the
ICRC for its emergency care and orthopaedic centres. Through generous
individual donor support, the CRC has
been able to provide the majority of
funding, and a number of Canadian
delegates, to the joint ICRC / CRC /
Tajik Red Crescent Society orthopaedic
centre in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. This
centre works to identify and treat
amputees, providing them with functioning, well-fitting prostheses so that
they can lead normal lives. It also aims
to address longer-term needs, such the
delivery of training on rehabilitation
techniques, improvement in hygiene
conditions in the local village, and
ways of providing related services to
The global strategy to
assist landmine victims
is to save lives and
reduce suffering.
Removal of mines from
contaminated areas is
the most effective
preventive measure.
However, once a person
has stepped on a mine,
suvival becomes the
primary concern,
considering that more
than 50% of victims die
before they raech
medical care.
The goal of the
Landmine Survivors
Fund is to help victims
become survivors.
The Landmine Survivors
Fund will exist as long
as landmines continue
to cause pain, suffering
and death.
Survive the Peace
9
Surviving Landmines
HOW CAN I MAKE A
DONATION?
Call toll-free 1-800-4181111 to donate by credit
card.
Mail a cheque or money
order to:
Landmine Survivors
Fund
Canadian Red Cross
170 Metcalfe Street, #300
Ottawa, ON K2P 2P2
Visit our Landmines
education website at:
www.redcross.ca/
english/peace/
Isfund.html
Contact Megan Rock,
National Coordinator,
Training & Global
Education:
Canadian Red Cross
(at address above)
email:
[email protected]
Contributions are
allocated 4:1, that is, for
every dollar donated ,75
cents will go towards
victim assistance in
mine-affected countries;
25 cents towards
landmines education
and advocacy efforts in
Canada.
or
Thank You f
!
Your Support
10
Canadian Red Cross
the amputee population, such as production of crutches and wheelchairs.
For more, visit our website at
www.redcross.ca/english/peace/
claw.htm
Mine awareness in affected communities is an essential component of
the Red Cross’ efforts to save lives and
reduce the suffering caused by
landmines. Mine awareness programs
aim to reduce the risk of death and
injury by teaching people how to identify mines and high-risk areas, and by
promoting safe behaviour to civilians
living or travelling in mine-affected
communities. Currently, the Canadian
Red Cross is supporting mine awareness programs in two countries in
southern Africa.
n
In Mozambique, a mine awareness
project will reach 1,200 landmine
survivors from 15 rural areas.
n
In Angola, more than 126,000 people
will benefit from mine awareness
outreach – approximately 50% of
whom are children.
For more, visit our website at
www.redcross.ca/english/peace/
h_workers.html
How does the Canadian Red
Cross involve Canadian communities in its landmine
campaign?
In Canada, our Global Education
network, comprised of staff and hundreds of volunteers, promotes
landmines education and advocacy initiatives through the ‘Survive the Peace’
campaign in schools and communities
across the country. Trained volunteers,
many of whom are youth, raise awareness about the adverse effects of
landmines and promote the personal
involvement of Canadians like yourself
in reducing and eliminating the suffering caused be landmines. To learn more
about how you can take action against
landmines in your community, contact
your local Red Cross and ask about
Global Education, or visit our website
at: www.redcross.ca/english/peace/
volunteer.html
In 1997, in partnership with Mines
Action Canada and the Department of
Foreign Affairs and International Trade
(DFAIT), the Canadian Red Cross
launched the Youth Mine Action Ambassador Program. This program, operating in many cities across Canada,
is aimed at building a sustainable network of active, articulate Canadians
who will extend the reach of landmines
education into local communities in
order to motivate, support and raise
funds for the global landmines crisis.
To find out how you can get involved, check out at www.redcross.ca/
english/peace/ymaap.html.
How can I support the Canadian Red Cross Landmine
Survivors Fund?
The Canadian Red Cross, as a
member of the International Red Cross/
Red Crescent humanitarian family, is
part of the largest landmine survivors’
assistance network in the world. By
contributing to the Landmine Survivors
Fund, you can help to save lives, reduce suffering and promote physical
and psycho-social rehabilitation among
landmine survivors. Your contribution
will also support vital landmine education and advocacy in Canada, and
in mine-affected communities around
the world.
When you contribute to the
Landmine Survivors Fund, your donation will go directly to supporting both
victim assistance (including medical aid
and mine awareness programs) in mineaffected countries, and to landmine education initiatives in Canada.
The landmine crisis is not over.
People who have survived war now
have to try to survive the peace. Funds
are needed now.
Background Information
The Landmine
Ban Treaty
From December 2 to 4, 1997, at
the invitation of the Canadian government, representatives from 150 nations
and hundreds of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and international
organizations gathered in Ottawa to
attend the “Convention Signing Conference” and “Mine Action Forum”. A
total of 122 countries signed the
landmine ban convention, formally
entitled the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Ant-Personal Mines
and on their Destruction.
On March 1, 1999, the Convention became binding under international
law after 40 countries ratified it, making it the fastest ratified international
treaty in human history. As of March
1, 2001, it had been signed by 139
countries and ratified by 110. Now that
the treaty has entered into force, nations can no longer just sign it, rather
they may become bound without signature through a one-step process
known as accession. Still, some 55
nations have not acceded to the treaty,
so the work continues to pressure nonsignatory countries to join the ban.
The Convention stipulates firm,
unambiguous rules, with no exceptions
or loopholes. All signatories must:
n
n
ban the use, stockpiling, production
and transfer of antipersonnel mines
within four years of the Convention
coming into force
destroy (clear) minefields within 10
years, unless they can justify an
extension
n
participate in and co-operate with a
compliance regime (reporting,
verification)
n
destroy (clear) minefields within 10
years, unless they can justify an
extension
n
where possible, provide assistance
for:
n
mine clearance
n
the care and rehabilitation,
and social and economic
reintegration, of mine victims
n
mine awareness programs
To see the complete
treaty, go to the Department of Foreign Affairs
and International Trade
website www.mines.gc.ca,
or the International
Campaign to Ban
Landmines website
www.icbl.org.
Ongoing Challenges
Despite the success of the treaty,
there is still much to do; in many ways,
the work has just begun. This is the
recognition behind the Canadian Red
Cross Survive the Peace campaign.
The movement to end the suffering
caused by landmines is currently focused on:
n
expanding the number countries joining the ban
n
educating and persuading nonstate armies to follow the treaty
n
establishing long-term programs for victim assistance and rehabilitation
n
demining affected areas
n
developing appropriate technology to
aid in mine detection and clearance
n
creating mine awareness in affected
countries
Survive the Peace
11
Surviving Landmines
The Work of
Demining
What is the difference
between humanitarian
and military demining?
For many people, the
reality of life with
landmines continues,
leaving them no choice
but to take risks in
response to the economic pressures they
face.
Humanitarian demining
is not simply the removal
of mines from the
ground, but rather its
aims are to eliminate the
physical, psychological,
environmental and
economic vulnerabilities
of people forced to live
with landmines.
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Canadian Red Cross
Landmines hinder development on
every level (socially, economically, infra-structurally and environmentally)
and must be addressed accordingly.
Humanitarian demining involves
making a guarantee to local populations
that land is 100% free of landmines
— people must be able to use their
land safely and without fear.
Military demining, usually involving armoured vehicles with special attachments to plough or churn up the
mines, is quick and effective from a
military perspective. However, the destruction rate is rarely over 80% — a
long way from the certainty of 100%
with humanitarian demining — and
these kinds of vehicles don’t work well
in jungles, mountainous areas or on
stony ground.
Effective results demand that humanitarian demining be undertaken as
one element of a larger “mine action”
program that includes mine awareness
education, minefield surveying, marking and prioritizing of clearance.
The land cleared first should be
the land that is most important to the
community rather than that containing
most mines. This requires that all elements of the program be planned and
implemented with the decisive participation of community members from the
outset and throughout.
How is demining done?
Deminers work in pairs. One uses
a mine detector to locate metal in the
ground. The detected metal is then carefully unearthed by the second member
of the pair, using a long probe that is
painstakingly and repeatedly inserted
at an angle. If scrap metal is found, it
is removed. If a mine is found, it is
destroyed in place at the end of the
day by detonating a small explosive
beside it. The locations of all mined
areas are clearly marked with posts,
tape and mine signs so that people can
distinguish the dangerous land from the
land that has been made safe.
What about new
technology?
The above method, known as
manual mine clearance, is currently the
most effective way to locate mines and
guarantee that land can be returned
safely to local communities. Designers
of mine-detection systems are constantly exploring new techniques for
locating buried or hidden objects. Recent investigations have included the
use of impulse radars, radio frequencies, microwaves, and bio-sensors. But
it will take years to achieve tangible
results that will permit more rapid and
efficient clearance.
One of the challenges is to produce a technology that is inexpensive,
easily maintained, and suitable for a
wide variety of climates and geographical situations. For the time being,
deminers would much rather clear a
minefield on their hands and knees,
using a mine probe and a magnetic
detector than trust in the effectiveness
of the latest “magical” piece of equipment. Though manual demining is expensive, it is not only the most technically reliable method available, but it
also provides much needed employment to people living in mined areas.
Mininejury
More than a
Medical Problem
Before addressing the subject of
assisting victims of anti-personnel mine
injuries it is necessary to paint a picture of a country affected by the mine
problem.
This country is usually poor. Its
social and economic infrastructure has
been torn apart by a savage civil war.
Educational programmes have
ceased and people with professional
qualifications have long since left.
Military hardware is in the hands
of armed gangs, poorly trained soldiers
or even children.
Among the weapons that remain
when the war ends there may be thousands, if not millions, of anti-personnel mines. They can be found planted
in vast tracts of land in the remotest
part of the country. However, their
placement is designed to cause maximum harassment to those who live in
or travel through the area. Thus, they
are usually laid in roads or tracks,
around sources of clean water, near
fruit-bearing trees, in houses awaiting
the return of refugees and in the fields
upon which the community is dependent for its livelihood.
Health care is largely dependent
on a variety of foreign aid agencies
whose work is also hampered by the
presence of mines. One mine, or even
the suspicion that there are mines, can
close a road for weeks. The cost of
bringing in aid may be multiplied by
25 if all supplies have to be transported
by air. Some areas may simply be too
dangerous for the agencies to visit or
work in.
Mines are a source of serious concern for United Nations peace-keeping operations, and the new generation of military surgeons is not trained
in the general surgical skills needed to
treat mine injuries.
When someone steps on a mine,
that person’s medical needs are unlikely
to be met; anyone trying to bring help
is also immediately at risk from other
mines. It may be hours or even days to
the nearest medical facility, even a
primitive one.
If the victim survives the mine injury, what awaits him or her with a
severe disability in such a country? Even
crutches may be too expensive. Travelling to a limb-fitting centre may be a
major undertaking for the whole family.
Who is going to pay for the prosthesis if it is not fitted and manufactured free of charge by one of the agencies? Employment is unlikely; begging
on the streets may be the surest form
of income. Divorce and social ostracism may be added to the insult and
indignity of being handicapped in such
a country.
Background Information
SOMALIA
When refugees returned
to Hargeisa in northern
Somalia, in 1991, 75% of
those who triggered
mines were children.
GEORGIA
80% of mine victims in
1994 and 1995 were
civilians.
QUANG TRI PROVINCE,
VIET NAM
Three thousand hectares
of agricultural land
cannot be cultivated
because of mines, yet
this land could employ
and feed 35,000 people.
THAI-CAMBODIAN
BORDER
1990-1993
62% of wounded
patients in the ICRC
hospital had been
injured by mines.
CAMBODIA
Only 27% of males
injured by mines in
Cambodia were involved
in military activities.
Survive the Peace
13
Surviving Landmines
An Epidemic
AFGHANISTAN
In Afghanistan one adult
male in ten has been
involved in a mine
incident.
CAMBODIA
61% of mine victims go
into debt to pay their
medical expenses.
AFGHANISTAN
84% of mine victims go
into debt to pay for their
treatment.
AFGHANISTAN
Adult male Afghans who
are injured by a mine are
ten times more likely to
be unemployed in the
long term.
PATTERNS OF INJUIRY
IN 720 PATIENTS IN
ICRC HOSPITAL
Pattern 1
30%
Pattern 2
50%
Pattern 3
5%
Unclassifiable 15%
The term “epidemic” has frequently and correctly been used to describe the number of mine injuries
around the world.
Although providing assistance for
victims of landmines is a major focus,
managing the epidemic must go beyond treating the individuals affected.
Preventive measures must be taken.
Thus we can regard assistance for victims of anti-personnel mines as treatment; preventive measures take the
form of mine-awareness programmes,
mine clearance and, of course, a total
ban on the production, stockpiling,
transfer and use of mines.
All of us familiar with the mine
problem recognize that the solution
does not lie solely with any one element of treatment or prevention; it is
to be found in a comprehensive approach combining assistance with preventive measures. We must not lose
sight of this.
a) Diagram showing how an injury, apparently
confined to the foot, is associated with proximal
compartmental muscle damage.
Nature of Mine
Injuries
There are three patterns of injury
seen in those victims who survive for
long enough to reach the hospital. The
first relates to stepping on a buried antipersonnel mine; there is usually traumatic amputation of the foot or leg with
severe injury of the other leg, genitalia
and arms. This first pattern tends to be
the most severe.
The second pattern is seen when
the victim triggers a fragmentation mine.
If he or she is not killed immediately,
there are wounds similar to those from
any other fragmentation device. Such
wounds can affect any part of the body.
The third relates to accidental
detonation whilst handling a mine; it
is seen among mine clearers, those
planting mines or curious children who
pick up or play with mines. This pattern inevitably involves severe wounds
of the hands and face. Some mines, by
design, kill the person who triggers
them; this is the case for the bounding
mines which explode at waist height.
Therefore, the proportion of wounded
who die or who suffer amputation depends on the type of mine.
b) Diagram of explosive injury with traumatic
amputation of the lower leg. The
mechaism of proximal
compartmental injury with skin
and gastrocemius preservation
is shown.
c) Diagram showing how, when
the skin has returned to position,
the extent of proximal damage is
hidden.
The buried anti-personnel mines (inflicting a pattern 1 injury) are most likely to remain long after a conflict and are most difficult to detect.
14
Canadian Red Cross
Background Information
The Cost of
Treatment and
Physical
Rehabilitation
The costs vary from country to
country. Factors leading to higher costs
include the need to import all materials, the need to use expatriate workers
and the need to transport personnel
and materials by air. All expenses are
higher in the initial phase.
Conclusions
Only a small proportion of the immediate needs are met by Red Cross
and other agencies because:
n
there is a serious lack of funding for
projects already under way;
n
the specific constraints encountered in
any given country affected by the mine
problem may be insurmountable;
n
Surgical costs
The cost per patient per day in an
ICRC (International Committee of the
Red Cross) hospital is around US$120.
This includes transport costs but not
the salaries of expatriate staff. A mine
amputee stays in hospital on average
30 days. Therefore, the cost of treating
a mine injured patient in the basic facilities provided by the ICRC is between US$3,000 and $4,000.
The cost of providing
artificial limbs
Each artificial limb costs between
US$100 and $150. There may be a
greater variation when a partner organization is involved.
For a young active person the artificial limb may need replacing every
two years. Thus the lifetime needs may
amount to thousands of dollars. The
cost to the ICRC of fitting one person,
including lodging during the fitting and
manufacture, salaries of the workers,
logistics, machines, equipment, etc.,
is around US$1,000, which includes
the cost of the expatriate personnel.
The equipment for the manufacture of the polypropylene components,
including an injection moulding machine, costs US$25,000.
there is no comprehensive and coordinated long term approach to
assistance aimed at dealing with the
mine problem.
There are four immediate goals for
improving assistance to mine victims and
mine-affected communities:
n
all mine victims should have access to
surgical care and rehabilitation that
meets the standards established by
the surgical hospitals and rehabilitation centres of the ICRC;
n
the psychological and social needs of
those injured and disabled by mines
should be addressed;
n
the impact that the presence of mines
has on the economy and development
should be measured;
n
increased efforts must be made to
remove the existing mines and
conduct mine awareness programmes in order to reduce the risk of
death and injury.
However, it is not enough to strive
to meet these assistance goals alone if
we wish to bring more and higher quality assistance to mine victims in the
long term. Any concrete action in mineaffected countries must include both assistance and prevention. Any solution
to the mine problem will invariably involve a coordinated approach bringing
together inter-governmental cooperation, emergency aid, development education and considerable funds.
COLOMBIA
The ICRC organized a
technical assistance
programme for the
CIREC foundation
workshop in Bogota,
Colombia from 1992 to
1994. Following the
introduction of
polypropylene technology, it was possible to
reduce the price of a
transtibial prosthesis
(for below-knee amputation), including the
necessary treatment,
from US $473 to US
$212.
VIET NAM
From 1989 to 1995, the
ICRC supported the Ho
Chi Minh City rehabilitation centre and introduced its own technology. During this period,
more than 11,000
amputees were provided
with polypropylene
artificial limbs.
Since the ICRC’s
withdrawal, the centre
has produced prostheses for nearly 5,000
amputees with a manufacturing cost of
between US $38 to US
$64 per prosthesis.
Survive the Peace
15
Surviving Landmines
The profiles of three victims
of anti-personnel mines
THE ICRC REGISTRY OF
MINE INCIDENTS
Up to November 1996
9,384 casualties were
registered
1,568 were killed
3,999 were civilians
125 were aid workers
MINE INJURED IN ICRC
HOSPTIALS
Potenial “combatants”
males 15-50 years 68.7%
chldren<15 yers 19.8%
women 7.3%
males>50 years 4.2%
EVACUATION OF MINE
VICTIMS TO ICRC
HOSPITALS
Only 25% arrive within
six hours of injury; 15%
travel for more than
three days to reach the
hospital.
The ICRC surgical database which commenced in 1991 has more than 26,000
patients registered from five independently functioning ICRC hospitals. Of these,
27% are mine victims. From these databases, and numerous testimonies from
both victims and health workers, profiles of victims can be established which
show both their injuries and their needs. Three such profiles are presented here.
The soldier
A soldier, 20 years of age, was leading a routine patrol of six others through some grassland. His boot caught a trip wire which triggered a fragmentation mine; the mine was hidden in
a small bush about two metres away from him. Although at least ten fragments of the mine hit
him, the biggest wound was in his right thigh with a 10-cm entry and a fracture of his right femur.
Another small fragment hit him in the abdomen but he was not aware of this at the time.
The other soldiers were carrying some bandages which they put around his thigh. They
made a stretcher out of some long sticks and a hammock and carried him five kilometres back
to the camp. From there a truck took him to the nearest government hospital which was a sixhour drive. One of his friends was allowed to accompany him to the hospital. By the time they
arrived, he had lost a lot of blood, was dangerously dehydrated, and was nearly unconscious.
The hospital itself had little in the way of supplies. There was only one doctor and three
nurses for the 50 patients in the ward. There were no pain-killing drugs. There was no qualified
surgeon or anaesthetist at the hospital. The doctor put up an intravenous infusion of liquids and
gave the soldier an injection of antibiotics. He was put in bed with neither sheets nor a blanket.
A dressing and a splint were put on his thigh. After an hour the dressing was soaked in blood and
his thigh was very painful. His friend tried to find some pain-killing tablets in the local market, but
these were too expensive; he could not afford to buy food for both of them and the medicine.
After 24 hours the wounded soldier had become feverish and delirious and his abdomen
began to swell. He began to vomit. The doctor said that maybe a fragment of the mine had torn
his intestines and that there was nothing that could be done. Anyway, it was months since they
had any supplies and the only surgeon had left town when the rebels had attacked it a year
before. After two more days the soldier slipped into a coma and died. His friend buried him in a
shallow grave marked only by a small pile of stones.
16
Canadian Red Cross
Background Information
The child
A ten-year-old boy arrived at an ICRC first-aid post in a taxi hired by his father. Ten hours
earlier, he had stepped on a small buried anti-personnel mine which had shattered the whole
of his left foot. The boy told the staff at the first-aid post that he had been out collecting firewood.
He had in fact been looking for unexploded mortars and shells to sell in the local market. He
knew that there were mines in the area.
In the first-aid post he had a dressing put on the remains of the foot, had an infusion put up
and was given both pain killers and antibiotics. He was put in an ambulance and was taken to
an ICRC hospital. The journey took five hours. The father was surprised to hear from the
ambulance driver that he did not have to pay for the transport and even more surprised to hear
that the treatment and the food for both of them in the hospital would be free.
When they arrived at the hospital, a surgeon examined the foot and explained via an
interpreter that the leg would have to be amputated below the knee. The father explained that
this was his only son and that he could not possibly be of use to the family if he had only one leg.
The surgeon and the hospital staff who spoke the local language explained that it would be
dangerous to wait and that the boy would be able to walk again with an artificial limb. The father
refused to give his permission for the amputation. The boy was confused and frightened and
began to cry again.
In a group of 201
patients with pattern 1
injury, 210 lower limbs
were lost.
25% of people with
pattern 3 mine injury
have associated eye
injury.
The following morning the boy had a fever and a bad smell was coming from the dressing
on his foot. The father decided to find an old uncle who lived about four hours away by bus and
to ask his advice. That evening the father and his uncle arrived at the hospital. They had another
discussion about the amputation with the staff in the hospital. The following morning, the
surgeon told them that he could do nothing more without their permission to amputate the leg
and that there was no point in the boy staying in the hospital.
The anaesthetist assured the father that the boy would be asleep throughout the operation. One of the locally employed nurses rolled up his trouser leg and showed that he too had
stepped on a mine six years previously and that he was able to work with his artificial leg.
The father then agreed to the operation. Two hours later, the boy was back on the ward; he
had a below-knee amputation under a general anaesthetic and there was a blood transfusion
running. His new stump was resting on two pillows in a big dressing and he was allowed to eat
later that day.
The following day, a physiotherapist started to move the knee joint gently above the amputation. Four days later he was taken back to the operating theatre to have some skin flaps of the
amputation stitched together, which required another general anaesthetic. Five days later, the
dressing was taken off for the surgeon to have a look at the stump. The boy saw for the first time
how his leg ended in a stitched stump. This was a great shock to him and he began to cry once
again. His father also cried.
Over the next two weeks, he had a lot of physiotherapy and learned to walk on crutches.
There were many other amputees in the hospital; some had both legs missing. The boy’s father
donated blood to the hospital blood bank. After a month, the boy was transferred to the ICRC
Survive the Peace
17
Surviving Landmines
limb-fitting centre where he received an artificial leg made out of a plastic material. He could
walk quite well with this though it was more difficult over uneven ground. Three weeks later he
was able to go home with his father.
AFGHAN-PAKISTANI
BORDER
In 1992, refugees
returned to Afghanistan.
The number of mineinjured seen in the ICRC
hospitals in Pakistan
doubled from 50 per
month to 100 per month.
The proportion of
women and children with
mine injuries rose also
from 2% to 6% and from
14% to 25% respectively.
Five months later he broke the limb when he was playing soccer with his friends. He and
his father headed for the ICRC limb-fitting centre again and he was given a new leg. A year later,
walking grew painful and he saw that he had developed an ulcer on his stump. Once again he
returned to the centre and was told that maybe he would need an operation to remove a piece
of bone that was still growing in the stump. The surgeon at the hospital examined him and the
operation was done two days later. The stump was now a different shape and so he had to have
yet another artificial limb fitted — his third in the 18 months since the mine blast.
The rice farmer
A 32-year-old mother of three children was working in a rice field. A dark green object in
the mud caught her eye. She picked it up, not knowing that it was a mine; it was the kind that
explodes either on pressure or when tilted. When the mine exploded it blew off her right hand;
her face and eyes received multiple small wounds from the vaporized mine casing. Some other
people working in the rice field ran to her and tied a strip of material tightly around her forearm
just below the elbow. She was unable to see and was led out of the rice field. Someone went to
tell her husband.
Eight hours later she arrived at a local dispensary, which she had reached riding on the
back of her husband’s motorcycle. The nurse in the dispensary put some disinfectant on her
face and a dressing on the remains of her hand. There was no available bed at the dispensary
and she and her husband slept under a tree, it being too dangerous to travel at night because
of bandits. The following day they made their way to a hospital. A doctor there looked at her
arms and told her that the whole forearm was dead because of the improvised tourniquet and
that she would have to have an amputation through the elbow joint.
This treatment would be expensive and there were many other patients waiting for operations. Fortunately, her husband had brought some money with him and was able to borrow
more in the market. She had her arm amputated the following day. Her eyes were now red and
painful and she was unable to open them. The doctor wrote a prescription for some eye drops
which the husband was able to buy in the market. The next day her husband had to leave to look
after the children.
Four days later the nurse told her that the amputation of her arm was infected and the
stitches put in at the first operation were cutting out of the swollen skin. The infection and
inflammation settled slowly over the following days. She remained in the hospital for three
weeks, sharing food with some of the other patients. Her eyes remained inflamed but she
recovered some sight in one eye; the other slowly became totally white. She eventually returned
to her village in the car of an aid-agency worker. Her husband told her that she would have to go
and live with her mother as he was unable to feed her and the children if only he was working.
Her mother informed her that she would have to beg to bring some money in.
18
Canadian Red Cross
g
n
i
n
r
Lea
activities
how to live with mines
...I want to run through flowery fields with my girlfriend,
I want to pick the first violet for her, to climb the trees in
forests. I want to lie in the grass and watch the sky for
hours, I want to dream. I’m only 18. I have somehow
managed to survive this dirty war. But, I wonder whether
I have really survived. Should all my life be permanently
marked with the word “MINE”?...
Admir Mujkic IV/1
Secondary School
Velika Brijesnica
Doboj - East
Surviving Landmines
g
n
i
n
r
Lea
activities
Welcome
The Survive the Peace landmines
package is intended to be a reference
and resource for those who wish to
take an active role in promoting public
awareness and community action
around the landmines issue — including Red Cross staff and volunteers, and
educators.
The Canadian Red Cross has a
deep commitment to students, teachers, and to the Canadian public to provide programs, materials and experiences that help young Canadians become effective global citizens.
Our education programs are based
on three distinct components: knowledge, empathy, and action. Knowledge
about the issues is the start to understanding. Once participants have understood the information provided, the
next step is to develop empathy and
identify with the people in question.
After participants have developed empathy, the final step is to point towards
opportunities for them to take action
to help improve the situation.
20
Canadian Red Cross
Participatory
Learning
The Learning Activities are based
on the methodology of the experiential
or participatory learning approach,
which fits extremely well with these
global education goals.
The suggested learning activities in
this package reflect a hands-on approach, which combines education and
fun. This approach seeks to fuse empathy with knowledge, as well as commitment and action with awareness.
In using these activities, the goal
is to take the audience through a complete learning cycle. The initial focus
on increasing knowledge comprises the
“What?” of the learning cycle.
The next step in the process is to
guide people through a flow of generalizing and making links concerning the
real human cost of landmines — this
represents the “So what?” stage.
Finally, the cycle finishes by helping people in applying the knowledge
and perspective gained through taking
action of some sort, or at least being
aware of the options — the “Now
what?” of the learning process. We
want to help the audience emerge with
a sense of a next step, either personally or collectively; to leave them with
a genuine sense that they can make a
difference around the landmines situation.
Learning Activities
Using the
Activities
Each of the activities in this package has been designated as suiting a
certain age group (elementary, intermediate and/or secondary), but most
can be readily adapted for either a
younger or older (including adult) audience.
Each activity includes a brief description, the materials supplied or
needed, suggestions for the process to
be followed, and most come with
Facilitator Debriefing Prompts.
These questions or points are included as a tool to help foster a deeper
analysis of the situation arising out of
the activity.
Survive the Peace can also be used
in conjunction with other Red Cross
programs and materials. Local Canadian Red Cross offices have additional
educational materials (videos, slides,
magazines, posters) that complement
this package.
In some areas, the local Red Cross
office may also have a program that
can provide trained public presenters
to do landmines sessions.
S
et up several areas of the school or yard with reflective tape and “Danger:
Landmines” signs. Make sure that these are places where students normally
walk, gather, or play. Observe how students react to the notices. Discuss the
difficulties caused by “shrinking” travel routes and recreation/play areas.
A complementary activity could be setting out everyday objects — pop can,
child’s toy, pencil box, a ball ... anything that students might be curious about —
before they arrive. They would then see these objects, perhaps be curious, and
touch or move them. You could also “booby trap” desks with coloured stickers
or place them on heavily-used areas of the floor.
Facilitator Debriefing Prompts
n
Ask how many people handled the
objects. They could have easily been
mines.
n
Why would adults pick them up?
(unaware of danger, selling scrap
metal)
n
Why would children in mine-affected
developing countries pick up unusual
plastic or metal objects? (Most toys
are home-made from natural materials, many children work in fields.)
n
Imagine how it must be for children in
a community full of landmines, always
having to be on guard.
Activity 1
All levels
Time: 10 minutes
I Thought
We Could
Play Here
Surviving Landmines
21
Surviving Landmines
Activity 2
All Levels
Time: 30 minutes
Where in
the World
are the
Landmines?
G
ive students a blank world map and ask them to locate and shade in those
countries where landmines are present. The countries highlighted in bold
(included below) are those with more than one million landmines — in some
cases, much more. For example, it is estimated that Angola and Cambodia, with
populations of approximately 9 - 10 million each, both have more mines than
people.
Facilitator Debriefing Prompts
Ask students to explain the reasons for the presence of landmines in particular
countries.
n
Why are there landmines in Austria,
Belgium, Germany and other European countries?
From WW I and WW II
n
In which countries on the list is the war
over?
Some examples: Central American
countries, Iran, Kuwait, much of
Europe, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, South
Korea, Viet Nam (and many more).
n
n
Why are they almost exclusively in
developing countries?
Many civil conflicts; landmines cheap
and easy to use; result of Cold War
strategies of both USA and the USSR
(1945 - 1992).
n
Does a higher number of landmines
mean a greater problem?
Not necessarily. Although Egypt has
the highest number of mines in the
world (estimated 20 million), many
from WWII, they have not caused large
scale havoc because they are confined to sparsely populated border
regions — unlike, say Bosnia,
Cambodia or Angola, where heavily
populated areas have been mined.
Which countries are still involved in
conflict?
Some examples: Colombia, Iraq,
Lebanon, Angola, Liberia, Sierra
Leone, Myanmar, Russian Federation,
Yugoslavia, India (and many more —
up to 35 countries at any given time,
most of which probably involve the
laying of landmines)
COUNTRIES WITH LANDMINES
MIDDLE EAST
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Oman
Syria
Turkey
Yemen
22
Canadian Red Cross
CENTRAL &
SOUTH AMERICA
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cuba
Ecuador
El Salvador
Falklands/
Malvinas
Guatemala
Honduras
Mexico
Nicaragua
Peru
ASIA
Afghanistan
Cambodia
China
Laos
Mongolia
Myanmar
Philippines
South Korea
Sri Lanka
Tajikistan
Thailand
Viet Nam
AFRICA
Angola
Chad
Congo (ex-Zaire)
Djibouti
Egypt
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Guinea-Bissau
Liberia
Libya
Mauritania
Mozambique
Namibia
Rwanda
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Somalia
Sudan
Tunisia
Uganda
Western Sahara
Zimbabwe
EUROPE
Armenia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Latvia
Luxembourg
Moldovia
Netherlands
Russian
Federation
Slovenia
Ukraine
Yugoslavia
Learning Activities
S
tudents can brainstorm different images and slogans that effectively convey the issue. Poster visuals can use symbolism or realism. Discuss
how a hidden, subtle or even shocking message can make people think further
about an issue. For example, the Red Cross this year is
using the phrase, If you have survived the war,
try to survive the peace. The resulting work
can be displayed in the school, community
and/or sent to the Red Cross.
S
tudents are informed that they will start the day at school by trying to identify
and empathize with landmine victims. About 28% of mine victims lose one
or both legs. Students are given ropes or scarves which they use to tie their legs
together at ankle level; or to immobilize one leg somehow.
Other students are instructed to tie up one arm, go blindfolded or block up
their ears to simulate the loss of an arm, eyesight and hearing. They then have to
continue through their normal *morning activities with their sudden disability.
After some significant time, discuss together the difficulties faced.
* This activity could be done for just a few minutes as well.
Facilitator Debriefing Prompts
Activity 3
All Levels
Time: Open
Design a
Landmine
Poster or
Slogan
Activity 4
Grades 1 to 6
Time: 20 minutes
Just
Try One
Morning
Compare and contrast the activities of a North American child or adolescent
with those from developing countries, where most mine victims live.
n
n
How would farming, wood gathering,
water collection, etc. be with only one
leg or one arm?; without sight or
hearing? Students could be asked to
write reflections on their morning
experience.
If you lost a leg or arm suddenly, how
difficult would it be for you to re-learn
everyday tasks and activities? What
would happen if your family was not
able to afford an artificial limb?
n
How might this disability affect the
future of a landmine victim?
n
Sarajevo, Yugoslavia was a modern
European city, not unlike Canadian
cities in many ways. Yet, during the
war of the early 1990s, Sarajevo
became infested with landmines. Try
to imagine your city or town during a
war. Where do you think landmines
might be laid? Which parts of your
community might become dangerous?
Survive the Peace
23
Surviving Landmines
Activity 5
Grades 1 to 6
Time: 10 minutes
Get to
the Market
T
his paper exercise, while not a full-blown physical simulation of a mine-affected community, can help convey at least a sense of the difficulties and
dangers posed by landmines.
Give students a copy of the village map (next page). The object of this
exercise is to first draw a walking route in pencil from the house to the market.
From there, each participant should try to reach the other destinations and arrive
back home. Make sure they draw their routes distinctly. After the routes are
drawn, give out the second piece of paper with the landmines (following page),
revealing the location of anti-personnel mines. If their routes overlap or touch a
mine, it means that they have detonated a mine and have been killed or maimed.
Facilitator Debriefing Prompts
Activity 6
Grades 7 to 12
Time: 1 hour
Essays by
Children of
Landmines
24
Canadian Red Cross
n
Who made it through the village
safely? (stand up)
n
Why were you successful in avoiding
the landmines?
n
What were the difficulties?
n
What is the role played by luck and
chance?
n
Imagine how your daily lives would
have to change if your neighbourhood
were mined in such a fashion.
n
If it were, which risks would you come
to accept as just being a part of daily
life?
n
Draw their attention to the facts on the
map sheet, which demonstrate the
difficulties faced by people in mineaffected communities.
H
ave students read the essays written by Bosnian children and adolescents.
There are four starting on page 40. Discuss life in war-torn countries as a
class or in small groups. Some sample questions:
n
What would life be like if you always
had to look down at the ground?
n
What would you feel if you couldn’t
safely do ‘normal’ things with your
friends?
n
How would this change your perspective on life?
After reading the essays, individual students could take on the role of one of
the people and present their story to the class, or they could divide into groups
and prepare and dramatize an interview, with one student being a reporter and
one the author of the essay.
Learning Activities
Get to the Market
YOUR HOME
SCHOOL
CLINIC
PLACE OF
WORSHIP
MARKET
NEIGHBOUR’S
FARMLAND
Village Map
FACT What people were doing at the time of the mine
injury: working fields/fetching water 20%; travelling 15%;
children playing with mines 8%; de-mining 4%; other nonmilitary 38%; fighting 13%; no answer 2%
WAR
ZONE
FACT Landmines are found along roads, in fields and
forests, beside power pylons, near wells and river banks,
in homes and public buildings. As a result, they can
cause economic paralysis by restricting movement in
what are usually agriculture-based economies.
Surviving Landmines
Get to the Market
Landmines
Learning Activities
L
andmine deminers take great risks in doing their job of helping to rid the
planet of these weapons. The technology of landmine construction is on the
cutting edge, but the devices used to detect landmines reflect, essentially, 1940s
technology. Deminers use a metal detector that is not much different than the
metal detectors used by beachcombers to find lost money and jewellery. It is
extremely labourious and dangerous work, which involves prodding the ground
every few centimetres with a metal probe or a bayonet, and hoping nothing
blows up in your face.
Students are asked to be as creative and imaginative as possible in trying to
design specialized demining suits or in designing a machine which could search
for and destroy unmarked mines. For example, an engineer in New Zealand has
come up with the idea of using technology very similar to the kind of microwave
technology used by many of us to cook food. The way microwave ovens work is
that the food heats up because it contains water, but the container, which is dry,
remains cool. Similarly, the demining machine would heat up the earth, which
contains water, but not the landmine, which is dry. Using infra-red detectors, it
is possible to “see” the buried mine, which appears as a cold spot on the
surface.
Facilitator Debriefing Prompts
n
Why isn’t it possible to just drive a big
specialized tank through the minefields and destroy all the mines?
n
Will poor societies be able to afford to
buy and maintain highly sophisticated
mine clearance technology?
n
How would you feel if you were told
that your backyard and neighbourhood were 80 - 90% free of
landmines? Would you feel safe to
carry on your daily activities?
n
What is the highest priority — to clear
the land with the most landmines, or
to clear the land that is the most
important to the community? Why?
A
fter some activities and research on the landmines issue, present the students
with this challenge: “You have been given five minutes of air time (radio or
television) to speak to the world and the world leaders about the importance of
stopping the use of landmines. Your speech will be broadcast to every country
and translated into many languages. You need to be very clear. No other person
has ever had this opportunity before.”
For older students, increase the complexity of this assignment by having
them write in a persuasive style, anticipating the various arguments for the
continued use of landmines. In their speeches, they can provide a rebuttal as
well as alternative points of view.
Activity 7
Grades 7 to 12
Time: 30 minutes
Be an
Inventor
Activity 8
Grades 7 to 12
Time: 1 hour
A Call to
the World
Survive the Peace
27
Surviving Landmines
Activity 9
Grades 4 to 12
Time: 20 minutes
An
Ordinary
Day
Video
28
Canadian Red Cross
T
here are seven people in this ten minute video, each of whom describes the
circumstances of an encounter with a landmine and the consequences on his
or her life. It is very workable to show only the first three scenarios (five minutes)
in which the main consequences are highlighted.
Alert the audience to the fact that they will hear fairly loud explosions during
the video, but assure them that there are no gory or bloody scenes. Facts appear
in red printing on the screen, but for older eyes and larger audiences, it may be
necessary to read out the captions. The script and the captions for the first three
victims’ stories are provided in this section.
Facilitator Debriefing Prompts
n
What are your responses to this video?
(It is important to allow people to
express any immediate reactions to
the material before moving on to
analyse the information. It is not
common, but there may be some
people who have found it difficult
watching.)
n
A list of social, economic and medical
follows (The Real Human Cost of
Landmines) as a guideline for this
section. There is not a lot of time to
get into any detail (ten minutes!), so
it’s important to give the audience an
idea of the scope of the problem on a
human level.
n
What were some of the effects of
landmines, based on the video you
just watched?
n
You could write down the three main
headings (social, economic, medical)
as a starting point. No matter how
much or how little the audience
members come up with, run through
the highlights from the list on the next
page to complete the analysis (in your
own words, of course!)
Learning Activities
Social Implications
n
In agrarian societies, amputees are unable to work, so they often become
a burden to their families.
n
Often they are driven to beg on the streets of cities for a meagre living.
n
If the person is unmarried before the amputation, especially a woman, the
chances of marrying and having children are very limited due to cultural
and religious stigma attached to persons who are no longer considered of
value.
Economic Implications
n
National development is drastically affected.
- farming and transportation services grind to a halt
- reconstruction of damage is often impossible (rail and road networks,
power lines, and waterways)
n
Reconstruction of human services infrastructure is slowed.
- minefields impede mobility of teachers, technicians, health-care workers
n
Mines block access to vast stretches of usable land.
- people are often forced to move on to ecologically vulnerable land,
which can prove dangerous to them (floods, drought, etc.) or very unproductive.
n
The disruption of internal markets leads to high inflation.
n
The decrease in agricultural production often leads to longer term dependency on international humanitarian assistance.
n
These relief operations are made up to 25 times more expensive because
of security measures that must be taken.
n
Landmine clearance is very costly to a society trying to rebuild.
Activity 9
continued
The Real
Human Costs
of Landmines
debriefing of
An Ordinary Day
video
Medical Implications
n
Victims need twice as many blood transfusions as traditional battlefield
injuries.
n
Landmine patients need an average of four operations and spend 32 days
in hospital.
n
Artificial limbs cost US$125 each; and children need a new one every six
months, adults every 3-5 years.
n
Surgical care and the fitting of a artificial limb costs about US$3,000.
n
There is usually little or no medical infrastructure available to aid victims.
n
In some countries, more than one third of the victims are women and
children.
Survive the Peace
29
Surviving Landmines
Activity 9
continued
Script and
Facts
(for the first 3
speakers)
Scenario #1
Alima, 19-year-old Angolan woman
I was 19-years-old at the time. We knew that there were mines all around,
but the harvest had to be taken in, and the whole village was working in the
fields. It was in the afternoon, and three of us girls were walking in single file
along a little path with our baskets full. [BOOM]
I wanted to marry and have children, a family. Now no man will marry me
because I have lost a leg. So I went back to work as before. Many of the fields
have had to be abandoned because of the mines. Some have been cleared, but
accidents still happen. I’m afraid, but what else can I do.
n
There are more than 110 million mines in the world.
(Ed. Note: revised estimate 60-100 million)
n
Every year between two and five million new mines are laid.
n
Every year between five and ten million mines are manufactured.
Scenario #2
Fazzudin, 8-year-old Afghani boy
It was just an ordinary day. Ever since I was quite small I have been looking
after sheep, and I had taken the flock out much earlier. That morning I had
something to do in the sheep pen. As soon as I went in, I saw a funny looking
object on the ground. I wanted to know what it was so I picked it up. [BOOM]
I have been nearly a year in hospital. They have told me that I can go home soon.
But I know that I can never look after the sheep again.
n
Every month 2,000 people are killed or maimed by mines.
n
When they do not kill, mines cause brutal injuries, amputations or severe physical
disability.
n
It costs about US$3,000 to care for an amputee in parts of the world where the average
income is US$12 a month.
Scenario #3
You Eng, 65-year-old Cambodian man
I was asleep in front of the house when I was awakened by the sound of an
explosion and my son’s voice calling for help. My grandson was laying in the
road, his left leg shattered by the mine blast. My son ran off to seek help. I was
there looking at Chun who was writhing with pain and took him in my arms.
When I started to get up, I lost my balance a little and my right foot hit something. [BOOM] My right leg was amputated at mid-thigh. My grandson’s left leg
was cut off a little higher up. We still have to wait three months for the stumps to
heal before we can go and see about artificial legs. A few years ago, my older
son and daughter-in-law were killed by mines. Now I can no longer feed my
family, and this makes me ashamed.
30
Canadian Red Cross
n
Most mine victims are civilians.
n
Most accidents occur once hostilities are over.
n
In some countries, more than one-third of the victims are women and children.
Learning Activities
T
his activity usually works as a brief introduction to some of the basic facts
underlying the broad landmines issue. Even though the public has more
awareness than before, the answers to this quiz will still, no doubt, surprise
students and capture their interest.this activity usually works as a brief introduction to some of the basic facts underlying the broad landmines issue.
One way of doing it is to have students partner up. After asking a question,
give them 15-30 seconds to think and discuss. Ask for volunteers to answer, then
give the correct answer, along with the amount of information you wish to reveal
at this time — again, it can be brief or lengthy, depending on your goals. Some
of the answers may go into more detail than you might want to use in a quiz
format. This is to help the teacher or facilitator with background knowledge.
1
Activity 10
Grades 4 to 12
Time: 30 minutes
Landmine
True or
False Quiz
There are more than 60 million landmines in the world
today.
TRUE This seems the low end of the current estimate. However, the exact number
can never really be known with any certainty. We do know that there are landmines and
other unexploded ordnance (munitions) in many countries – and the stockpiles in the
military arsenals of 105 countries are estimated at 250 million.
More important than the number of mines is the location of the mines. Worldwide
efforts are being made to identify and remove mines from the most critical and useable
land, so people, communities and nations can begin to reconstruct their lives. Other
less critical areas can be marked and left until later.
2
Landmines are present in about 35 countries.
FALSE Landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) affect 88 countries in the
world today. Some of the most heavily infested countries are Afghanistan, Cambodia,
Angola, Mozambique, and Bosnia.
Landmines are still being used in many places including Angola, the Democratic
Republic of Congo, Somalia and Sudan in Africa; Colombia in the Americas; Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and the Philippines in Asia-Pacific; Georgia, Russia and Turkey/
Northern Iraq in Europe/Central Asia; and Lebanon in the Middle East.
3
Mines kill or maim an equal number of fighting personnel
and civilians.
FALSE Only 13% of those affected by landmines are fighting personnel.
Those who are killed or injured by landmines are usually ordinary people trying to
get on with their lives as best they can: a seventeen-year-old boy describes being on
his way home from a birthday party on a sunny day when he was blown up; a twentyone-year-old woman stepped on a mine her grandmother had put in the storage room
of their house, not knowing what it was.
The ICRC studied 26 recent conflicts and found that in not one case did
landmines play a major role in the outcome. Even worse, the study found that a land
Survive the Peace
31
Surviving Landmines
mine is ten times more likely to kill a civilian than a combatant. Mines are usually
scattered indiscriminately, unmarked — on village paths, in agricultural fields, and on
dirt roads which civilian men, women and children must use in their daily tasks of
farming, tending livestock and travelling from place to place.
Activity 10
continued
Landmine
True or
False Quiz
In some countries, between 30-40% of mine casualties are found among children
below 15 years of age. Child amputees require new prostheses twice a year while
growing; adults once every two or three years for life, costing an average of US$10,000
for each survivor.
4
The average price to manufacture a landmine is quite low,
about US $100.
FALSE Some models cost as little as $3 to make, and others can cost up to $30.
However, when it comes to clearing them, the costs rise to from $300-1,000 each.
5
It will take about 100 years to get rid of all the active
landmines in the ground.
FALSE As we saw from Question #1, we don’t need to remove all the mines in order
to solve the problem – we just need to focus on the areas where people live and work.
Clearing of the high-priority areas could happen in decades, not centuries, if the world
community has the will and the resources.
As recently as 1996, the estimate was 1,000 years, partly because we were
thinking of removing all the mines, but also because we were laying 20 mines for every
one we removed – a situation the Landmine Ban Treaty has reversed dramatically.
6
About 100 countries have signed the 1997 Landmine Ban
Treaty.
FALSE In fact, many more have signed. – over two-thirds of the nations on earth
have joined the treaty process. As of March 2001, 139 have signed and 110 have
ratified the Treaty. On March 1, 1999, the Treaty came into full force., making it the
fastest ratified international treaty in human history.
32
Canadian Red Cross
Learning Activities
T
his activity has been designed to help students empathize with victims of
landmines and appreciate the personal impact of landmines before introducing the information part of the issue. As you begin, remind students that although
you will be asking questions as a way of stimulating their imagination, they are
not to answer out loud. This is a silent, reflective activity.
NOTE: As the facilitator, it is important that you provide a long enough
period of silence (3-4 seconds) after each question/suggestion, in order to allow
the students to visualize that element before moving on to another one.
Ask the students to individually think of an activity they love to do. Encourage them to do so without a lot of thinking — just “brainstorm” quickly with
themselves silently. Offer your own examples as a starter if necessary. Again, this
is not a discussion activity, but rather a personal reflection/visualization exercise.
Now ask everyone to close their eyes. (You might like to acknowledge that
this is an usual request, especially if you are new to this group.)
Activity 11
Grades 7 to 12
Time: 10 minutes
What
Would it
be Like?
A Visualization
Exercise
Ask each person to see themselves doing the activity they thought of:
n
“Picture yourself doing this
activity.”
n
“Who is with you?”
n
”Are you good at this activity?”
n
“How do you feel?”
n
“How much fun are you
having?”
Now ask them to picture what this activity would be like with their dominant
arm missing. Ask the questions in the present tense to establish empathy with
the personal implications of such an injury. For example:
n
n
“How difficult is this activity
now — or is it even possible?”
“How long will it take to learn
to do this without the arm?”
n
“Does it hurt?”
n
“How do you feel?”
Now ask them to imagine doing this activity with one of their legs missing.
n
“How does this injury change
this activity for you?”
n
“How do you feel about your
future?”
n
“How is it more difficult now?”
n
n
“Is it even possible?” “... or
safe?”
“How do you feel about your
self?”
Tell them they lost their arm or leg while going about their daily business —
working in the fields, fetching water or firewood, going to market, walking to
school, playing ...
Bring them back to the image of being fully able bodied and enjoying their
favourite activity for a few moments. Then have them open their eyes slowly.
Survive the Peace
33
Surviving Landmines
Activity 11
continued
What Would
it be Like?
Facilitator Debriefing Prompts
n
How many people felt that their
favourite activity was affected significantly by the arm injury?
n
How many felt their activity was
affected by the loss of one leg?
n
What kind of effort would be required
to retrain yourself to do this activity?
n
Which feelings came up for you as you
realized the injury had affected your
ability to do this activity? (e.g. sadness, loneliness, anger, fear, a sense
of unfairness)
n
What if you were not able to receive an
artificial limb? Would you, or could
you, continue to do this activity?
Lead into another activity by stating that what they visualized is the reality for
thousands of people whose lives have been suddenly changed forever by
landmines.
34
Canadian Red Cross
Learning Activities
T
his is a series of related activities designed and implemented by students at
Argyle Secondary in North Vancouver, B.C., during a landmines awareness
week in February 1999.
Activity 12
Extended Awareness Campaign (day or week-long)
Grades 4 to 12
Time: 15 minutes
1
Arrange with the school administration to ring the school every 22 minutes.
Nobody will understand what it means at first, but after the third ringing, it
is announced that each sounding of the bell symbolizes someone somewhere in the world stepping on a landmine.
If you can get the administration on board, keep ringing the bell throughout
the whole day, accompanied by a brief landmine fact over the public address system.
2
Every 22
Minutes
Use some of the landmine victim scenarios included in this section, or
create your own from the package materials. Attach each scenario to a
corresponding coloured ribbon (e.g. wounded red, dead black, indirectly
affected yellow). Every day after school, tape the scenarios with their matching ribbon under 20 or so desks (at least one scenario per class), in preparation for the next day.
The next morning, after the landmine fact is read on the announcements, all
the students are instructed to look under their desks to see if and how they
have been affected. If the teachers are willing, have them generate a brief
discussion about how this person and their family will be affected by the
landmine injury.
Those that are affected are asked to wear the ribbon around their arm in
recognition of the victim they represent. If they are seen wearing the ribbon
throughout the day, they are given a prize. It won’t take long for this to
catch on — at Argyle Secondary, students wouldn’t even wait for the announcements to look under their desks.
The organizers mentioned that it was neat to see how, by the end of the
week, the majority of students knew at least one landmine fact and knew
that there was an anti-landmine campaign going on in the school — and
some people who they didn’t expect to have any social conscience were
seen wearing ribbons around school.
3
You could put up posters (from Red Cross, Foreign Affairs, Mines Action
Canada, as well as creating your own) all over the school. Each poster
could contain one landmine fact, and every day on the announcements a
different fact can also be read.
4
Fundraising - Cut out a bunch of paper landmines and tape them to a large
banner. Behind some of the landmines is written a “prize” they have won
(donated by local businesses). For every loonie (or twoonie) donated by
students, they could symbolically remove a landmine from their “landmine
field”. You could also use the Survive the Peace fridge magnets and stickers
to produce a fundraising minefield.
Survive the Peace
35
Surviving Landmines
Activity 12
5
continued
Within an Awareness Session - If you only have a one hour session, this
activity can be adapted for a one-time only situation. Put one coloured
ribbon and scenario under one desk in each row. Set a timer or alarm clock
to go off after 22 minutes. When the alarm goes off, explain the significance
of the 22 minutes. Ask people in a particular row to look under their desks
(quickly resetting the timer again for 22 minutes!), then have the “winner”
read out the scenario to the rest of the class.
Ask some questions about the consequences for the victims, their families
and communities. Continue the session, and when the alarm goes off 22
minutes later, repeat with a scenario from a different row.
Facilitator Copy
Mine
Victim
Scenarios
(with debriefing questions)
Indirectly Affected (Colour: Yellow )
I am a child living in Mozambique. As usual, my mother woke up early this
morning to tend her small farm. While gathering dry grass, she felt a strange object.
She took a hoe and beat the land to remove the object. It exploded, throwing her
backwards. She was unable to stand. Help came after hearing the explosion and my
mother’s cries for help. However, she died on the way to the hospital. Because of
the explosion, my two brothers and sisters and I are now orphaned—our father had
died previously during the war, which ended five years ago.
n
Who will look after the children? How?
n
When is the war really ‘over’?
n
How do landmines make earning a
living a dangerous activity?
Killed (Colour: Black)
I live in Cambodia with my wife, where we farm a small patch of land. At
8:00 this morning, we found a mine buried in the land where we were planting
rice. At first, we thought it was a pot. My wife advised me not to touch it, since
she had learned in mine awareness sessions that mines or explosives often
resemble pots. I insisted and began to uncover it. It exploded seriously injuring
both my legs. After two hours with no medical assistance, I died.
n
What will become of the elderly wife?
n
Why did it take so long to get help?
Injured
n
What happens if people are too afraid
to farm the land?
(Colour: Red )
I live in Bosnia-Herzegovina and support my three children by making pottery.
One day, I activated a mine while gathering clay at the edge of the river, which was
not supposed to have landmines. I awoke two days later in the hospital with no
recollection of the incident. I lost my right leg and right arm but I continue to make
pottery, helped by my children and friends who gather clay. My husband left me to
live with another woman and I am often alone. Once, I even thought of suicide but
could not bear the thought of abandoning my children.
36
Canadian Red Cross
n
n
Who will provide for the physical and
psychological needs of this victim?
n
When is an area completely safe from landmines?
How can landmine injuries particularly
affect women?
Learning Activities
Injured (Colour: Red )
I am 14 years old, living in El Salvador. I was going to collect maize (corn)
with my family along a main road near our village. I was seated in an ox-drawn
cart while my mother and sister walked behind, when one of the oxen trod on an
antipersonnel mine. I was injured — lost a foot and an eye — and both animals
died instantly.
n
Will the family be able to afford the medical costs?
n
What effect will the loss of the oxen have on the family?
n
How will this “accident” affect the child’s career and future?
I am a child living in Mozambique. As usual, my mother woke up early this
morning to tend her small farm. While gathering dry grass, she felt a strange object.
She took a hoe and beat the land to remove the object. It exploded, throwing her
backwards. She was unable to stand. Help came after hearing the explosion and my
mother’s cries for help. However, she died on the way to the hospital. Because of
the explosion, my two brothers and sisters and I are now orphaned—our father had
died previously during the war, which ended five years ago.
Activity 12
continued
Mine
Victim
Scenarios
Master Sheet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------C
I live in Cambodia with my wife, where we farm a small patch of land. At
8:00 this morning, we found a mine buried in the land where we were planting
rice. At first, we thought it was a pot. My wife advised me not to touch it, since
she had learned in mine awareness sessions that mines or explosives often
resemble pots. I insisted and began to uncover it. It exploded seriously, injuring
both my legs. After two hours with no medical assistance, I died.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------C
I live in Bosnia-Herzegovina and support my three children by making pottery.
One day, I activated a mine while gathering clay at the edge of the river, which was
not supposed to have landmines. I awoke two days later in the hospital with no
recollection of the incident. I lost my right leg and right arm but I continue to make
pottery, helped by my children and friends who gather clay. My husband left me to
live with another woman and I am often alone. Once, I even thought of suicide but
could not bear the thought of abandoning my children.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------C
I am 14 years old, living in El Salvador. I was going to collect maize (corn)
with my family along a main road near our village. I was seated in an ox-drawn
cart while my mother and sister walked behind, when one of the oxen trod on an
antipersonnel mine. I was injured — lost a foot and an eye — and both animals
died instantly.
Survive the Peace
37
Surviving Landmines
Essays by
Children of
Landmines
Survive
the peace
First award,
Melisa Dzanovic, VIII/2
First elementary school
Gracanica
Bosnia-Herzegovina
38
Canadian Red Cross
No, no don’t look at the sky,
they cannot do you any harm from above
anymore.
Lower your head because the danger is in
your mother earth.
If you have survived the war, try to survive
the peace!
The enemy is in the earth and is scattered
everywhere
around children’s innocence.
Be careful, my friend, they watch every mov
e you make,
they know what you will step on,
they are waiting for you, tricking you...Mi
nes!
Stop! Don’t touch them! They are very sens
itive to touch.
If you accidentally step on or pull their thin
hair,
which is everywhere around you, they will
not cry.
You are the one, my friend, who will cry for
them! Or your mother!
They are not your toys.
They are the toys of war, which is gone,
and you make sure that they go along.
And don’t say: “I know how to handle them
”,
because nobody knows how to handle them
,
they are an eternal school, and you are allow
ed to make only one mistake.
Do not look for them in the meadows and
forests, because carelessness,
your constant companion, will lead you strai
ght to them, to their
kingdom that will take a part or the whole
of your young life.
Therefore, my friend, do not look at the sky,
do not count the stars,
do not look at the yellow moon, because
in a split second it
(your world) can become bloody.
It only takes one wrong step, so lower your
head, my friend,
your enemy is in the earth!
It has surrounded you with a thick wire...
Remember, there is something worse than
a war:
survive, my friend, the peace!
Learning Activities
my soul.
I feel freedom in every moment, I feel it in
Everything is so big, so free.
birds, and I feel the spring call
I listen to murmuring streams and singing
me.
Nature wants to grow and to love.
And I love.
sun and yellow
I love my friends. I love my street. I love the
dandelions scattered in the meadow...
And then
. Silence.
The sun becomes dark, birds stop their song
out a leg.
with
t,
stree
A young man is walking down the
ened
happ
It
No, he did not lose his leg during the war.
ers.
recently. He was picking the first spring flow
away his young dreams.
took
e
min
Maybe he was in love, a forgotten
says:
It is clearer to me now why my grandpa often
y mines planted there?”
man
so
“How will I work in the field, there are
g dream. It brings anxiety.
My grandpa’s question steals away my sprin
be so endlessly big and free.
If there were no mines, everything would
Night. Snowy, cold
and quiet. I’m in be
d and reading. Sudd
detonation, somew
here outside. All of
enly a
us in the house look
other, exchanging th
at
ea
oughts with our ey
ch
es. There is no voic
still in our hearts, so
e. The war is
uls, and in our mem
ory. Somebody says
probably an animal
: “Most
stepped on a mine
over there in the fie
continue to rest. An
ld”. We
d I’m thinking. Sprin
g will come soon,
full of temptation to
warm nights
go out for a walk. W
e have had enough
smoke-filled cafes.
of
But, where to go? M
ines are all around
fields, meadows, fo
us. Our
rests are most prob
ably covered with
that could probably
mines. And
ruin my life, or som
ebody else’s life, yo
love. I want to run
uth, beliefs,
through flowery fie
lds with my girlfrie
pick the first violet
nd, I want to
for her, to climb th
e trees in forests. I
the grass and watch
want to lie in
the sky for hours, I
want to dream. I’m
have somehow man
only 18. I
aged to survive this
dirty war. But, I won
whether I have real
der
ly survived. Should
all my life be perm
marked with the w
anently
ord “MINE”? Mines
are all around us. Th
placed warnings on
e enemy
every corner. Instead
of posters announci
concerts, sport com
ng rock
petitions or fashion
shows, my school
with posters “MISLI
is covered
MINE”. How long
will it last for? I w
freely, to be free, to
ant to walk
once and for all fo
rget the words: WAR
GER... MINE... FEAR
... DAN. I’m demanding, I’m
asking all those who
help to clear our m
can
eadows from mines
, replace them with
crickets, couples in
ants, rabbits,
love, children’s play
. Because, remembe
only one life in qu
r, it is not
estion, one arm or
a
le
g, but it is thousand
thousands of cases.
s and
That is why I’m aski
ng you to help us an
d Bosnia.
Essays by
Children of
Landmines
If there
were no
mines
Haseda Suljanovic - 7th grade
Srpska kostajnica
Republika Srpska
How to
live with
mines
Admir Mujkic IV/1
Secondary School
Velika Brijesnica
Doboj - East
III Award
Survive the Peace
39
Surviving Landmines
Essays by
Children of
Landmines
How mines
can ruin
my life
Nebojsa Djukanovic
6th Grade
Petrovo
The war is over. No more hissing of the shel
ls, strong detonations and
the sound of sirens that make your knees
weak and give you that sick
feeling in the stomach.
Freedom and games in the fields, that were
almost empty during the war,
are so great.
Life and struggle to survive go on. Most of
the families are familiar with
crisis and lack of money.
Marko was a fifth-grade pupil. His family
was faced with the same
problems. They had to work hard to survive.
Even the children had to
work.
That day, Marko went with his father to get
some firewood from the
forest, so that they could use it during the
winter. They had to wake up
early, because the forest was pretty remote.
The forest that was close to
their house had been cut down. The horse
kept stopping, and only the
smacking of the whip would keep it moving.
Traces of battles during the
war could still be seen as they passed by
trees with broken branches and
cuts. They found a convenient place to leav
e their cart. Soon, the sound
of a saw and an axe could be heard. Sweat
was soaking their clothes as
the pile of wood was becoming bigger. They
concluded that they had cut
enough wood. They put away their tools.
Father sat on a tree-stump and
enjoyed his cigarette. Marko brought the bag
with food.
While he waited for his father to finish his
cigarette, Marko saw a little
gray rabbit. Marko wanted to pet it. He care
fully stepped toward it, but
the rabbit quickly disappeared in the thin
fern. Marko ran after it. But the
rabbit was moving away quickly. He lead
the boy further and further.
Something exploded beneath his feet. “Is it
lightning or thunder?
What was it?”
He was sick with pain. Somebody called
his name.
“Is that my father’s voice?”
As if looking through the mist, he saw his
father’s fixed stare.
“Why is my father worried? Why is he cryin
g? I’ve never seen tears on
my father’s face.”
He was trying to tighten something around
Marko’s leg. There was blood
everywhere. Pain was becoming stronger.
The only sound was his father’s heavy breathing. And then, heavy dark
ness.
It has all been forgotten.
At the soccer match my attention is attracted
by a boy with crutches.
One leg of his trousers is hanging empty. My
heart trembled. It’s Marko.
40
Canadian Red Cross
Learning Activities
was badly damaged in the
Dervisa’s house on the outskirts of Sarajevo
18 August 1996, Dervisa
war. During a visit to the ruined house on
stepped on a blast mine.
was picking plums in the garden when she
ed to her rescue. Hearing
Neighbours who witnessed the accident rush
house at the time, told his
the explosion, her husband, who was in the
ed that way yesterday and
son: “Don’t worry; it isn’t your mother. I walk
there are no mines.”
scarf to her leg as a tourniquet
Fully conscious, Dervisa applied her head
lost my leg.” They rushed her
and shouted over to her neighbours, “I’ve
she received first aid. She was
by car to the nearest health centre where
hospital in Sarajevo, where she
then transferred by ambulance to Kosevo
arrival. Her lower leg was
was operated on within 20 minutes of her
closed and within two
amputated. After four days her wound was
er treatment, rehabilitation
weeks she left hospital. She received no furth
or therapy.
leg from a prosthetics company
In May 1997, Dervisa bought an artificial
months to get a prosthesis,
in Sarajevo. Having tried unsuccessfully for
a personal contact. However,
she was eventually promised one through
$US 1,200. Dervisa and her
it soon became clear that it would cost her
er colleagues to raise the
husband turned to friends, relatives and form
necessary funds.
first, she found it painful to
Her artificial leg has changed her life. At
live without it. She
wear, but now she declares that she couldn’t
doesn’t suffer from any
flashbacks or nightmares, but she does
have terrible phantom
pain in her leg when it
rains. At times, they
are so bad she cannot
stop crying.
Profile
of a mine
victim
Name: Dervisa Covic
Age: 51
Gender: Female
Status:
Civilian and displaced
person
Place of Injury:
Grivici,
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Prior to her accident,
Dervisa used to work a
lot in the garden and the
fields. Now she can no
longer participate. She
receives a disability
benefit of US$9 a month.
She feels strongly about
the use of mines in her
country; “They must all
be removed. I’ve been
injured but others
shouldn’t be. If I could, I
would pay deminers
myself to remove them all.”
Survive the Peace
41
Surviving Landmines
Global
Educator
Training
Purpose
To increase public awareness concerning the humanitarian crisis caused by
landmines throughout the world, and encourage involvement in ending the damage and suffering caused by these weapons
Objectives
Landmines
Public
Session
Session Outline
One-hour
Sample
By the end of the session, the participants should be able to:
n
n
identify the true human cost of landmines (social, economic and medical).
n
understand how to take some personal practical action towards ridding the
world of these weapons and assisting mine-affected people and communities.
recognize both the substantial steps being taken by the world community to
solve the problem and the significant challenges that we face right now.
Part I
Introduction
1.
2.
3.
10 Min.
Opening exercise
Introduction of presenter(s) and topic
Red Cross, International Humanitarian Law
and the landmines issue
Part II
Activities and Debriefing
40 Min.
Part III
Conclusion
10 Min.
1.
2.
3.
4.
1.
2.
Setting the Stage
Background Knowledge
The Real Human Cost
The Four-Step Solution
Taking Action
Closing remarks
( 5 min.)
(10 min.)
(15 min.)
(10 min.)
(7-8 min.)
(2-3 min.)
Facilitator Notes
Part I
Opening
Exercise
Introduction to
Session
Options:
• What would it be like? visualization exercise, Pg. 33
• Get to the Market village map activity, Pg. 24
• Every 22 Minutes scenario, Pg. 35
• I thought we could play here, Pg. 21
• Just try one morning, Pg. 23
• An Ordinary Day video vignette, Pg. 28
•
•
42
Canadian Red Cross
Introduction
Presenter background (What you do, your role with Red Cross / your
organization, your motivation)
Topic of session: Landmines and Survive the Peace
• we have made a lot of progress around the landmines issue
• this worldwide problem persists even after a conflict is over
Learning Activities
•
•
we could actually solve this problem in the next decade
this session will contain both the ‘bad’ and the ‘good’ news
Why is Red Cross [or your organization] involved in the landmines issue?
•
•
•
•
origins of Red Cross (assistance and protection, neutral intermediary)
Red Cross promotes Humanitarian Law / Geneva Conventions
• 2 laws concerning protection of civilians are violated by mines
1997 Global Ban Treaty
• recognized that treating victims alone wasn’t enough
• need to ban weapons first
• Red Cross took on role of advocate
part of international movement to end the suffering caused by landmines
Part II
•
•
Red Cross and
Landmines
Activities and Debriefing
Ask: “What can you tell me about landmines and the landmine problem?”
[NOTE: Although this sounds obvious, please ensure at the outset that
the audience knows what a landmine is ...]
The Landmine True or False Quiz (Pg.31) can be used to draw out the
group’s existing knowledge,while providing some basic facts.
Options:
Man-made Epidemic video (9 min.)
This video, available from the Red Cross, gives a solid overview of the
landmines issue and can also set up the next section. Be sure to provide a
gentle warning about the amputation scene.
•
Setting the Stage
Background
Knowledge
OR
•
Slide show (10 min.) [Available from many Red Cross offices.]
Follow the script provided with the slides (50), trying as much as possible to
make the script reading as ‘conversational’ as possible. Let the audience
know that the first 5-6 slides show some of the devastating impact of landmines
on the human body ... they can close their eyes or look away if they find it
too intense. But also let them know that these images also represent the need
for the world to do something now.
OR
•
An Ordinary Day video
The first three vignettes (5 min.) are sufficient. See page 28.
This is where we direct participants towards the examination of the full
consequences of landmines on individuals, families, communities and
nations.
• Ask them to work in groups to brainstorm these consequences under either
the medical, economic or social headings.
• In a class of 25-30 students, you could form six groups, two working on
each heading.
The Real Human
Cost
Survive the Peace
43
Surviving Landmines
The Real Human
Cost continued
•
Ask one group with Medical Consequences to give three items, then ask
the second group. Put these ideas on the board inside of a large oval. Then
move on to the Economic and Social Consequences in like manner.
See the An Ordinary Day video activity (Pg.28) for details – it is not necessary
to watch that particular video in order to do this activity. Enough knowledge
can be gained from either the Man-made Epidemic video or the Slide Show to
provide participants with fuel for this activity.
NOTE: One of the Every 22 Minutes scenarios could be inserted 22 minutes
into the session, and then again at 44 minutes (see Pg. 35)
The Four-step
Solution
•
“What SHOULD be done?”
Ask audience members, “Overlooking all obstacles for a moment, what
should be the human response to change and improve the situation
throughout the world?”
Some suggestions that will come up:
• stop producing mines
• raise money
• increase public awareness
• stop using mines
• broaden ban treaty
• help the victims
• punish violators
• clear the present mines • new demining technology
Draw a second oval outside of the one in the above exercise. In the outside
oval, write in the four steps i.e. Ban Treaty, Mine Clearance, Mine Awareness,
and Victim Assistance. Put one in each of the ‘north/south/east/west’ quadrants, as they will together address the problems identified in the previous
group exercise. The other items not included will likely come out during
Taking Action section of the Conclusion.
•
“What IS being done NOW?”
Now give the audience an update of these solutions as they are actually
being applied, building on the ideas they provided during the brainstorm
— and be certain to leave them with a clear sense of the four main actions
being taken:
Brief Details
1. the progress of the global ban treaty*
2. the demining activities and challenges
• At the present time, mine clearing operations are still happening
at a limited and slow pace.
• There is a major difference between humanitarian and military
demining.
• Not enough money, resources, and research and development
are being provided for these demining operations.
• Several humanitarian organizations as well as military forces are
assisting with mine clearance and training, respectively.
44
Canadian Red Cross
Learning Activities
3. assistance to victims, including:
• medical and rehabilitation services (including trauma recovery)
• economic reintegration
• social reintegration
4. mine awareness programs in mine-affected countries
*It is important to place the international response to landmines in a larger
context of humanitarian law:
the banning of other weapons in the past (exploding bullets, poison gases,
chemical weapons, biological weapons, blinding laser weapons) or in the
future (cluster bombs)
• the process to create an international criminal court (ICC) to prosecute
those who commit war crimes (genocide, crimes against humanity, rape,
violations of humanitarian law) – including the three current tribunals:
• former Yugoslavia (Croatia, Bosnia, Kosovo)
• Rwanda
• Sierra Leone
• the worldwide focus on protecting and assisting children affected by armed
conflict and banning the use of child soldiers
•
Part III
Conclusion
•
•
Ask the audience: “What can we do?”
Using handouts, talk about the options available for continued learning and
taking action to make a difference.
Taking Action
•
Encourage them to pick up any information sheets available or to contact the
local Red Cross office, or the Youth Mine Action Ambassador if there is one
in their area (at the Red Cross office or at another organization) if they need
information, want to volunteer, or want to help raise funds.
Closing
•
Options:
• The 2-minute video “How Landmines Have Ruined My Life, featuring an
essay and art work from Bosnian children, is very effective with high
school and adult audiences.
• Or, you could read out a brief segment from another of the children’s
essays included in the landmines package.
• Ask audience members to reflect what their life would be like if their
neighbourhood or community were mined and dangerous. Use places
familiar to the audience — a park, the school yard, a main street, a
nearby commercial area, and so on — in an effort to bring the issue
home.
• You could remind them that Sarajevo, Yugoslavia was a highly-developed
city, similar in some ways to Greater Vancouver. They hosted the 1984
Winter Olympics, but in the early 1990s Sarajevo was a battle ground,
full of landmines.
• Link back in some way to an opening activity or something during the
session that was meaningful.
Survive the Peace
45
Notes...
g
n
i
k
Ta
action
profile of a mine victim
...Her artificial leg has changed her life. At first, she found
it painful to wear, but now she declares that she couldn’t
live without it. She doesn’t suffer from any flashbacks or
nightmares, but she does have terrible phantom pain in her
leg when it rains. At times, they are so bad she cannot
stop crying.
Prior to her accident, Dervisa used to work a lot in the
garden and the fields. Now she can no longer participate.
She receives a disability benefit of US$9 a month. She
feels strongly about the use of mines in her country; “They
must all be removed. I’ve been injured but others shouldn’t
be. If I could, I would pay deminers myself to remove them
all.”...
Name: Dervisa Covic
Age: 51
Gender: Female
Status: Civilian and displaced person
Notes...
n
a
c
t
Wha I do?
The Need to Stay
Involved
The support of every Canadian will
be needed if the landmines crisis is to
be solved within a reasonable time.
Even if as of today, now, suddenly a
miracle happened and there are no
more new victims, there are still more
than 300,000 direct victims of
landmines since the mid-1980s and
millions of indirect victims (family members, communities, the educational system et. al.). The truth is that the
landmines crisis will be with us for a
long time to come.
We must maintain public interest
in the issue and public concern. In this
way, and in this way only, will a long
term solution be possible. Canadians
everywhere must ensure that their government and non-governmental organizations know how important the
landmine crisis is to them personally
and how important it is for Canada to
stay at the forefront of nations seeking
to find the most humane and rapid solutions to the crisis.
There are two basic approaches to
maintaining public interest. One approach is to ensure that landmine information is easily available to anyone
who wants it. Information on the
landmine issue is vast and changes rapidly. More nations sign and ratify the
treaty. The landmine situation improves
in one country but deteriorates in an-
other. New technologies are developed
and tested. It is not a static body of
knowledge. To make intelligent judgements about any and all aspects of the
issue, an individual has to stay abreast
of all the changes and developments.
The other approach is related to
the first. It means making a personal
commitment to educating and sensitizing others to the issue. This can be done
through schools, community organizations, or national and international organizations such as Red Cross, and participation in community landmine
events. Personal commitment here in
Canada translates into lives saved and
survivors helped in mine-affected countries. It’s that simple.
The list of ideas on the next pages
is intended to be a “starter” kit”, to
give the essence of what it means to be
committed to the solution of the
landmines crisis and to answer the question “What can you do to help?” Try
the activities, if you like them or have
suggestions for improvements, let us
know. We are more than happy to discuss them with you.
Taking Action
Contact the Red Cross
office nearest you for
more information about
landmines and for help in
organizing school and
community educational
and fundraising projects.
We’re happy to help in any
way we can.
Survive the Peace
49
Ideas&
Action
get more
info
organize an
awareness
event
raise money
volunteer
Find out more information on the
landmines issue (see the section on
Recommended Learning Resources).
It can help you navigate your way
through the very complex body of
landmine information and answer
your questions.
Organize a larger landmines awareness event in your school. This could
involve several classes, or it could
even be made available to the entire
school. Contact your local Red Cross
for help or the Youth Mine Action
Ambassador in your area.
Get involved in raising funds for
operations in mine-affected countries
and communities: Red Cross
Landmine Survivors Fund provides
medical and rehabilitation services
and mine awareness programs. Many
good ideas exist already in schools,
but a favourite over the years has
been the Starve-a-Thon, or 24-Hour
Famine activity.
Join or start a Red Cross or global
issues club at your school. Get involved with other students who are
committed to social justice and
development. Contact your local Red
Cross office (see addresses on last
page) to become a volunteer in their
landmine campaign activities.
write to the
government
Write to government and elected
representatives. Canada has taken a
leadership role on the landmines
issue, and our government is to be
congratulated. Government officials
probably do not receive many letters
of congratulations, so they would be
noticed. But you can also write to
encourage Canada’s on-going funding
of urgently needed mine clearance
and victim treatment and rehabilitation worldwide.
You can write to the Minister of
Foreign Affairs, to your Member of
Parliament in Ottawa, or to the local
constituency office in your riding. No
postage is necessary if your letter is
addressed to: House of Commons,
Ottawa ON K1A 0A6.
contact the
media
Consider contacting all local media
sources regarding events you are
holding around this issue.
You could also write letters to the
editor, contribute essays or even any
artwork or posters for possible publication in your local newspaper. Share
your knowledge, ideas and concerns.
You’ll find more information
on the landmines issue in
Recommended Learning
Resources (page 50). It can
help you navigate your way
through the
very complex body
of landmine
information.
boom!
For high schools, consider staging the play Boom, which was commissioned by the
Canadian Red Cross in 1997 as a tangible way for young Canadians to become involved in the solution to the global landmine problem. It is both an educational and
fundraising activity that allows youth to contribute to Red Cross humanitarian programs all over the world that help thousands of landmine victims to rebuild their lives.
Boom is a fifty-minute play, with music, designed to be performed by young people
with a cast of anywhere from six to twenty actors. It addresses the important humanitarian issue of landmines from the perspective of a friendship between two young
people — a Canadian teenager and a Croatian teenager. Contact a Red Cross office
for the Boom Kit containing the script and the production notes.
support the
youth
mine
ambassador
program
Support and volunteer for the Youth Mine Action Ambassador Program. The cosponsors of the project are the Department of Foreign Affairs, Mines Action Canada
and the Canadian Red Cross. Each year, there are up to 12 Youth Ambassadors
working in many cities across Canada. They can come to your school to give a
presentation to your students or help in organizing a school or community-based
event. In addition, the Youth Ambassadors have a series of planned events throughout the year:
n
Celebrations on December 3 (anniversary of the signing of the Ottawa Treaty) and Canadian
Landmine Awareness Week around March (anniversary of the entry into force of the Treaty).
n
The Regional Youth Conference for secondary and university-aged students is a chance to
come together and get the latest information and programs from the experts.
n
Various education forums, media events, and special events to raise both awareness and
funds throughout the year (sometimes including a Dance Without Fear event).
n
For more information about how to reach the Youth Ambassador nearest you, contact the
National Office of the Youth Mine Action Ambassador Program (YMAAP) at (613) 241-4141 or
Fax (613) 244-3410 or e-mail: [email protected].
The Canadian Red Cross supports three overseas Mine Action projects and more may soon be developed:
Tajikistan...The reconstruction and re-equipping of the only orthopedic centre in the country located in the capital, Dushanbe, the
Centre is completely financed by the Canadian Red Cross and a private donor. By the year 2000, it will be able to provide
service to the estimated 3,000 amputees in the country.
Nicaragua...The Canadian Red Cross has already purchased an emergency response vehicle — an ambulance — to be used to
back-up the work of the country’s deminers and has provided funds for the “Nino a Nino” mine awareness campaign. Expansion
of the project in the future may focus on providing long term assistance to the country’s amputees at the orthopedic centre in
Managua.
Mozambique...Through a partnership with the Mozambique Red Cross and working in collaboration with the Spanish and
Swedish Red Cross Societies, this project will locate individual mine victims in two provinces, conduct a personalized needs
assessment, arrange for transportation to and from an orthopedic centre and provide support to the patient and his family while
he/she is in the centre.
Recommended
Landmine
Learning
Resources
WEB SITES
These are only a few of
the hundreds of
landmine Web Sites now
available
Need to find out more about an aspect of the landmine crisis? Trying to answer
a tough question from a class, or a student, friend, colleague or family member?
Developing visual materials for a display and need the latest landmine information? Want to become a landmine expert? If yes to any of the above, then go no
further. The landmine literature is incredibly rich and varied. The resources listed
here are readily available from Red Cross offices, Youth Mine Ambassadors or
from the Internet and represent only a small fraction of what’s available.
Survive the Peace
Materials
n
Canadian Red Cross
www.redcross.ca
ICRC: www.icrc.org
Mines Action Canada
www.minesactioncanada.com
International Campaign
to Ban Landmines
www.icbl.org
Department of Foreign
Affairs SAFELANE
www.mines.gc.ca
NO COST 19" x 24" poster, newsletter, 50 page Campaign Education and
Community Involvement Kit, postcards, promotional stickers, magnets,
magnetic bookmarks, tacky notes and
Boom!/Pick Me Up coasters. Contact
Red Cross for samples.
the world. Various editors, available
from Mines Action Canada at 613241-3777
Videos from the ICRC
Available in French and English
n
Publications
n
From the International Committee of
the Red Cross:
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
ICRC Special Appeal “Assistance for
Mine Victim”
Overview 1999: Landmines Must Be
Stopped
Banning Anti-personnel Mines: the
Ottawa Treaty Explained
Anti-personnel Landmines:
Friend or Foe?
The Silent Menace, Landmines in
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Assistance for Victims of Anti-personnel Mines...Needs, Constraints and
Strategy
n
n
n
n
Other Videos
n
From Foreign Affairs:
n
“Safelane” (quarterly periodical)
Books
n
n
“To Walk Without Fear” The Global
Movement to Ban Landmines
M. Cameron, R. Lawson and B.
Tomlin, editors, (Toronto: 1998,
Oxford University Press)
“Landmine Monitor Report" Annual
survey of the landmine situation and
treaty compliance in every country of
Cambodia: Moonwalking, 8 min.,
British mine victim Chris Moon looks
at the ICRC prosthetic program in
Cambodia
Frontline Boys, 7 min., the lives of
teenagers in mine invested Bosnia
A Man Made Epidemic, 10 min., a war
surgeon describes the horrible effects
of mines
Danger: Mines, 8 min., mines in
Southern Africa
Azerbaijan: Seeds of Death, 12 min.,
1996
Landmines in Cambodia, 15 min.,
mine situation in Cambodia
An Ordinary Day, 10 min., the
landmine crisis set in the context of
International Humanitarian Law
n
From Foreign Affairs: In Years, Not
Decades, 7 min., and One Step at a
Time, 24 min., a quick survey of the
process that led to the Ottawa Treaty
in two different lengths.
From the National Film Board: Than
in the Invisible War, 52 min., the story
of a landmine survivor, a Cambodian
woman and her struggle to rebuild her
life.
CD-Roms
n
Ban Landmines (Foreign Affairs)
Canadian Red Cross Offices
WESTERN ZONE
SASKATCHEWAN
Zone Office
Calgary, Alberta
Tel: (403) 205-3448
Fax : (403) 205-3463
Southern Region
Regina, Saskatchewan
Tel: (306) 721-1600
Fax: (306) 721-1601
Metropolitan Toronto Region
Toronto, Ontario
Tel: (416) 480-2500
Fax: (416) 480-2777
Zone Office
Saint John, New Brunswick
Tel: (506) 674-6200
Fax: (506) 674-6170
BRITISH COLUMBIA
North Central Region
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Tel: (306) 668-0720
Fax: (306) 668-0722
Northern Region
Sudbury, Ontario
Tel: (705) 525-1244
Fax: (705) 525-0778
Saint John District Office
New Brunswick Region
Saint John, New Brunswick
Tel: (506) 674-6132
Fax: (506) 674-6129
Northern/Central
Saskatchewan Region
Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
Tel: (306) 765-2600
Fax: (306) 953-8381
Central Lakes Region
Oshawa, Ontario
Tel: (905) 723-2933
Fax: (905) 723-9023
Lower Mainland Region
Vancouver, British Columbia
Tel: (604) 709 -6600
Fax: (604) 709-6675
Northern B.C./Yukon Region
Prince George, British Columbia
Tel: (250) 564-6566
Fax: (250) 564-2688
Southern Interior Office
Kootenay/Thompson/
Okanagan Region
Kelowna, British Columbia
Tel: (250) 763-1859
Fax (250) 763-6131
Coastal Region
Victoria, British Columbia
Tel: (250) 382-2043
Fax: (250) 382-3420
MANITOBA
Western Region Office
Brandon, Manitoba
Tel: (204) 729-4974
Fax: (204) 727-0349
Winnipeg/N.E. Region
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Tel: (204) 982-7330
Fax: (204) 942-8367
ONTARIO ZONE
ALBERTA
Southern Region
Calgary, Alberta
Tel: (403) 541-6100
Fax: (403) 541-6129
Northern Central Region
Edmonton, Alberta
Tel: (780) 423-2680
Fax:(780) 428-7092
Zone Office
Mississauga, Ontario
Tel: (905) 890-1000
Fax: (905) 890-1008
Southwestern Region
London, Ontario,
Tel: (519) 668-2711
Fax: (519) 668-2390
West Central Region
Hamilton, Ontario
Tel: (905) 522-6885
Fax: (905) 522-2329
ATLANTIC ZONE
Eastern Region
Ottawa, Ontario
Tel: (613) 560-7220
Fax: (613) 657-6987
Nova Scotia Region
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Tel: (902) 423-3680
Fax: (902) 422-6247
P.E.I. Region
Charlottetown, P.E.I.
Tel: (902) 628-6262
Fax: (902) 368-3037
QUEBEC ZONE
Zone Office
Ile-des-Soeurs, Quebec
Tel: (514) 362-2929
Fax: (514) 362-9991
Grand-Montréal/Estrie/
Outaouais/AbitibiTémiscamingue Region
Île des Soeurs, Quebec
Tel: (514) 362-2929
Fax: (514) 362-9991
Saguenay/Lac Saint-Jean/
Chibougamau/
North Chapais Region
Chicoutimi, Quebec
Tel: (418) 690-3909
Fax: (418) 690-3908
Quebec Region
Quebec, Quebec
Tel: (418) 648-9066
Fax: (418) 648-1320
Nfld./Labrador Region
St. John’s, Newfoundland
Tel: (709) 758-8400
Fax: (709) 758-8417
NATIONAL OFFICE
Gloucester, Ontario
Tel: (613) 740-1900
Fax: (613) 740-1911
Surviving Landmines
54
Canadian Red Cross