Demining - a difficult process

A land mine is an explosive device placed in the ground to explode when triggered by an operator or in the proximity of a vehicle, person, or animal. They are used to secure disputed borders or to curtail enemy movement in times of war. Land mines remain dangerous because even after the conflict it could kill and injure civilians and restrict the use of the lands.

The purpose of observing an International Day for Mine Awareness is to insist on the importance of eliminating land mines and explosive remnants of war globally and to draw the public and the donor support to this cause.

Most affected countries are dependent on the developed countries to implement these programmes until they possess the capacity to address this problem on their own.

July, August and September are the most dangerous months in Sri Lanka for land mine injuries. The farmers during these months return to their fields to harvest crops and plant new ones and the possibilities of getting caught to these mines stand high during this period. Tens of thousands of displaced people in Sri Lanka’s north and east are unable to return home and cultivate their lands due to this crisis.

The United Nations Children’s Fund - UNICEF is on a campaign to educate farmers in Sri Lanka’s north and east, where tens of thousands of land mines were laid during the nation’s 20 years of civil war.

In Sri Lanka, statistics show people between the ages of 20 and 45 are the most likely to be injured by land mines.

When they are disabled, they become a burden to the country’s economy, requiring assistance instead of contributing to the country’s growth.

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Mine clearance in Sri Lanka

Currently there are three main approaches to humanitarian mine clearance in Sri Lanka:

* Manual clearance - an effective, but slow process.

* Manual clearance with support of mine-detecting dogs - a good method, but very difficult in some areas, because the dogs can become confused if they smell explosives coming from several sources at once.

* Mechanical clearance - the fastest method, but less effective.

The speed of manual demining is approximately 25 square meters (30 square yards) per hour. Using explosive-detecting dogs is also a rather difficult process because the effectiveness of the dogs depends entirely on their level of training and the skill of their handlers.

The other most important factor concerning demining efforts in Sri Lanka, after speed and efficiency, is the factors that affect the costs of manual demining and mechanical mine clearance.

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Worldwide Land mine Crisis

Every 30 minutes someone steps on a land mine, shattering another family’s world. With a terrible blast, a child is killed, a fieldworker is maimed, and a family is devastated.

* It costs $3 to $10 to lay a land mine - $1,000 to remove it.

* Land mines have killed more people than nuclear, chemical and biological weapons combined.

* There are an estimated 15,000 new casualties from land mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) each year. That’s 288 victims per week, 41 per day, 2 per hour.

* Over 70 per cent of land mine victims are civilians. Nearly one-third are children. Over 50% of mine victims die.

* There are an estimated 240 million antipersonnel mines stockpiled in the arsenals of nearly 100 countries.