History of the Landmine

Modern landmines are said to have first found their way into major use during World War II. Specialized explosives designed to destroy primarily tanks were laid underground, and these devices were termed anti-tank mines or AT’s. Approximately 300,000,000 mines were deployed during this war, and with the awareness that they could often be possibly removed or defused by the opponent, smaller anti-personnel mines, or AP’s were deployed amongst the AT devices to serve as an additional deterrent. ⁽¹⁾

The name “mine” likely originates from the earlier historical concept of using engineers and diggers to place explosives underground, setting them off as troops passed over. These underground killers serve a number of tactical purposes in combat operations. Among these include the basic idea of slowing, harassing or terrorizing land forces as well as directing an enemy to a particular direction or providing for defense across vast areas too large to station numerous troops. Today numerous and difficult to detect anti-personnel mines lay hidden on our planet waiting for an innocent person to unintentionally trigger them. ⁽²⁾

Landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) are among what is known as ERW or the Explosive Remnants of War. They are considered particularly abhorrent in the indiscriminate destruction that they cause. As the author of this blog post I must report that I maintain a small but highly significant level of expertise in very specific aspects of ERW. However, ridding the world of landmines has become a major challenge in which many thousands of individuals from all over the world have been fighting to overcome. I will reference a variety of these actors in this brief article (which is by no means exhaustive) but meant to serve as an introduction to one of many major public health problems that threaten us today. Though diseases such as Diabetes are possibly more destructive in terms of numbers affected, most of us still enjoy the option of choosing water over sugary soft drinks – but the situation with landmines is different. I feel that they serve as a cruel message to mostly poor and powerless people. A message stating: “Welcome to your new world, a world of violence, where you can expect to be in constant fear in your own home from a threat you will be given little insight into – your resistance is futile.” This theme take many forms in our world and should cease. Landmine elimination is therefore no exception.

Ground Truths

Landmines and UXO remain active and viable threats for decades after the cessation of conflict. Every year about 800 people are killed and 1200 maimed by landmines – 90% are civilians, and at least 300,000,000 mines remain unexploded today – a number close to the original amount deployed in the 1930′s and 40′s. ^(3,4) In Iran for example a specific 10,000 acre area has been identified as containing 16,000,000 landmines.⁽⁵⁾ Though they are all designed to maim or kill the passer-by who triggers them, they can all be designed somewhat differently and hence divided into four major categories: Blast, Fragmentation, Directional Fragmentation and Bounding varieties. An example of a few models is assembled in the image below.

They are often scattered in dense minefields and can be triggered by various predetermined levels of heat, pressure, time or tripwire. AP mines can range in weight from three ounces to perhaps five pounds. They may be composed of plastic, ceramics and/or specialized metallic materials which make them virtually undetectable by conventional means. ^(6,7,8) They come in many shapes, sizes and colors and can have an inconsistent appearance due to weathering and rust. ⁽⁹⁾

Medical Issues

Many hundreds of injured people receive below the knee (BTK) amputations as a result of traumatic injuries inflicted while working in their own communities. People most often have instant amputations, limb penetrating injuries, frequently involving fracture or destruction to the tibia, calcaneus or femur and often accompanied by torso-penetrating injuries and pneumothorax. Patterns of Injury have been proposed and divided into three categories.⁽¹⁰⁾

In Pattern One Injury there is traumatic amputation of a limb or limbs, often from Blast-type mines which destroy all of the foot (or feet) and part of the leg. The resulting damage also tends to impregnate soil, clothing and vegetation into the wound which often requires further amputation or debridement.

Pattern Two Injury is characterized by a multiple laceration pattern, usually via explosive projectiles from UXO or Fragmentation-type mines. The nature of this ordnance often results in instant death based on proximity to explosion by default.

Pattern Three Injury relates to the upper body and results in amputation of hand or hands as well as damage to head, face and chest. This type is frequently associated with the inappropriate handling of ERW.

A large majority of victims are children, most of whom die before receiving emergency care. Children have small bodies that are close to the source of explosion and cannot withstand the impact. They are often far from home during the trauma and sometimes not found by others until considerable time has passed. The regions of the world afflicted tend not to have the acute care facilities necessary to handle the complicated injuries, and the long-term rehabilitation needs also often go unmet. It has been noted that the growth of childrens’ bones which outpaces that of soft tissue results in the need for numerous surgical interventions over a period of years and hence additional levels of vulnerability are added to the disastrous picture including: the need for blood, the prevention of infection, the application of prosthetic devices and support for the family. ⁽¹¹⁾

Personal Accounts

“A girl at the back of the bombed-out classroom was busy examining her newly-fitted artificial leg. One boy had lost his right hand and left eye and was showing a dummy landmine to his classmates….When I think of Afghanistan now there are no romantic visions of a fiercely proud nation, the mysterious Khyber Pass or the historic defeat of the British Empire or the Soviet Union. The images that remain are of children clearing mines an arm and a leg at a time, without limbs, without hope and without a future.” ⁽¹²⁾

“After the explosion, I first remember seeing a foot lying on the floorboard of the car. I remember thinking: ‘Is it mine?’ It was. It was my right foot. I remember that I kept trying to put it back on, but it kept falling off. Then I looked at my left foot. The top part was ripped off and I could see bones going to my toes, one of which was missing. - Ken Rutherford ⁽¹³⁾

We earn the living by collecting firewood with 20-40 bahts a day (less than $ 1). I stepped on a landmine at 9.30 AM on February 25, 2003. After collecting the firewood with my husband and four other villagers, I was 200 m away from my house. At that time I was three month pregnant. The blast destroyed my both legs, and tossed my body one meter high up before falling down on my bottoms. I was brought by motorbike to the district health center in Poipet for first aid. The health center charged me 300 bahts ($ 8), but we could not afford to pay it because we are so poor. Luckily an international NGO car passed by and brought me to the provincial hospital in Mongkul Borey, 57 km from Poipet. At 12.00 I arrived at the hospital, but the doctors did not treat me right away because we could not pay the charge of 5300 bahts ($ 123) for the amputation.

One and half hour later, they amputated my both legs below knees after my husband promised them to pay the bill. He tried to borrow money from the neighbors, and was able to collect 3300 bahts only ($ 80). I stay in the hospital for 17 days. Even though my wound had not been healed completely, I went home because I was not happy with the treatment. On August 7, 2003, I delivered a healthy boy baby, which my husband gave him a name Nhim Meun. – Yan Lay ⁽¹⁴⁾

Action Against Mines

One of the obviously necessary actions includes mine clearance or “de-mining”.⁽¹⁵⁾ Though sometimes performed by the military, this slow, expensive and not entirely comprehensive process is often performed by humanitarian agencies for the purpose of protecting civilians. It can take 100 times longer to remove a mine than to place one, and though the cost of manufacturing one mine might be as low as $3, the final removal cost of perhaps $1000 per unit is not uncommon. ⁽¹⁶⁾

The president of Mozambique stated, ” In view of the three generations of landmines implanted in our territory. . . my people live in uncertainty and permanent fear, which prevent them from effectively using vast areas of arable land. . . .Demining and destruction currently take place at the pace of only 11,000 per year, thus requiring approximately 160 years to clear all of them.” ⁽¹⁷⁾

Whether performed by military de-miners or engineers operating in a civilian capacity, UXO and landmines are discreet entities and are indeed treated differently in terms of clearance. Different burial scenarios, ordnance configurations and safety precautions as well as detecting technologies and environmental remediation considerations exist between these two categories of ERW. ⁽¹⁸⁾ Though there is a benefit to separating these two strategies for the purposes of clearance methods, my personal concern is that while the military may take a more active role in remediating UXO, the problem of landmines may become the sole “responsibility” of the humanitarian agencies. Thankfully, these organizations are aware of not only the mortality and morbidity caused by landmines, but also the loss of usable land, access to infrastructure and decreased productivity that is associated with landmine infested regions. They have been so far willing to provide support accordingly. ⁽¹⁹⁾

The Work Process

The tedious mission of removing landmines begins with education of the public and training of specialized personnel. The Cambodia Landmine Museum has become an interesting point of focus in terms of public education. They not only provide information for rural inhabitants and tourists but also aid de-miners, victims and their families by providing a home and school. Their goal is total landmine and UXO removal in Cambodia.

The steps involved in clearing land require a great deal of time as well. Surveying must be performed, a process which then designates areas of highest risk to be dealt with first. Ground vegetation must be carefully cleared and de-miners must use specialized sensing equipment, sometimes employing dogs or rats as aids in the detection process. Eventually the items are deactivated, removed and destroyed.

It has been stated by The World Bank that operations in Afghanistan had to the year 2002 been rewarding – One U.S. dollar provided for $4.60 in economic returns. In addition, a cleared square kilometer provided for $2000 of grazing land while 50 straight kilometers of roads cleared allowed for $250,000 in economic benefit. The mine clearance activities until that time allowed for 1,500,000 refugees to return to previously abandoned regions. The international anti-mine community continues to work in order to not only clear mines but to support survivors and prevent the manufacturing of new anti-personnel weapons.

The Antipersonnel Mine Ban Convention

In 1999 an international movement led to what is known as The Ottawa Convention, an international ban on landmines with a goal of providing for worldwide clearance and a cessation to production and destruction of current stockpiles.

While over 100 countries agreed to the treaty, many including The United States, China, India, Iran, Israel, North & South Koreas, Nepal, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates have not. It has been suggested that defensive barriers between the Koreas are a major sticking point for some of the aforementioned, non-signatory states. Other sources of information may be found at:

-ADOPT-A-MINEFIELD at: www.landmines.org

-INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO BAN LANDMINES at: www.icbl.org

-CLEAR LANDMINES FOR FREE at: www.clearlandmines.com

-E-MINE: ELECTRONIC MINE INFORMATION NETWORK at: www.mineaction.org

See the Film clips under the “Environment” Tab.

CITATIONS

(1) Cluster Bombs, Landmines, Nuclear Weapons and Depleted Uranium Weapons. A report on the financial links between banks and the producers of controversial weapon systems. April 2004 This report is part of the campaign ‘My Money. Clear Conscience?’ A campaign of Netwerk Vlaanderen vzw, in cooperation with Forum voor Vredesactie, For Mother Earth and Vrede vzw

(2) Landmines Policy. ADOPTED 1993, REVISED AND RE-ENDORSED IN 1997, 2001, 2004, 2005 AND 2008. Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Public Health Association of Australia.

(3) Operations. Hidden killers: the global landmine crisis. Washington, DC: US Department of State, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs; 1994.

(4) International Committee of the Red Cross. Antipersonnel mines: an overview 1996. Geneva, Switzerland: International Committee of the Red Cross; 1996.

(5) Amputations Due to Landmine and Unexploded Ordnances in Post-war Iran. A. Soroush et al. Arch Iranian Med 2008; 11 (6): 595 – 597

(6) INCLUSIVE SECURITY, SUSTAINABLE PEACE: A TOOLKIT FOR ADVOCACY AND ACTION © Hunt Alternatives Fund and International Alert 2004.

(7) Landmine Monitor Report 2003: Toward a Mine-Free World. Washington, DC: International Campaign to Ban Landmines, 2003. 4 September 2004

(8) Landmines and Human Security: International Politics and War’s Hidden Legacy. Edited by Richard A. Matthew, Bryan L. McDonald and Kenneth R. Rutherford. State University of New York Press.

(9) Cleanup of Chemical and Explosive Munitions: Locating, Identifying the contaminants, and Planning for Environmental Cleanup of Land and Sea Military Ranges and Dumpsites. Richard Albright. William Andrew Publisher 2008.

(10) Understanding Landmines and Mine Action. September 2003 Prepared by Robert Keeley. minesactioncanada.org

(11) Green Teacher, #69, Fall 2002.

(12) Posted in: Free the Children International/Youth Ambassadors for Peace Project. United Nations Office of the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict. Jonathan White.

(13) Story of Ken Rutherford, co-founder of LSN Landmine Survivors Network

(14) Story of Yan Lay, posted in: Jesuit Service Cambodia, http://www.jrscambodia.org/index.html

(15) UN International Guidelines for Landmine and Unexploded Ordnance Awareness Education

(16) Machel, Graca. Impact of Armed Conflict on Children. New York: UN, 1996. 4 August 2004

(17) Statement by the President of the Republic at the Opening of the First Meeting of States Parties to the Ottawa Convention, May 3, 1999, Maputo, Mozambique.

(18) The Leading Edge, 16 (10), p. 1460.

(19) UN MINE ACTION SERVICE at www.mineactionstandards.org