Princess Diana wore a Halo Trust bulletproof jacket during a visit to a landmine field in Huambo, Angola, in January 1997. File photo by JOSE MANUAL RIBEIRO.
Posted on 02/20/2006 3:22:01 PM PST by Libloather
Texas Students Join Fight Against Landmines in Cambodia
Thu Feb 9, 10:56 AM ET
To: State and Assignment Desks
Contact: Kathi McGuire of People to People International, 972-359-8807 or ptpi-l.i.f.e@comcast.net; Web: http://www.ptpi.org
Princess Diana wore a Halo Trust bulletproof jacket during a visit to a landmine field in Huambo, Angola, in January 1997. File photo by JOSE MANUAL RIBEIRO.
ALLEN, Texas, Feb. 9 /U.S. Newswire/ -- In a country slightly smaller than the state of Oklahoma, millions of citizens face a daily threat of death or serious injury from a weapon that is impossible to see. An average of 850 victims, most of them innocent civilians, are killed or maimed each year by landmines that lie hidden under the soil throughout Cambodia. A growing demand for land has led to a steady migration of rural poor into the northwest regions of the country. The poorest members of society are forced to earn their livelihoods working in known minefields.
The young members of People to People International LIFE Student Chapter recognize the importance of taking an active step to help improve the landmine situation in Cambodia. On Saturday, February 18, 2006, the LIFE Chapter is hosting a briefing by the HALO Trust, the world's foremost landmine clearance organization. Kurt Chesko, Program Officer for the HALO Trust, will speak about his experiences in Cambodia, sharing photographs and conducting a demonstration of the mine clearance process.
The HALO Trust, championed by the late Diana, Princess of Wales, is a non-political, non-religious, non-profit based in New York City. HALO Cambodia began demining in 1992 and now employ a Cambodian staff of 1,100. HALO's operations provide much-needed employment opportunities for the citizens of Cambodia. A deminer's salary is typically enough to support 12 members of their extended family.
The PTPI-LIFE Student Chapter is raising funds for a project that will clear landmines from the Kouk Romiet Commune in northwest Cambodia over a one-year period. The total cost of the project is $85,000 with up to half of those funds matched by the U.S. Department of State's Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, the world's leading supporter of mine action. A field visit to witness the benefits of the project is possible, provided that adequate arrangements are made with HALO in advance.
This event will take place on Saturday, Feb. 18 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at John Paul II High School, 900 Coit Road, Plano, Texas. For more information, visit http://www.ptpi-lifechapter.org.
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President Dwight D. Eisenhower founded People to People International in 1956 to advance international understanding, tolerance and world peace through direct people-to-people contacts. Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., USA, People to People International has a presence in over 125 countries with more than 80,000 people actively participating in PTPI programs. For more information, please visit us at http://www.ptpi.org.
PHNOM PENH, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Cambodia, one of the world's most heavily mined countries, is sending 130 soldiers to help clear landmines in war-torn Sudan, defence officials said on Friday.
"It is time for us to help others. We will save some lives in Sudan by clearing mines," Major-General Sem Sovanny told Reuters from the port of Sihanoukville as he supervised the loading of equipment.
Cambodia, where three decades of civil war ended in 1998, has destroyed an estimated 1.6 million landmines in the past 10 years. But nearly 6 million remain and are responsible for hundreds of deaths and injuries every year.
Its first demining team should arrive in Sudan by the end of this month and the last by mid-April, Sem Sovanny said.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/BKK286843.htm
I saw a machine on the discovery channel today that smashed the ground with chains and exploded land mines. It was freaking awesome. There is no need anymore for people to do this dangerous task.
It probably depends on how rough the terrain is.
"There is no need anymore for people to do this dangerous task."
They don't work in wooded or similiarly "tight" areas.
(Unless you want to get rid of entire forests, too.)
What about a remote controlled flailer, much like a rototiller? Seems to me that might get the job done.
Lots of technical problems.
People intentionally lay mines where there hard to get to by mechanical methods --- by walls, stumps, big rocks, etc.
Spreading fear and causing mayhem is pretty much the point.
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