Educating families on landmine awareness at times seems fruitless, when faced with the .
fact that thousands of innocent civilians are maimed or killed each year, and half of the .
children in your classroom are amputees. In following paragraphs, you will learn why.
our world is faced with this problem which stems from an unfortunate by-product of civil.
unrest and war.
To help understand the problem, we will discuss what a landmine is, and the danger it .
imposes. An anti-personnel landmine defined in layman's terms is a small explosive .
device placed under the surface of the earth, triggered to explode upon intimate contact .
with a person. Landmines are designed primarily to deny access to land and it's.
resources, causing deprivation and social problems among the affected populations. The .
medical, social, and economic consequences are immense.
The issue with landmines in the world today is much more widespread than most people .
realize. By most recent estimates, there are over 100 million landmines in more than 68 .
countries around the world. Used for a variety of purposes, the assumed abandonment of .
these small deadly devices is by no accident. A typical situation is one where a military .
convoy uses landmines to create a secure perimeter during an overnight bivouac, and then .
leave the mines the following day, to be used again at a later time. Mines are inexpensive .
and an effective deterrent against rival armies, therefore they are plentiful. Another .
reason for the "abandoned" mines is that it is much safer to place a landmine, than to .
recover one. Records and maps are not kept to show exactly where the mines are laid. .
This fact poses serious challenges for the success of the recovery and reclamation .
effort which we will discuss later.
Adverse social and economical symptoms abound within the affected countries. .
Land once used for agricultural purposes is left unworkable.