The definition of a land mine, can be defined, as a device designed to kill or maim the person who triggers it. In other words, whether you"re one of the 87% of soldiers in Cambodia, or, one of the 30% of innocent women and children who are killed on average by land mines land mines kill who ever when ever. Something that can cost less than five American dollars to produce your average AP (antipersonnel mine), is generally small in diameter, frequently less than 10 centimeters across, and is difficult to detect. In some cases, the color and shape of the mine help to camouflage it so that it becomes virtually invisible at a glance. The fact that experts say there are around 60-70 million of these killers scattered throughout 60 countries all over the world is a scary thought. .
Although the civil war in Angola is over, on average 120 people are killed a month there due to land mines. Afghanistan, Angola, Cambodia, Iraq, and Laos are of the top five countries affected by land mines day in and day out. These people must watch every step in order to survive a daily routine where for there very next step could be there last. Bosnia, Croatia, Georgia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Somalia, Sri Lanka, and Sudan are also badly mine fertile countries that are known to have very bad problems with land mines. The vast majority of casualties are men, often soldiers. For instance, 87% in Cambodia and 76% in Afghanistan are men. However, in some countries women and children account for over 30%. In some cases, the overwhelming number of casualties have been civilians, this often coincides with a period of refugee return to heavily mined areas. In Namibia 88% of post-1980 casualties were civilians, in Mozambique (1994) 68%, and in Georgia (1994-95) 80% were civilians. Children can be undercounted as it is estimated that 85% die before reaching a hospital. In one instance, refugees returned to Hargeisa in northern Somalia in 1991, 75% of mine victims were children, whose natural playfulness, herding and wood-gathering occupations put them at greater risk.