Ethiopia, donors step up efforts to rid the country of land mines
May 4, 2006 (SHAMBKO, Ethiopia) — Amere Arega walked gingerly across the cracked earth along the tense border between Ethiopia and Eritrea, searching for unexploded land mines — a legacy of conflicts that have ravaged the Horn of Africa for the past 70 years.
Amere is part of an increased effort by donor agencies, the European Union and others to de-mine the area. The process could open up farmland and water sources that mines have blocked for years in this impoverished region.
“I am serving my country by clearing these fields of mines,” said Amere, who trained for 10 months before he and his mine-sniffing dog, Ice, combed the ground in a mine field near Shambko in West Tigray, 35 kilometers (about 22 miles) from Eritrea.
Land mines kill up to 20,000 people annually, most in developing countries, the United Nations reported. According to the most recent figures, deaths and injuries from land mines have decreased from 26,000 a year in the late 1990s.
The devices come in a chillingly ingenious variety. Anti-personnel mines can blow off a foot or a leg. Bounding mines jump up to four feet (more than a meter) before exploding, often leaving the victim in pieces. Anti-tank mines can rip apart an armored vehicle.
“We have found mostly anti-personnel mines here, but we do find anti-tank mines as well,” said Tesfay Abraham, a training instructor for the Ethiopian Mine Action Office. The group also has found bullet fragments from World War II and unexploded aircraft bombs.
Despite the danger, around 1.9 million still people wander this baked but beautiful border region, often attempting to till hard-as-rock dirt to grow food or find water for livestock.
“There have been areas that have been problems for a long time. We will be operating here for another three years and then hopefully the land will be of good use again,” said EMAO Director Gebre Selassie.
The process has gotten a boost from a recent US$10 million (A8 million) donation from the European Union to maintain de-mining operations in Ethiopia. The non-governmental organization Norwegian People’s Aid has been working with EMAO to train Ethiopian dog handlers like Amere. The groups hope to have 20 handlers trained by the end of 2007.
“I was very eager to join and now I am very satisfied because not only am I employed, but Ice and I get along very good,” Amere said.
Detecting land mines is delicate, dangerous work. Dogs can detect mines by the smell of the explosives. Then technicians insert a probe until it just touches the mine.
The dog-sniffing method _ and even one that uses electronic devices to detect metal _ are outdated in comparison to infrared sensors and impulse radar being used in Afghanistan and Sudan. But the newer methods can be significantly more expensive.
Despite the increased de-mining activity, some observers are concerned that new mines could be laid, particularly in Ethiopia and Eritrea, which some fear could go to war again.
Eritrea gained independence in 1993, but its 621-mile (1,000-kilometer) border with Ethiopia was never officially demarcated. The two nations went to war over the border in 1998, fighting for 2 1/2 years until they signed a cease-fire and peace agreements in Algeria in 2000.
The deals called for an independent commission to rule on the demarcation of their border. Both countries agreed in advance that the commission’s ruling would be binding, but Ethiopia rejected it because several disputed territories were awarded to Eritrea.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told The Associated Press that any worry over Ethiopian re-mining was unwarranted. “I am not aware of any re-mining activity on the part of Eritrea and I’m sure there is no such re-mining on the part of Ethiopia,” Meles said.
Amere says he knows his job is dangerous, but it’s worth it.
“I would hate it if I were hurt or killed because my family would be left without me, but what can I do?” he said. “I have seen the effect of these mines and it motivates me to work harder every day.”
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On the Net:
United Nations Mine Action Service: http://www.mineaction.org/
The Landmine Monitor: http://www.icbl.org/lm/