- Emmily Sjolander and Hanna Risen, MAG Lebanon interns
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The MineCat in action, cutting vegetation to make the land easier to search for MAG's technical teams. |
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Getting a better view from the staircase! |
28 July
Over the last weeks we have been working on a new proposal and some information gathering for our Bachelor Degree project. We started the project in cooperation with the United Nations Mine Action Control Center but ended up spending most time with MAG, because of their big variation of mechanical assets plus, we have to admit, we got very fond of the guys in the workshop.
By working in different areas of mine action, such as implementing a new machine and fundraising, we are seeing more and more of the big picture every day. We are still crossing our fingers that the machine we designed will be constructed and contribute to a country free of landmines.
29 July
I (Emmily) went out in the field this morning to see the famous MineCat operating near the village of Kfar Sir. The distance from headquarters to Kfar Joz isn’t far on the map, but because of the narrow mountain roads it wasn’t before 9pm that Billy, Ali and I arrived.
For the first time ever, we managed to skip the mandatory tea and/or Arabic coffee at the Control Point. We just signed in with our names in the visitors’ log and went straight out to see the masterpiece. To be able to see better from a safe distance we found ourselves a staircase in an empty building.
This specific area is the second one for this vegetation-cutter to operate in. It was designed and constructed by MAG locally, specifically to be used in Battle Area Clearance, which is very exiting!
According to the Site Supervisor, Khaled, an area finished yesterday took two-and-a-half hours to cut. The same task would have taken the whole manual team (eight searchers) about for days. Unfortunately, the machine can’t be used in the whole area. Some parts are too steep; others contain olive trees, with only narrow passages in between. Olive trees grow slowly and need big investment, but can be a profitable buissness if handled right, so it isn’t hard to understand why most owners don’t want to see their trees run ower by a big machine.
MAG has been working in this field since 3 July, but the MineCat hasn’t been operating the whole time. So far, seven M42/M46 cluster bomblets and another piece of unexploded ordnance have been found.
10 August
Time flies, as they say, and here we are, surprised how fast a whole summer has passed by before our eyes. Emmily has two weeks left, while I have begun my last week as an intern with MAG. In just a few days’ time, I will put my feet on Swedish ground and at the moment the thought of being back in the classroom to finish my engineering degree feels, not only literally speaking, very distant.
I had a close encounter with flu last week. But after a lot of coughing, two days in bed and a strict vitamin C diet put me back on my feet again.
To conclude our internship we are writing a report to be submitted to our university and MAG Lebanon, and this has been our main focus the last week. The unexpected changes of mine action forced us to change topic a few times before deciding to put our focus on a specific site, CBU (Cluster Bomb Unit) 1160, outside Nabatieh.
We are looking at how the clearance process fits in the traditional structure of a project. This is a perfect way of conclude our understanding of the process of turning a piece of land from a Hazardous Area to the foundation of a house or blooming agriculture land. Foremost, we are working with guidance of the Logical Frame Work Approach, an objective focus project approach used by many non-governmental organisations and authorities.
Last week we spent time with some visitors out in the field, as well as diving deep into paperwork, tracking down technical facts and developing an understanding of budget calculations. The plan for this week is to continue my swimming tour in the Site Folder of CBU 1160 and digging further into the fundraising work. If the mental training isn’t enough, there is also a field trip with our Community Liaison Officer and visits in the workshop on the schedule. Maybe there will even be some time for me to work on my welding skills.
No matter what experiences this last week has in store, one thing is certain: a both mentally and physical exhausted Hanna will be sitting on the plane, carrying bags filled with memories, meetings with new people, lessons and invaluable knowledge.
I would like to send all my best to MAG Lebanon as well as MAG globally. Hopefully we will meet soon again!
Latest news from Lebanon:
- VIDEO: Clearance in South Lebanon UK Foreign Office minister Ivan Lewis meets some of the staff from MAG in South Lebanon, which is littered with unexploded munitions from the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. (13 August 09)
- A widow's remarkable tale Two months pregnant with the couple’s ninth child, Em Saoud Mashmoushi watched her husband being shot dead and was herself hit in the back by a bullet. Miraculously, both she and the baby survived. Then came the challenge of living close to land contaminated by mines and unexploded ordnance... (28 July 09)
Links:
- Donate to MAG online - more than 90 per cent of MAG's income is spent directly on clearance programmes
- Other ways to Get Involved - shop, run, walk, skydive, drink wine...
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