Returning a Village to Safety
Story by Lydia Good, Programme Officer
A handover ceremony took place on 16th August in Bairro Jika, Moxico Province, Angola - a sign to the local community that clearance of this former minefield had been completed by MAG. It was a chance to celebrate with the people and local leaders alike that a large area of their bairro had been cleared of the deadly legacy of war and was now ready for further cultivation and construction. The Soba (village leader) of Bairro Jika, Samukumbi Kapailo, spoke at the ceremony, thanking MAG for its work in his village and blessing our future work through Luau.
As well as speeches from the local administration the crowds were treated to a presentation by MAG's Rapid Response Team leader, Xavier Mutondo. With help from the team local children experienced a little of what the deminers who cleared their bairro did each day. They were dressed in personal protective equipment and were allowed to use detectors to search for small pieces of metal.
MAG's Technical Field Manager, Jim Vernon and Bairro Jika's Soba, Samukumbi Kapailo, standing beside the start point of the land that's now clear and safe thanks to MAG.
The next generation of deminers - learning how to search for metal.
For more than 20 years Moxico Province was highly fought over and contaminated during the years of intense conflict between Angolan government forces and UNITA. During the fighting both UNITA and Government troops planted large numbers of anti-personnel landmines in and around the major towns in the Province. Without maps or institutional knowledge, the landmines represented a silent legacy of the war for Moxico.
On December 1st 2003 MAG deployed a Mine Action Team, funded by the European Commission and the US State's Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, to Jika to begin survey and clearance operations. Many returning refugees were unwilling to move during the clearance process as they were concerned that others would take their land. MAG worked in close cooperation with the local community during the task, always ensuring that local people were kept at a safe distance from operations.
More than 17 months later, on 7th May 2005, MAG's clearance work in Bairro Jika was completed. During that time 66,773 sq/m of land was cleared, uncovering and destroying both anti-personnel landmines and items of unexploded ordnance. At present, around 3,000 people will benefit from MAG's work in Jika, however, with the ever-increasing population of the bairro as part of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR) planned repatriation process, the number of beneficiaries is increasing daily.
MAG's teams going to work in Bairro Jika. Each yellow peg marks where a
landmine was found.
Stepping on a landmine. A dramatisation provided by the 10 community members
who will continue to inform new inhabitants and visitors to the bairro
of the areas still contaminated.
Although clearance of this site has been completed, some areas surrounding the bairro are still contaminated. To ensure that villagers are aware where the cleared land ends, MAG has provided training in Mine Risk Education (MRE) skills to ten members of the village. During the ceremony, these people presented and MRE sketch highlighting the dangers of walking in a minefield and how to live more safely.
The completion of the Jika minefield marks a milestone in the work of MAG in Angola. It would not have been possible without the dedication of the Mine Action and Rapid Response teams, or the management of Wilfrid Kubirske, John McFarlane and Jim Vernon, Technical Field Managers throughout the clearance. People in the bairro now benefit from new access to clear, safe land on which to build and cultivate.
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