Alifero makes his way home slowly through the Congolese jungle, helped by two friends from his village. “I used to be a fisherman,” he says. “But now I can do nothing.”
Alifero stood on a landmine that was buried behind his house close to the town of Ikela in the Democratic Republic of Congo and is just one of the millions of victims of the five year war that ended in 1992. Up to four million lives were lost in the conflict and an estimated two million people became refugees, many seeking refuge in neighbouring countries.
Efforts are now underway to rebuild communities as people return home and MAG is playing a leading role in developing this country; clearing the explosive leftovers of war and helping people to live more safely in this dangerous environment. Two MAG mine action teams (MATs) and a community liaison team are working in Katanga province in the south of the country. A highly mobile rapid response team is also being used, moving from one high priority area to another, destroying the lethal legacy of war and enabling people to safely access water and areas to grow food and build houses.
Earlier this year, the eight-person rapid response team travelled to Ikela to deal with the high-priority problems faced by the community. In three weeks over 136 dangerous items were located and destroyed, ranging from Z1 directional landmines to Katyusha rockets. Landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) were found close to houses and paths, around the school building and kindergarten, and strewn across agricultural land. These items were preventing any kind of redevelopment of the town and, as a result, poverty and hunger levels were getting worse as more people returned.
Making safe a Z1 directional fragmentation landmine
The MAG operation in Ikela was a significant success, the result of which will have a huge knock-on effect for the people of the town and the surrounding areas. Each landmine and item of UXO removed and destroyed is a life or limb saved, meaning that fewer people will suffer the same kind of injury as Alifero.
Sean Sutton, Information Manager
February 2005
