Helping a village to rebuild its future
"If a landmine explodes and kills a person, removing a single mine saves a life. Imagine how many lives can be saved by removing many mines. For this reason MAG is doing a great thing." Mohammad Jalal is a landowner in the village of Goran in Kirkuk governorate. Along with the rest of the community, he was forced to leave the village in 1998 by the former Iraqi regime.
The Iraqi army turned Goran into a military position. When Mohammad and his family, and many others, returned in 2003 they found it heavily contaminated with landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). They discovered mines in their farmland and realised that it wasn't even safe to use the paths in the village.
MAG's community liaison teams visited Goran to speak to the villagers and map the extent of the contamination, then clearance teams began demining operations. Three minefields were cleared, totaling 72,326 sq/m and 1,379 landmines and 43 items of UXO were removed and safely destroyed. This has enabled the community to live in safety, without the constant threat from the remnants of conflict, and clearing agricultural land means that farmers can once again grown their crops.
Goran was one of many villages affected by the Iraqi government's violent 'Arabisation' policy, whereby Kurdish communities were forcibly relocated from their homes. For fifteen years, Muhammad and the other villagers lost their homes, their land and their livelihood.
"Thanks to MAG, I have started preparing my land for farming once again. I'll be able to grow and sell crops and I am proud to be able to provide for my family once more," says Mohammad. MAG's partnership with the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement U.S. Dept. of State was central to the operations in Goran. It has helped save lives and enabled MAG to help the village's recovery from the effects of fifteen years of violent conflict.
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