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Unexploded ordnance survivor and now MAG technician Thongdam. |
Thongdam Bounthe is one of three people who lost limbs because of unexploded ordnance (UXO) accidents to be recruited earlier this year by MAG as clearance technicians.
Although the Vietnam War ended almost four decades ago, accidents caused by the remnants of this conflict still occur almost every day in Laos. More than two million tons of ordnance was dropped on the country between 1964 and 1973. Up to 30 per cent of some types of ordnance did not detonate and UXO still contaminates the ground, affecting a quarter of all villages.
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Building national capacity is a key objective in all MAG programmes.Almost 95 per cent of MAG’s employees are national staff, meaning that the efficiency and effectiveness of our operations depend heavily on their ability and knowledge.Read more on how MAG maximises the longer term development impact of our work |
“When I first joined MAG I was worried about my new leg," says Thongdam. "I thought that my new metal-free prosthetic limb [fitted by COPE (Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise)] might be too different from my old bamboo leg. But the last few months have removed my worries. Now I can walk as far as the team needs to go.”
“I began to work with MAG in March. I have personally found more than 20 bombies [the local name given to cluster bomblets] and lots of 20mm projectiles.
"The first item I found was a bombie. It was buried about five centimetres underground, in a field that was already being farmed by someone. I shouted to my colleague to check my discovery.
"At that moment I felt very excited and proud that I could do my job. I couldn't wait to see our team leader destroy the item at the end of the day.
"Our work means a lot to communities, particularly families who have no land for farming. Sometimes I call my family after work. My wife and children usually ask me about my colleagues, the weather and also my leg.
"My wife worries about me, so I joke with her and tell her that my prosthetic leg protects me from leeches!”
MAG has been working in Laos since 1994, making it the most established and experienced humanitarian UXO clearance operator in the country.
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Buy online: 'Laos: Legacy of a secret', by MAG photographer Sean Sutton |
MAG Lao PDR: Facts and figures, July-September
• Square metres of land cleared: 1,414,100
• Villages where clearance took place: 52
• Community members hired to cut vegetation (Village Assisted Clearance): 1,690
• Items of unexploded ordnance destroyed: 2,454
• Beneficiaries of MAG's clearance work: 12,117
• Beneficiaries of MAG's Mine Risk Education work: 3,051
MAG thanks the following current donors to our Lao PDR operations: AusAID; UKaid (Department for International Development); European Commission; Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, US Department of State; World Vision.
26 November 2010
See also:
- Download the new MAGazine [PDF]
- Why does MAG work in Lao PDR?
- The unexploded ordnance problem in Lao PDR: statistics
- Visit MAG's information centres in Laos
- COPE website [external link]
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