Landmines had been lying in wait for between 13 and 20 years in the fields of Peremasuk, threatening the limbs and lives of residents until MAG cleared the minefield in July 2009.
The small community lies five miles from Yei [marked on map below] in Central Equatoria state, on the road from Yei to Kaya, a border town between Sudan and Uganda. The local population vividly remembers the heavy and protracted fighting that took place in this area between the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) from 1990 to 1997.
Yei, Central Equatoria, Sudan |
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View Yei in a larger map |
According to the local chief, the SAF planted landmines here to block the travel routes of cattle traders, who they suspected of supporting the SPLA.
The area was evacuated by most of the population during the fighting between the two sides from 1990 to 1997. The community started to return towards the end of 1997 and Peremasuk now consists of former internally displaced people and refugees.
When MAG Sudan’s Community Liaison staff gathered information from local people, through surveys and household interviews in May 2009, it was soon discovered that, following the end of the civil war in 2005, other humanitarian mine action organisations had visited but none had taken any further action.
Your donation to MAG helps us to move into current and former conflict zones to clear the remnants of conflict, enabling recovery and assisting the development of affected populations.
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A MAG Sudan Community Liaison Officer (right) discusses the impact of the minefield with two residents. Top: A Mine Risk Education session in Peremasuk. [Photos: MAG Sudan] |
¨We are tired of reporting to organisations that the place next to the school has mines,” commented one resident. “All the time we are telling them that there are mines… We hope you will do something about this soon, because we need to expand the school and I also fear when the children are playing close to that ground.¨
As well as affecting safety and infrastructure, these ‘silent soldiers’ also exacerbate poverty by denying access to land. Subsistence farming is the main cash generator in Peremasuk, but before MAG’s arrival most of the fertile land was located in a minefield, limiting people’s ability to farm and make a living.
MAG could not promise that that minefield would be cleared in the near future or beyond, as all minefields are prioritised for clearance to ensure that the most vulnerable communities are helped first.
Clear communication skills are therefore required of the Community Liaison team, which has to ensure the information received from a community is accurate, while at the same time ensuring the community understands it might not see land cleared immediately.
Once the data had been analysed, Peremasuk was categorised as the highest priority for clearance work, which took place last July. In February this year, MAG began the first post-clearance surveys in the area, in order to assess the impact of the work. Ensuring that interventions are having a long-term, sustainable impact on communities is an integral part of MAG’s operations in southern Sudan.
The work in this article was funded by DFAIT, the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
1 March 2010
PHOTO GALLERY: Celebrating five years of MAG in Sudan
View these photos and captions on Flickr
This collection of images document MAG’s work in southern Sudan over the last five years, making land safe for communities to live and work in.
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