• More than 17,000 dangerous items removed from villages in Juba County.
• Improved food security for returning villagers and residents.
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A MAG EOD team member prepares the demolition site. |
"I used to be scared when digging my land. I was scared I would hit something. There was an accident here and an explosion when a villager was digging in their field. Three people lost their lives."
Akujo Sekina is a 29-year-old woman living in Kubi a village in Juba County, Southern Sudan. When she was a child, she and her family fled to a Ugandan refugee camp, while the village was being fought over by the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), the Sudan Armed forces (SAF) and the Ugandan rebel insurgency group, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).
Like many of the villages and occupied land along the main road connecting Juba with Uganda, Kubi and the surrounding area is highly contaminated with landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO).
In response to this contamination and the high number of returning refugees , one of MAG's Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams (funded by the US Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement) worked together with a Community Liaison (CL) team to carry out potentially life-saving clearance activities.
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A returning refugee is now able to cultivate the land cleared by MAG. [Photos: MAG Sudan] |
In Sudan, the CL teams include Sudanese staff members with different tribal and cultural backgrounds, speaking many different local dialects.
This means that the teams have the appropriate knowledge and necessary background to collect and share information. In September and October the team was able to identify a total of 51 dangerous areas along the road, many of which were located inside the villages.
From interviews and meetings, it was clear that the biggest impact was on the villagers' ability to safely cultivate land and grown food. Many of the residents told the CL team that most accidents had occurred while people were digging and planting.
This land was prioritised and, as a result, MAG's EOD team cleared and safely demolished more than 17,000 dangerous items from Kubi and neighbouring villages.
Akujo had returned to Kubi in January 2008, with her two young children, and now looks forward to a brighter and more positive future. "I am so happy that so many dangerous items have been removed by MAG," she says. "Now I can dig my land without being scared, and I will be able to grow food for my family."
Links:
- Why does MAG work in Sudan?
- MAG Sudan microsite
- Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement [external site]
2 December 08
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