The MAG camp was buzzing with activity from 5:30 am. Two Mine Action Teams (MATs) were heading out to continue their work clearing the barrier minefield around Kapoeta, another was preparing to conduct a survey along the Narus-Boma road with a Rhino mine-proof vehicle, in preparation for a possible future WFP road clearance contract.
A Community Liaison (CL) team was also leaving to assist with the survey. MAT 10, headed by Technical Field Manager (TFM) Ivica Stilin, was getting ready for a five-week stint clearing emergency tasks in and around Torit, a large town 140km to the southwest of Kapoeta. A CL team would also be travelling to work with them.
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| The Rhino mine-proof vehicle used by Mine Action Teams |
MAG's MATs in Sudan normally consist of 16 people: a Technical Field Manager (TFM), a team leader, a trauma medic, 12 technicians and one or more drivers (depending on vehicles required for the mission). They are trained and equipped to deal with just about any task they may face: from landmines to large aircraft bombs; from SAM 7 missiles to stores of munitions.
The CL teams normally consist of three people. They are specially trained to liaise with communities and authorities before, during and after clearance, to gather dangerous area reports, and to provide Mine Risk Education (MRE). They are usually the first contact with communities and are an essential element of the work.
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| Stretches of the road are treacherous due to recent rains |
I also headed for Torit, along with Åsa Massleberg, the CL Manager for the province, and Bekim Shala, MAG’s CL Coordinator in Sudan. We joined the convoy of Land Rovers and a truck full of camping gear late in the morning.
A company called GTZ – an international co-operation enterprise GTZ – had rebuilt much of the road from Kapoeta to Torit a year ago, but stretches have been washed away by the recent rains making some places very difficult to travel through. We also had to cross a number of rivers.
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| Mine Action Teams in Sudan normally consist of 16 people |
Just a week ago, MAG was called upon by the authorities to help people in trouble. Vehicles full of people had been washed off the crossing and MAG staff managed to pull them, including women and children, to safety. They were lucky. People are killed crossing the rivers every year here.
Our driver, Charles Mamur, told us stories of terrible events as we drove through former battlefields. Every village along the way had witnessed terrible tragedies: “One hundred people killed here… More than a thousand people killed here…” The stories kept coming sending chills down my spine every time. It was impossible to imagine how these people have suffered.
More from Sean Sutton's Sudan diary:
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