Money raised by April's MAG Music Festival has been used to clear 300 items of unexploded ordnance from Quang Binh Province.
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"I was so obsessed by the injuries that the landmine caused me. I was afraid that the UXO would kill my children – even during a time of peace." [Photo: MAG Vietnam] |
Clearing these dangerous items has greatly reduced the risk of death or injury whilst farming for more than 2,375 people living in five villages.
Mr Ho Van Nuoi, a resident of Cay Thi village, Canh Hoa commune, was one of those helped with funds from the Hanoi event.
During the American-Vietnam War, Mr Nuoi lost much of his left leg and the use of three of his fingers. These injuries made it extremely difficult for him to care for his family. In addition, the land on which Mr Nuoi’s family lives was still contaminated by unexploded ordnance (UXO) left over from the war. This was a constant source of concern for him and his family.
“I was so obsessed by the injuries that the landmine caused me. I was afraid that the UXO (that still contaminates my land) would kill my children – even during a time of peace. My children have never been allowed to play near the UXO in our garden. I did not want them to have an accident like me,” says Mr Nuoi.
The UXO also impacted upon the family’s ability to generate an income. Mrs Ho Ngoc Bich, Mr Nuoi’s wife, describes the family’s predicament:
“We left [some of] our land fallow for years even though we did not have enough land to cultivate. We wanted to plant timber trees in the garden to increase our income but we could not. We were scared of hitting the UXO.”
The problemMillions of tonnes of ordnance were dropped on Vietnam between 1964 and 1973. It is estimated that up to one third of this ordnance did not detonate. This unexploded ordnance (UXO) still contaminates the ground, affecting as much as 20 per cent of the total area of Vietnam. There are also landmines, most of which were laid during conflicts with neighbouring countries during the 1970s. UXO and landmines can explode if disturbed, causing injury and death. They also keep people in poverty, by preventing them from carrying out everyday activities such as farming fields, building houses, digging fish ponds or collecting food in the forest. Some of the poorest areas of Vietnam are those that are the most heavily contaminated with UXO. Find out moreYour 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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“In the land that we did cultivate, when digging the ground we never dared to dig deeply or vigorously. Our productivity was very low as a result.”
Mr Nuoi’s family certainly had just cause to be cautious about tending their land. The MAG team found and destroyed eight items of UXO on their land, including two BLU26 cluster bomb sub-munitions.
Since MAG completed the clearance task on Mr Nuoi’s property, much has changed. “We can now live and work safely on our land. I feel secure for myself and my family”, he said.
“We will plant trees on the fallow land. We will have more income to support our family,” said Mrs Ho Thi Bich.
Mr Nuoi’s family is just one of thousands in Vietnam’s central provinces that MAG has assisted. However, the extent of the contamination means that there are still many families living in danger of UXO.
Mr Jimmy Roodt, Country Programme Manager for MAG Vietnam said “MAG’s work makes a huge contribution to the safety, wellbeing and socio-economic development of rural communities in Vietnam.
“On behalf of MAG I would like to express our gratitude to all the sponsors and supporters of the MAG Music Festival. We look forward to continued support from the public and corporate sectors in the future so that we can help more communities.”
MAG Music Festival, Vietnam 2009
View more photos of MAG events and operations on Flickr
6 January 2010
MAG would like to express its thanks to the following donors to its Vietnam operations: Office of Weapons Removal and
Abatement, U.S. Department of
State; UK Department for International Development (DFID); Talisman
Energy; Irish Aid; Jersey Overseas Aid Commission; Adopt-A-Minefield; Imperial
Tobacco. See Tags below for related articles.
