The Colombian Government has recently decided that the scale of the mine problem requires more resources than currently exist in Colombia, and has invited international mine clearance organisations to start up operations.
The Colombian Army has been carrying out some humanitarian demining since 2005, in line with Colombia’s obligations as a signatory of the Ottawa convention, but in many areas of the country rural communities are still much affected by the presence of mines, improvised explosive devices and unexploded ordnance (UXO).
In July 2009, MAG’s Technical Director spent two weeks with the Colombian Army’s humanitarian demining platoons, observing their operations and providing recommendations to the Army and the national demining authority on how to increase the efficiency of their clearance operations and possible new approaches. MAG opened its liaison office in Bogota in July.
In August 2009, MAG started up Community Liaison operations in Antioquia Department. This is reported to be the most mine-affected department in Colombia. MAG is working in partnership with the Colombian Campaign Against Landmines and a local non-governmental organisation in Antioquia called Paz y Democracia.
Operations are focused on improving the quality of Mine Risk Education (MRE) that is being delivered by municipal mine action facilitators and really targeting those most at risk; and seeing what information on levels of mine and UXO contamination can be gathered and the best way to collect, manage and use that information.
As the conflict in Colombia between the Government and various armed insurgent groups is ongoing and mobile, information on landmine contamination is highly sensitive. A carefully designed Community Liaison approach is required, so as not to put the communities MAG works with at further risk.
In the first three months of the project, 14 facilitators from the 14 most affected municipalities of Antioquia have been trained on MAG MRE Methodology. A MAG assessment identified that although a number of different MRE campaigns have been implemented in Antioquia in recent years, the community members are still taking risks and not keeping safe.
MAG designed a campaign called ‘Yo Me Protejo’ – I Protect Myself – and following initial training and field-testing of materials, the facilitators are busy working in their communities delivering strategic MRE to the most vulnerable communities.
"MAG’s MRE method makes a difference in my municipality," said Beatriz Montoya, a member of a women’s organisation that provides support to rural housewives, after she had participated in a MRE session delivered by one of the facilitators. ¨This is very practical information, simple and easy to understand. I am sure people will now perform safe behaviours."
"This is a present for me and my children, a present that will allow them to have a future," said Helga Maria Herrera Gomez, a teacher of El Escobero Primary School after hearing her students commit to taking care of themselves. They all received a bracelet with ‘I protect myself’ written on it.
Communities that have already received MRE over the past few years are sometimes resistant to spending time listening to yet more MRE. But Gloria Quintero, Community President of San Isidro Vereda told us that, "You may not be able to go to my community as we have already received so many different MRE messages, but I will bring my community members here to hear about the danger of mines from you."
MAG’s Community Liaison Manager in Colombia, Lorena Carrillo, says that, "MAG is making a difference in Colombia through the improvement of the MRE delivery capacity. The key thing has been to focus on reaching the highest risk populations in the 14 municipalities with a method that provides the basic, essential mine risk information that will lead the Colombians living in contaminated areas to perform safe behaviour."
Nancy Marin, the municipal facilitator from Cocorna explains that, "MAG is giving us professionalism and more responsibility... this is an evolution!" Robinson Ciro Slazar, the municipal facilitator from San Francisco told us that, "It was not easy to explain the audience that we are working with a different MRE method, but people are very happy with the improvement."
Olga Lucía Jimenez, the MRE Coordinator for Paz Y Democracia, MAG’s local partner in Antioquia department says that, "The new MRE material is very good – nice graphics and friendly. This is a full package."
MAG would like to express its thanks to the following donor to its Colombia operations: Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
October 2009
