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Adnan Fakih and his wife Majida Jaber on their land in Kfar Tebnite. [Photo: David Harbin/MAG] |
A farmer for the past 31 years since the age of 10, Adnan Fakih lost his right arm in 1998 when he encountered some sort of explosive device or booby trap.
His fields in Kfar Tebnite, about 10 kilometres southeast of the city of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, are located on the site of much struggle and warfare, and have been greatly affected by mines and cluster submunitions since 1975.
And when the land was hit again with cluster submunitions in 2006, as the Israeli military bombed the olive groves in pursuit of Hezbollah, the 400,000m2 area where we grew wheat, sesame, vegetables and tobacco was reduced to 100,000m2 due to the danger.
Your donation to MAG helps us to move into current and former conflict zones to clear the remnants of those conflicts, enabling recovery and assisting the development of affected populations.
With his income substantially lower, Fakih, his wife and six children have been forced to take out loans in order to get by.
Their future looks brighter, however. MAG started clearing the land in November last year and by the end of April had found 265 cluster submunitions and 126 items of unexploded ordnance.
“This helps me in a direct way,” says Fakin. “Every metre of safe land is income I can regain. I can feel comfortable and safe working the land thanks to the clearance teams.”
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11 May 09
MAG's work in Lebanon is supported by: German Government; Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, US Department of State; DFID (UK Government Department for International Development); Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
