Preventing Death and InjuryHow ‘risk education’ is helping vulnerable communities in Myanmar

SPRING 2015

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Autumn 2015

IMPACT

Forgotten Conflicts Turning the spotlight on

their deadly legacy

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In 1992, just as the Peace Accords brought the bloody civil war in Mozambique to an end, I was starting a new job there as Country Director for a humanitarian organisation. On my second day in the office, I received a radio call from a remote project area saying that two of my colleagues had just been killed by landmines on the side of the road. Theirs were yet two more in the thousands of Mozambican lives claimed by mines.

But now, as Mozambique celebrates its achievement, people have a future free from fear. The job here is done.

In Sri Lanka, huge progress has been made and the country could be free from the impact of mines by 2020. Read about MAG’s work here on pages 4 to 7. With ‘easier’ minefields amongst the first to have been made safe, some of the most difficult ones still remain. Landmines continue to restrict access to paddy fields, water sources and routes to market, and threaten the very development projects that promise a better future for Sri Lankans.

Over the years, landmines have not only claimed tens of thousands of lives, but also trapped generations in poverty and fear.

On pages 10 and 11, we turn the spotlight on Moxico, one of the poorest regions in Angola, where mines and unexploded bombs still stop people from using their land to grow enough food to eat, or to sell in order to make a living. Such is the desperate need for land that many of the refugees continuing to return home after the long since ended civil war are building houses and farming on unsafe soil.

If we don’t do more, and soon, then future generations who have only known peace in their lifetimes will be forced to live surrounded by the deadly remnants of war.

Angola and Sri Lanka are not the full story. In Cambodia, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and beyond, people still live with the daily risk and fear of death or injury from landmines and unexploded bombs. We must not let these minefields be forgotten. Whenever and wherever wars happen, innocent people shouldn’t be the ones who pay the price.

WELCOME TO IMPACT!As this edition goes to print, Mozambique has just become the most recent African nation to declare itself landmine-free. This is a huge achievement and we should take a brief moment to celebrate. But the tragic truth is that much more still needs to be done to make life safe for the thousands of communities still living with these hidden killers. This issue of Impact looks at Angola and Sri Lanka, where we need to do more so that people can live their lives free from fear.

Nick Roseveare Chief Executive

Cover story

Children during morning parade at their school in Puthukkudiyiruppu – commonly known as PTK – in Sri Lanka. MAG cleared the school, along with six others in the region, in 2012. Since then this school has reopened and has steadily been transformed. The main building has been renovated and new classrooms have been built. Gone are the ammunition crates and marks from bomb fragments hitting the walls. Instead 450 children learn here each day.

Now in 2015, life is returning to normal. Where there had been fighting there are now busy shops and restaurants; full with the bustle of people going about their daily lives free from fear. New roads have been built and are busy with tuk tuks, buses and bicycles.

Read more on pages 4-7

Registered Charity: 1083008

All photos © Sean Sutton/MAG unless otherwise stated

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Why did you want to work for MAG?

Because MAG’s work is cross cutting, allowing infrastructure to be built, people and goods to move more freely, as well as removing the threats that can bring about traumatic injury and death. As Country Director I work at a local level to ensure MAG’s clearance is benefitting those most in need.

What difference is MAG making?

MAG’s work is extremely tangible. Every day I know how many metres of land we have made safe in Sri Lanka and how many landmines we have removed. Once people have settled onto land that was previously regarded as a threat, the change is rapid and satisfying as homes are built or crops planted.

What do you find the most rewarding?

A family even being able to farm an additional 200m2 of land can have such a sustained and positive impact on their household. MAG’s work is truly transformational, both for the land and the people who use it.

The Sri Lankan civil war ended in 2009, but landmines and unexploded bombs continue to litter the country’s northern and eastern districts. People in Sri Lanka have a right to hope for a better future, and now an end is in sight. With international support, Sri Lanka can be free from the impact of mines by 2020.

Puthukkudiyiruppu Roman Catholic School (pictured) is one of seven schools MAG has made safe in the region. Today, 450 children, from ages 5 to 16, are taught here. The facilities have improved steadily since MAG completed work at the school in late 2012. The sports fields have been cleared of rubble and are now luscious and green. There are no longer ammunition crates scattered about or fragmentation marks on the walls. And, instead of silence, there is the buzz of excited youngsters’ voices.

With your support, MAG is making land safe, helping people in Sri Lanka to rebuild their lives, livelihoods and futures.

Mr Balashanker, who teaches at the school, told us: “We are free now. The school has been open for two years and it is getting better all the time. The students come from a poor background. Most of the children have lost one or both parents, so a good school and education means everything to them.”

Although huge progress has been made in Sri Lanka, injuries and deaths still frequently occur and international support has waned in recent years. MAG has been helping Sri Lanka’s people since 2002 and this commitment, through some extremely challenging times, motivates us even more to finish the task in hand.

Alistair Moir

Country Director

Sri Lanka

Children attend morning parade in Puthukkudiyiruppu (‘PTK’), Sri Lanka, on land made safe by MAG.

Sri Lanka Population: 20.48 million

A FUTURE FREE FROM FEAR

STAFF PROFILE

Puthukkudiyiruppu Roman Catholic School is one of seven schools MAG has made safe in this region of Sri Lanka. In place of ammunition crates and marks from bomb fragments hitting the walls, 450 children learn here each day.

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“ Now, thanks to MAG, we have five acres of land we can farm in safety. We grow chillies, bananas, and vegetables.” — Ravindran, pictured with his family

in Mannar District, Sri Lanka.

Between them, Guy and Ian have taken on Ride London, Stage 1 of the 2014 Tour de France, London-Paris and Land’s End to John O’ Groats – clocking up the miles for MAG and making a difference.

Guy Goodwin-Gill, retired professor of International Refugee Law at University of Oxford, and Barrister at Blackstone Chambers, London,

told us that the Syrian refugee crisis was the key driver behind his decision to tackle Ride London this year:

“MAG’s work in the region, including spreading the word about the dangers, is what counts. It’s what makes return and a new life achievable for refugees and the displaced; it empowers those who would, or will, or must stay.”

Cycling 2,797km has raised

over £10,000

...funding a landmine clearance team for

one month

“We are proud that every purchase of Finchittida jewellery helps to support MAG in their mission of clearing land in Laos.”

SHOP JEWELS, CLEAR BOMBS

RACING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Twins, Lisa and Tida Finch, are founders of the trailblazing jewellery label Finchittida. For every piece of jewellery sold they make a contribution towards MAG’s bomb clearance operations in Laos, the country which inspires their designs.

“Our designs are inspired by our British-Laos heritage. Our mother is from this beautiful country but had to leave because of the war. Laos is still littered with millions of bombs, which were dropped during the Vietnam War, and we wanted to do something to

help. When we launched Finchittida we decided to use it to support bomb clearance in Laos and try and raise more awareness of the issue.

“We started our label about three years ago after graduating from the University of Arts London. Since then our brand has been featured in magazines like Vogue and Elle, and worn by style icons such as FKA Twigs and Rita Ora.

“We chose to work with MAG because they remove and destroy the bombs and make land safe for the long-term benefit of Laos communities,

helping them to live free from fear and enabling them to grow crops, build schools and access water supplies in safety.

“We recently visited MAG Laos in Xiang Khouang province and spent time with one of their all-female teams. The women were inspirational, working with sheer determination to make the land safe for the next generation.”

To see the Finchittida jewellery and help MAG clear more bombs in Laos visit www.finchittida.com

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GET INVOLVED AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Find out more here: www.maginternational.org/getinvolved

We’d love to hear about your fundraising plans:

fundraising@maginternational.org

0161 236 4311

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Two-thirds of Angola’s population live in poverty. Moxico is the poorest province and the most landmine-affected. People here struggle to find safe land to build houses and schools, or to grow food and provide for their families. Much needed valuable land is contaminated with mines from a forgotten conflict.

Over the past five years, thanks to supporters and donors, MAG has cleared land for three schools to be built, providing education for over 3,000 children. Over 800 houses and three safe water sources are also being constructed. It’s a remarkable achievement, as seen recently by Dennis Hadrick, of the US Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, on his visit to Angola.

“Even in rural Angola, we’re making progress. I visited a new school built on land that was once a minefield. With U.S. support, our NGO partners at MAG cleared the area, allowing Angolan officials to build new schools for local kids. Students now have safe access to an education. This is how conventional weapons destruction not only saves lives – it can change them”.*

We know how valuable safe land is to a community. We need to do more, faster, to free people from fear and let them rebuild their lives. Our supporters can help make this long-lasting difference.

THE LEGACY OF CONFLICT People in Angola have no choice but to live with the daily risk of death and injury from landmines left over from the country’s civil war. More than a decade after the conflict ended, the threat of mines and other deadly weapons means that entire communities are living in constant fear. This is unacceptable.

People here are unable to use their land to its full potential because of the threat of mines and unexploded bombs.

We train and employ local people as deminers, enabling them to contribute to the rehabilitation of their own country.

Since 1994, MAG has removed and destroyed over 30,000 landmines and unexploded bombs in Moxico to make land and lives safe.

130,000 people are estimated to be affected by the presence of landmines and unexploded bombs.

Angola Population: 25million

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This school in Muhini, in Moxico province, was able to be built after the area was cleared of landmines and unexploded bombs by a MAG team. *

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