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COUNTRY BACKGROUND
MINE CLEARANCE
SURVIVOR ASSISTANCE
STORIES FROM THE FIELD
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 Mozambique: Stories From the Field
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Adopt-A-Minefield Returns Land to the People of Inhambane
Megan Burke, Program Manager, Adopt-A-Minefield
Flying from Maputoto Vilanculos on the tiny 24-seater on December 7th, 2004 , I was surrounded by tourists from Spain, Portugaland South Africa . Vilanculos, in Mozambique’s Inhambane province, is famous for its unspoiled white sand beaches. I was traveling to Inhambane for a different kind of celebration. Inland from the holiday-goers, this province, like many others in Mozambique, is still contaminated with landmines left over from three decades of war. I was in Inhambane to participate in the hand-over of land cleared of mines to the people of the villageof Kolonga
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Local children playing in the rain outside of shcool
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I was received at the airport by Patricio Bitunga, Coordinator of Planning and Monitoring for Handicap International’s Mine Clearance Program. As he drove me to Kolonga, he pointed out various sites along that road that had been cleared over the past ten years. Other villages we passed still have minefields that endanger people’s lives and prevent access to schools, farmland and water sources. This part of Inhambane province is dotted with lakes, an amazing site from the plane and a critical source of water and food, from fish and irrigation for farming, for residents of Inhambane. The civil war in Mozambique coincided with one of the largest droughts seen there in recorded history and as water became scare, these lakes became an increasingly valuable commodity- one that was protected with landmines by soldiers on both sides of the conflict. Now, so many years later with many of the mines removed, it is a relief to see life returning to the land around the lakes.
As we arrive in Kolonga, I am amazed to see that the entire village has turned out to participate in the handover ceremony. It is a holiday in Kolonga with no school for the children and a day without work for the parents. Representatives from the local and district authority are present along with representatives from the National Institute of Demining (IND). After months of work by HI, funded by Adopt-A-Minefield, an area of land just over 15,000 square meters in size has been cleared of mines. This area of land had threatened the safety of the people of Kolonga for more than ten years. Located just meters away from the village school and several homes, this minefield is right in the middle of what Americans would call “downtown Kolonga”- the heart of the village. Every day, mothers and fathers had to send their children off to school knowing that they would pass a minefield on their way.
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| Patricio begins the ceremony welcoming the community and introducing me as a special guest from New York City. He then gives a short review course in mine risk education- just because one site has been cleared does not mean people from this village may not encounter a minefield elsewhere. In fact, Patricio next asks residents if there are other suspected minefields that they are aware of within their own community. One man stands up, clearly prepared for the question and thankful for the opportunity to have a chance to speak. |
Villagers at the land handover signing ceremony
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As he describes three other suspected sites, the representative from IND takes careful notes – the gentleman speaking is reassured that his comments have not fallen on deaf ears.
Once the important preparations are taken care off, the most anticipated moment of the day has arrived- representatives of the local and district government alongside a representative from IND, the national government, and Patricio from HI will truly stake their lives on the quality of their work. They will walk onto the land that has been cleared to demonstrate to everybody that it is safe. First, umbrellas must be gathered since on December 7th we were doubly blessed by cleared land and torrential rain! In a bright colored procession, all of those involved in this clearance project enter the new land with confidence. Cheering and singing erupt from the villagers.
Over the past five years, AAM has raised over $1 million to fund the clearance of 35 minefields throughout Mozambique, working in cooperation with the United Nations and IND and supporting the work of HI and the Accelerated Demining Program. Visiting Mozambique in December, I was moved to see firsthand the impact of this collective international effort- from school children in Colorado or citizens of California to deminers in Mozambique. Having visited Mozambique once before in 2001, in just three years, I could feel the difference that demining and rebuilding have made. The job is not done but great strides have been made and this has created energy and excitement that will motivate AAM to continue its work for many years to come.
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