1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,200 It's another day working to clear landmines in Tigray, northern Ethiopia. 2 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:11,760 Hundreds of deminers are working to ensure the ground is free of landmines so that local 3 00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:15,540 people can return to live and farm. 4 00:00:15,540 --> 00:00:20,080 This border area of Ethiopia is infested with landmines left over from the recent war with 5 00:00:20,080 --> 00:00:21,080 Eritrea. 6 00:00:21,080 --> 00:00:26,840 A ceasefire is in place since 2000, but the threat from the landmines remains. 7 00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:31,480 In fact, two million landmines are buried in this beautiful land, remnants of successive 8 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:35,240 conflicts over the last 70 years. 9 00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:40,320 It's the same all over Africa, making it the most landmine-infested continent in the world. 10 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:45,320 It's also the continent that can least afford to tackle the problem. 11 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:49,520 It costs about three euros to make a mine and put it in the ground. 12 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:53,040 It costs a thousand euros to take it out. 13 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:57,800 The largest single donor to the work is the European Union, providing 700 million euro 14 00:00:57,800 --> 00:00:59,600 in the last five years. 15 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:03,320 The highest proportion of EU funds go to Africa. 16 00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:07,680 Funding is not only directed towards clearing minefields, but also towards rebuilding affected 17 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:09,080 communities. 18 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:13,880 Educating locals about the ongoing danger of landmines is crucial. 19 00:01:13,880 --> 00:01:18,840 Two million Ethiopians are at risk every day, and the most vulnerable are children. 20 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:23,480 The Rehabilitation and Development Organization, RADO, makes a special effort to make children 21 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:25,120 aware of landmines. 22 00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:27,000 The most victims are children. 23 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:33,320 It is about 64 to 65 percent of the landmine victims are children. 24 00:01:33,320 --> 00:01:40,680 And most of them are herders, therefore that's why we are using the child-to-child approach. 25 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:43,640 Child instructors show the danger areas. 26 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:48,600 Abandoned trenches from the war, abandoned houses, vehicles, pathways. 27 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:52,520 Another example is where landmines are placed among cactus plants. 28 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:57,800 Gathering cactus fruit is a common pastime among children. 29 00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:03,080 Luam went out playing with her friends one afternoon and went to gather cactus fruit. 30 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:06,680 She stepped on a landmine. 31 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:08,640 Luam lost half a leg. 32 00:02:08,640 --> 00:02:12,200 She was just eight years old when the incident happened. 33 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:13,800 In some ways she was lucky. 34 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:17,240 There were other children around to raise the alarm. 35 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:21,360 She has made a good recovery, but she cannot help out at home anymore with essential chores 36 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:24,280 like fetching water. 37 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:27,920 There are child victims of landmines all over Ethiopia. 38 00:02:27,920 --> 00:02:32,880 Baraket lost two fingers when he tampered with an undetonated mortar fuse. 39 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:36,080 Kibrab was one of two boys herding cattle. 40 00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:38,400 One stepped on a landmine. 41 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:41,000 Kibrab received a serious leg injury. 42 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:44,360 His friend was killed. 43 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:49,040 While the physical damage can be horrific, there can also be psychological scars. 44 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:52,400 Many children drop out of school and become withdrawn. 45 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:56,320 These children have all undergone counselling and now have the confidence to help educate 46 00:02:56,320 --> 00:03:01,320 their peers about the dangers. 47 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:06,280 Rado is also reaching out to the 30% or so of children who do not regularly go to school 48 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:08,960 but work in the fields. 49 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:14,560 One way to train the educational technique is to use other children as instructors. 50 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:19,280 Training locals to do the work is part of a broader strategy that allows the Rado professionals 51 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:26,040 to withdraw, confident that the mine risk education will continue. 52 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:32,160 The 1997 International Mine Ban Treaty is working successfully to put an end to landmines. 53 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:36,860 The treaty requires countries to stop making and using landmines and to undertake to destroy 54 00:03:36,860 --> 00:03:38,760 their stockpiles. 55 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:45,760 The European Union plays a key role in implementing the treaty, encouraging nations to participate. 56 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:50,720 48 out of Africa's 52 nations are signed up to the mine ban treaty. 57 00:03:50,720 --> 00:03:54,560 Ethiopia has signed and is now set to ratify. 58 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:59,920 The Ethiopian government's Mine Action Office was set up in 2002, charged with an extensive 59 00:03:59,920 --> 00:04:02,920 humanitarian mine clearance programme. 60 00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:09,920 Soldiers in the Ethiopian army were demobilised and retrained as mine clearance specialists. 61 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:13,000 Manual demining requires meticulous planning. 62 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:18,280 Each deminer is allocated a small area and he works metre by metre, systematically checking 63 00:04:18,280 --> 00:04:19,840 the ground. 64 00:04:19,840 --> 00:04:23,880 He will not step forward until he is satisfied it is safe. 65 00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:28,440 The man is at the front line for 30 minutes and he's got to be totally dedicated, focused 66 00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:29,920 all the time. 67 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:32,580 It is labour intensive, it is slow. 68 00:04:32,580 --> 00:04:35,500 The actual demining itself is comparatively easy. 69 00:04:35,500 --> 00:04:41,520 It's the management of the demining that is important and critical. 70 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:46,140 The process unearths endless fragments of shrapnel or bullet casings, or bits of metal 71 00:04:46,140 --> 00:04:48,420 of a more innocent nature. 72 00:04:48,420 --> 00:04:52,700 This company of 100 deminers has been working for about seven months. 73 00:04:52,700 --> 00:04:58,840 They've found 44 unexploded devices and over 76,000 metal fragments. 74 00:04:58,840 --> 00:05:03,680 The reality of demining is that days and weeks go by without finding anything. 75 00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:05,220 But standards cannot diminish. 76 00:05:05,220 --> 00:05:08,360 The next step could be fatal. 77 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:13,440 Mechanical means of demining can also be used where the terrain allows. 78 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:18,600 This machine thrashes the ground to uncover and detonate any landmines. 79 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:21,880 A specialist dog unit is also being deployed. 80 00:05:21,880 --> 00:05:26,480 The dogs verify the land has been cleared to a humanitarian standard. 81 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:31,480 A humanitarian standard means that to a depth of 20 centimetres, every square metre can 82 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:39,400 be certified as safe for people to walk, for children to play and for farmers to work. 83 00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:44,320 About 300,000 subsistence farmers were displaced by the war with Eritrea. 84 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:49,840 Now four years after the ceasefire, when war-torn towns are slowly recovering, many thousands 85 00:05:49,840 --> 00:05:52,520 are still living in tent camps. 86 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:57,880 Once their land is cleared of mines, they can return to work their farms. 87 00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:02,320 The farmland of Mezgobo, Eritrea, has been certified mine-free. 88 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:06,480 With international assistance, he and his family are rebuilding their home and their 89 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:07,880 lives. 90 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:13,360 The impact after clearance is free and people can come to where they used to be living and 91 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:14,920 use the land forever. 92 00:06:14,920 --> 00:06:16,520 They believe it's safe. 93 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:21,040 They have the belief in us that we are doing it 100 percent. 94 00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:23,640 When they come in here, they can do anything they want. 95 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:26,840 They can walk freely. 96 00:06:26,840 --> 00:06:32,320 When a mountainous area has been affected by war, it makes demining all the more complex. 97 00:06:32,320 --> 00:06:36,160 No demining machine could cope with this terrain. 98 00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:39,480 Thirty-five minefields have been mapped in this district alone. 99 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:42,040 Twenty-four have been cleared already. 100 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:46,480 Progress is steady, but the Ethiopian Mine Action Office estimates it will take 20 years 101 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:48,600 to clear their country of landmines. 102 00:06:48,600 --> 00:06:53,040 You can appreciate landmines take a long time, a lot of effort, money to remove. 103 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:55,240 So it's an expensive operation. 104 00:06:55,240 --> 00:07:00,960 The tragedy is that because it's an African state, they don't share the same donor confidence 105 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:02,460 as Europeans. 106 00:07:02,460 --> 00:07:09,920 So for example, Kosovo, Bosnia, and then coming Middle East, Lebanon, Macedonia, they get 107 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:14,880 far more exposure and more funding for landmines than anywhere in Africa. 108 00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:19,560 And that's rather sad because there are more people affected by landmines and more landmines 109 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:22,960 in certain countries in Africa. 110 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:25,160 The demining work will take decades. 111 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:30,640 The civilian population has to be equipped to live with the daily threat of landmines. 112 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:33,800 The international mine ban treaty is making a difference. 113 00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:38,480 The production and use of landmines worldwide has decreased dramatically, and stockpiles 114 00:07:38,480 --> 00:07:41,400 of 37 million mines have been destroyed. 115 00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:44,480 The global trade in landmines has virtually ceased. 116 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:49,960 But 65 countries still live with the hidden terror of landmines, with as many as 20,000 117 00:07:49,960 --> 00:07:52,000 casualties every year. 118 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:56,520 If that number is to decrease, the international community must remain politically and financially 119 00:07:56,520 --> 00:07:59,280 committed to ridding the world of landmines.