Reference :
V-F-CR-F-00687-A
Date :
07/2001
Title :
Albania : an end to landmines, June 2001
Duration :
00:02:16
Editor :
unknown
Confidentiality level :
public
Publication restrictions :
publication without restrictions
Production company :
ICRC
ICRC producer :
none
Description :
On Albania’s north-eastern border, local people are suffering the aftermath of the war in neighbouring Kosovo. During the conflict, land on either side of the border with Albania was littered with thousands of anti-personnel mines and cluster bombs. Two years later, foremost among the victims are children who come across unexploded devices, pick them up and play with them out of curiosity. To warn children of the danger, a new prevention programme has been started by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in conjunction with Albania’s National Red Cross Society . Children learn of the dangers of straying into mine infested areas through live theatre and games; a professional theatre group travels from village to village presenting the fable of innocent Mr Bear who is tempted into a mine field by wily Mr Fox on the promise of finding a good spot to go fishing. Parallel with information campaigns, a new mine clearance programme has also got underway. Mine clearance is highly intensive in both expertise and technical requirements, and therefore extremely costly to carry out. Millions of dollars have poured into Kosovo where mine clearance has already been completed. But in nearby Alabania, there has been little or no funding. Thanks to a new initiative by the the International Committee of the Red Cross in conjunction with Albania’s National Red Cross Society, clearance work is finally getting underway. A team of ten demining experts from New Zealand, Australia, France and Switzerland, has been assembled by the Swiss Federation for Mine Action. The team has begun work with locally recruited trainees to set about the massive task of clearing the border area. The work is painstakingly slow since there are no maps or plans of where mines were scattered. Since May 1999, there have been at least 140 reported casualties and over 20 deaths caused by mines in north-eastern Albania. The true figures could be much higher as many incidents go unreported in these isolated villages. To help mine victims, the first retraining centre has been established in Kukec (pronounce Kookesh), supported by the ICRC. Learning new skills such as shoemaking and tailoring enables those who have lost limbs to earn a living once more and to reintegrate into community life.
English title :
Albania : an end to landmines, June 2001
Colour/B&W :
colour
Original material/format :
Betacam SP
Best material/format available :
Betacam SP
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