Reference :
V-P-AZ-E-00737
Date :
25/02/2019
Caption :
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The conflict was coming to an end when this man, then 20-year-old, dropped an unknown object sustaining fragment injuries in his hand and chest, and an eye trauma. If not for the explosion, he believes his life would have taken another turn. He had to learn how to navigate his new life from scratch. Now he is a welder and produces homemade wood stove.
Confidentiality level :
public
Publication restrictions :
publication without restrictions
Description :
ICRC web site, article of 31.05.2019: Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: Landmines, a disturbing reminder of war
It has been 25 years since the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict first disrupted the lives of the people living in the region. The years may have sped by, but the people continue to be haunted by the ghosts of the time gone past. The most traumatic of those reminders are the landmines which continue to lay buried and undiscovered beneath the rural arable lands in the area.
Landmines are indiscriminate. They do not choose if the victim is from the military or a civilian. The ICRC mission in Nagorno-Karabakh has registered 747 cases of landmine victims, of which 59% are civilians. With a population of about 140,000, this number is striking given that most of the landmine survivors now live with some form of a permanent physical disability. The bitter reality is that these unfortunate people need life-long physical rehabilitation and care is hard to come by. Despite all odds, many people still manage to find courage to get back on their feet and aspire for a better future. [...] Out of the total number of landmine victims registered by the ICRC mission in Nagorno-Karabakh, 523 are still the main breadwinners of their families, while 316 became pensioners after the incidents. [...]
Landmine blasts affect everyone - men and women, young and old, civilians and military personnel. [...]
Incidents like these are among the top reasons for civilian casualties, along with the negligent behavior displayed during farming and travelling. The sad reality is that that more people have suffered from landmine explosions in the aftermath of the conflict than during it.
Resolution :
5781x3854
Orientation :
landscape
Colour/B&W :
colour
