Landmines: An African problem
2004-11-26 14:55
Heads of state and senior officials from all over the world are expected at the Nairobi summit for a landmine-free world next week.
The aim of the summit is to determine the progress that has been made since an international accord against landmines came into effect five years ago.
The situation is as follows:
Landmine explosions claimed more than 8 000 victims last year. About 2 000 of these were children.
32 countries, which include the poorest of the poor, are battling with this problem. In Africa, these include Angola, Burundi, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Senegal, Sudan and Uganda.
Nearly 150 countries official support the accord, but three out of the five permanent members of the United Nations' Security Council, the body that should maintain world peace, have still not given their support.
These three countries - China, Russia and America - jointly have a stockpile of 170m anti-personnel mines or landmines specifically aimed at people.
62m stockpiled anti-personnel mines have been destroyed. South Africa destroyed 312 000 mines and in Mozambique, an area of 47.5m m² have been de-mined.
The tragedy of a landmine victim's life is aptly illustrated by Nader Shah, 20, from Afghanistan who was seriously injured eight years ago when he picked up an anti-personnel mine in his family's garden in Kabul.
"I did not know what it was. It looked like a strange piece of glass. I was a curious little boy," he explains with a smile.
When he put it down, the mine exploded. It ripped off his arms and he lost the use of his right eye. It was a Russian mine from the era when the Soviets occupied Afghanistan in the eighties.
He was in hospital for six months and now has an artificial limb with a copper hook in the place of his left arm.
Shah became involved in the international campaign against landmines and often travels to conferences, such as the one in Nairobi next week, to campaign for more support for landmine victims.
He says his involvement in the struggle against landmines has given him confidence, but for many other landmine victims in Afghanistan, "life means nothing".
"I don't want others to go through what I went through.
"I want to help other victims to realise that they are still human beings with the same rights as everyone else."