|
Protection
at a Price
|
 |
|
Farming
for food can be potentially fatal for these Angolan women.
|
At
a price of $3 to $30 each, land mines are cheap to deploy.
But for the 70 countries currently infested with minefields,
the real cost of land mines can be incalculable.
Of
course, the most obvious toll is on the victim. More than
half of the 25,000 people annually injured by land mines will
die before receiving medical care. Those who do survive will
require extensive treatment, not always available or affordable
in the strife-torn countries like Cambodia and Afghanistan.
For every
1,000 square miles, two de-miners are injured or killed.
|
|
The
average prosthetic limb costs $3,000, and a child injured
at age ten will go through approximately 25 of them by the
time he or she reaches age 60. Additionally, for survivors
in countries like Angola where farming is a common livelihood,
being disabled severely limits employment opportunities. In
some cultures, the cost for girls and women is two-fold, since
their disabilities can make them undesirable wives as well
as rob them of a means of self-support.
When
conflicts end, the land mines remain. Often, no record exists
of where or how many land mines are buried. What's more, erosion,
floods or earthquakes can carry mines far from their original
locations.
"Thousands-
if not millions- more people are affected," says Gina Coplon-Newfield,
Coordinator for the U.S. Campaign to Ban land mines (USCBL).
"Even the suspicion that mines exist will exert fear and anxiety
over a community."
A government
that plants mines to protect itself is doing little more
than sabotaging its own economic future.
|
|
That
fear and anxiety can severely weaken the regional economy
by impeding the return of refugees to once disputed territories
and slowing rebuilding. The presence of land mines discourages
the building of crucial infrastructure, such as roads and
telephone lines, and hampers trade and tourism. Acres of arable
land lie fallow where people are afraid to till the earth.
Booby-trapped roads and public buildings keep children away
from schools and fragment communities by preventing gatherings
at churches, temples and mosques.
|
 |
| |
Artificial
limbs cost some $3000, an unreachable sum for most third
world residents. |
The
possibility of land mines also keeps outside help at bay, which
hurts populations in even more subtle ways.
"The
rates of AIDS and Polio and other diseases are increased in
affected areas," according to Coplon-Newfield. "Public workers
are afraid to go there."
In
short, a government that plants mines to protect itself is
doing little more than sabotaging its own economic future.
That's why scientists like John
Kauer and Joel White
are working to develop new land mine detection methods. But
even the most advanced computers won't solve all the problems
land mines cause.
"Technology is helpful," says Raymond of PHRUSA. "Still, most
nations that have this problem can't afford it. In the end,
the best solution is the land mine ban." 
- -
- - - - - - - - - -
3
pages: | 1 | 2 | 3
|
 Photo
credits: Don Doll S.J.; Tim
Grant.
|
