Peace and Mines: Youth Rising to Action
On 13-14 January, the Winnipeg branch of the Youth Mine Action Ambassador Programe (YMAAP) held a "Peace & Mines: Rising 2 Action Symposium" attended by 22 high school students. It provided opportunities for participants to link up with international campaigners fighting against landmines, as well as learn practical skills in government relations, organizing events and engaging the media.
Landmines have killed more people than chemical, biological and nuclear weapons combined. They are often called "weapons of mass destruction in slow motion." Young people have been involved in the campaign to ban landmines since the beginning in 1994. Now, 10 years after the campaign began, landmines are banned in 143 countries around the world; however, they continue to kill and maim civilians for years after.
Refugees and landmines
As part of the conference session on racism, conflict and landmines, Enisa Zildzic gave a presentation on the impact of landmines on refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). More than 40 million refugees and IDPs have fled homes in countries that are severely affected by landmines. Even when the conflict is over, mines become an impediment to their safe return home. What used to be home has become a former war zone contaminated with mines, making it extremely dangerous to return to farming occupations in particular. Those returning to homes in mined areas are often unaware where mines have been planted, as mine fields are not usually marked or identified appropriately, if at all. Sometimes people try to clear the mines themselves, usually resulting in death or injury. Children are often victims as they play with unexploded ordinance they find. Clearing of mines is happening in many countries but it is an extremely slow, painstaking and labor intensive process. The presence of landmines, even after conflicts have been resolved, make it difficult for societies to heal and can be an obstacle to reconciliation processes between coexisting ethnicities. Mine explosions are a constant reminder of the armed conflict that took place.
Pen-pal letter exchange program
The pen-pal letter exchange is a RESPECT program that encourages an exchange of letters between students from refugee schools around the world and non-refugee students. RESPECT has been developing contacts with refugee schools from different countries over the past years. The goal of the exchange is for the non-refugee students to learn about refugees' lives in a more direct and personal way, and hopefully develop a desire to do something to help, or become active in some way. It is also a chance for refugee students to talk about their lives and feel connected to the world.
The conference provided the opportunity for students to become involved in the pen-pal program. A group of Liberian, Sierra Leone and Guinean refugee students of Mohammou Refugee School in Guinea, West Africa, had prepared letters for exchange and these were distributed to 13 students at the conference who chose to participate in the program. Response letters were prepared, and enthusiasm was such that some participants chose to write to two pen-pals!
Those who participated in the conference acquired knowledge and skills they can put to use within their own schools and communities. Some students have undertaken to raise the issue of landmines within their school clubs, as well as raise funds for de-mining. Others were keen to be more active in peace rallies and the environmental movement, while others were looking for voluntary work and expressed an interest in pursuing foreign aid work in later life.
The campaign against landmines is not over. There remain countries who refuse to sign up to the ban, and there are an estimated 60-70 million landmines in the ground in at least 70 countries around the world. There is still a long way to go to rid the world of this menace.