Radio Miraya
2688: International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action
Yesterday humankind marked the international mine awareness day and assistance to mine action the very day However, we at ready Mira have been consistently speaking to representatives from the mine action or amas To tell us more about their activities, but today in the studio. We're joined by John Sorbo head of mine action with the Danish refugee Cancel John good morning and welcome to the show. Thank you for me, right? So as head of the mine action with the Danish refugee cancel would you share with us the significance of These international mine awareness day. Yeah, I'd be happy So in the RC we call it human talent disarmament and peace billing program, which is the one action competent come in one of the four core sectors of the organization It's profound significance for us as it reminds us of the devastating impact of land mines explosive remnants of war worldwide And more specifically in South Sudan It raised awareness about ongoing threat posed by these remnants And highlight the importance of our efforts to mitigate this threat Mm-hmm, and it also advocate for the rights. So mine victims promote exposed owners risk education and support initiatives aimed at clearance or land release victim assistance and risk reduction, right and also celebrate the progress made globally Acknowledging also that challenges still remains and Additionally, it honors the courage of survivors and the occasion of Monaction professionals. Mm-hmm, and also underscores the need to continue national cooperation to address the human talent impact of land mines Move forward towards a world free of these weapons, right? Well yesterday in Juba. There was an event where was your organization part of it? Absolutely We understand and we took part as we do every year Yeah, so what was those of the some of the things that were discussed in that event that stood out for you? Yeah, so protecting lives and billing pieces is was the was the team for this year's event and very importantly the strategy strategy for the next four years was also launched on this event. So this is a very crucial document for What the sector will be doing at the years to come and is also an important document with regards to raising funds From it national donors to continue there for the releasing and for productive use and also ensuring that people can't turn home Right now considering the theme for this year. Just as you earlier alluded. How does a mine action with the Danish refugee cancer contribute to promoting Or in line with a theme building resilience through mine action. Yeah, so we emphasized on the vital role that Monaction efforts have in saving lives and fostering peace Particularly in affected communities the daily reminds us of the destructive impact of land mines and exports remnants of war Urching collective action to address this massive challenge. Mm-hmm and to Clearance or land release as we call it risk education and victim assistance. We contribute to community rehabilitation and socio-economic development All right, I'm at 2024 and the scores is important. So continue support is also done and also addressing the global and mine Crisis if you like and you know uniting governments in in the process. Mm-hmm Right so We earlier had from the office in charge of Unhass you in a mine action service and he said that more awareness is required for people to be aware about these So why are mine action and mine awareness crucial especially in South Sudan? well, we are mitigating the land money explosive War impact in particularly conflict affected the areas and and for us objectives include Human tandem mining or land release. Mm-hmm. I do focus on land release because That is really the key point. We are returning land for productive use and allowing people to return home and And we also focus on hazardous We are aiding victim assist known in the session to support victims and we do capacity building of our local partners, you know, right community need aid and We continue to advocate for resources and support and also of course community engagement for inclusive interventions And this is again the keys a world free of land mine threat and insurance safety and dignity for everyone right So could you just really elaborate on the long-term impacts of land mines and unexploded ordinances on the communities their livelihood and Also the development in areas where these are still prevalent. Yeah, so Yeah for South Sudan, I mean this and in every post conflict or conflict Context it in danger civilians in the development and impact the return of displaced people and Giving the South Sudan's history of conflict address the Sasser It's crucial for community safety and human-term access and peace building and also In one action initiatives mitigate accidents and protect vulnerable population and also and say enable safe land use So invest investment in one action and promoting awareness is essential for South Sudan's Recovery and stability, right? So what role do local communities play? Do they even have a part in mine action efforts? And definitely Definitely, I mean one action on awareness is is Is critical due to the widespread contamination and the fact that in danger civilians and in the development, right? So addressing this as such is crucial for safety is crucial for human-term access and certainly peace building and conflict mitigation and it also it's an important initiative to mitigate that risk and Project the project the population and enable safe land use especially for recovery and stability, right? So how can the people's involvement be enhanced for or supported for them to be able to collaborate more or report efficiently? Yes, so so we would engage community with decision-making from the start which means that we will look at Where we're gonna start our operation and what is that a value for doing that in certain areas? Be within probably this to take charge of an issue particularly local leadership in the communities we work We would share knowledge and try to capacity build on various levels Risk education is important to mitigate for the risk but also to obtain information from the communities Continue to network to our community place intervention explain to communities where what we are there to do and what we're not there to do and we also Trying to put first a partnership with a stake all this local organizations Knowledge has changed and sustainable livelihood support. That's another thing the RC is doing in social life, right? and economic initiatives You're also trying to support income generating activities and we link in victims up to victim Victim assistance organization like I say CEO for instance, and we are Continue to obtain that information to our operations and the more is good occasion we carry out the more information we also get because when we Indicate on pictures for instance certain items very often we get from the community So I've seen this item over there by the tree and then that Engage us to carry out survey activities and then start let's say technically interventions, right and through this type of community engagement We've been assured that say call this can feel safer and more resilient to the you know Absence of explosive remnants in the communities right now beyond immediate clearance efforts How does mine action contribute to border peace building reconciliation and stability in South Sudan? Well, we will say that You maintain this arm mental or my action has referring to it promote peace building reconciliation and stability through the fact that we as a International organization we it's a way of obtaining trust and cooperation It fosters dialogue and it also laying the groundwork for a broader piece of words And also create a safer environment to through clearance or land release We're staying in return rebuild and access essential services, right and also socio-economic development John sorry boy. Thank you so much for making our time to speak to us this morning I know you have so many success stories to share with us But what what is that one success story that stands out for you that you'd like to share with our audience? So we are current operational in a co-op in in my bond and mug me and I can share one story would be from The communities in mug we have eager to to return to the land we release So we can actually see that farmers are ready to to move in as soon as we're finished to keep asking us When you'd be completing the task and what we do then as we get in closer to that we interact with our Community lace team members, right and they communicate with the with the communities And then we say and this day we're gonna hand over the land to you guys through the national authority So so national management authority And as soon one or two days after that we start seeing cultivation and that is fantastic And that is the feeling that this is really worthwhile and this is actually what we here to do We're releasing down back to the communities for productive use and research fantastic indeed John. Thank you so much Thank you, Irina. Thank you very much.