LANDMINES IN AFGHANISTAN Sarah Ajao

WHAT IS A LANDMINE Landmines are small, usually round devices designed to injure or kill people by an explosive blast or flying fragments. Landmines takes a tiny amount of pressure to detonate a landmine, making every man, woman, child, and animal who steps on one to become the next victim. Mines can be laid above ground in trees or buried.

AFGHANISTAN AND LANDMINES Afghanistan’s capital Kabul is the most heavily mined city in the world. 50 land mine related injuries are reported every month in the country. More than 530 square kilometers of Afghanistan have now been identified as contaminated by Mines and UXOs (an unexploded mine) 149 kilometers of the 530 kilometers is located in areas where they present a danger to people These landmines are located in residential areas, commercial areas, agricultural land, irrigation canals, roads and grazing areas

STRATEGIC WEAPONS After decades of continuous seemingly never ending periods of war there are a reported 10 million mines in Afghanistan with an estimated population of 29,835,392 that means there is 1 mine for every 3 Afghans It causes as little as 3 dollars to create one of these mines and approximately 1000 dollars to render one of these weapons harmless Buried mines are capable of staying active for more than half a century It can cause as much as 3000 dollars to fit a victim of landmines in a third world country- where the vast majority of landmines are located with- a prosthetic Mines inflict physical and psychological damage on civilians and are capable of crippling a country. Landmines tactically deny access to farmlands, irrigation channels, roads, waterways and public utilities. Landmines already kill or maim more civilians in Afghanistan than in any other country. 84% of Mine victims in Afghanistan have gone into debt to pay for their medical treatment.

LANDMINES AND THE FUTURE 161 countries have signed the Mine Ban Treaty (1997). China, Egypt, Finland, India, Israel, Pakistan, Russia and the United States have all not signed the treaty.

LANDMINES AND THE COST 8 out of 10 landmine victims do not survive their injuries and when they do many challenges surface A child's artificial limb should be replaced every six months; adults need a new limb once every three to five years. It becomes very costly especially in a third world country to keep fitting these amputees Much money and resources is needed to be spent on land mine victims, money that is usually needed in some desperately needed sector of health

WHAT IS INTERESTING ABOUT LANDMINES Landmines are ingenious strategic weapons. They prey on something that is usually uncontrollable, our fear. Landmines though cheap come at a human and economic cost that is immense. Children who are usually the victims of landmines are a drain economically, money that is much needed in other sectors. Human costs are lives and family are literally blown apart and are a stress psychologically.

ORGANIZATION OF MY PRESENTATION I tried my best to keep my audience listening from the beginning to the end I used as little text as possible; power points are supposed to be a visual aid not a reading exercise. I used visual illustration.

UNDERSTANDING AFGHANISTAN I understand Afghanistan more than ever. Though the most of the war is over done it and Afghanistan is in a better state of peace than it’s experienced in decades. The people are in psychological warfare. These people are not even assured the ground they walk on are safe. Nothing is guaranteed school, food or safety. Death torpedoes from the sky without any warning.

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CITATIONS "Landmines of Afghanistan (15 pics)." AcidCow.com - The One and Only. Version AcidCow.com © Smileys by Kolobok, n.d. Web. 29 Mar "Afghanistan Landmine Facts." Afghan Network iNteractive. International Campaign to Ban Landmines, n.d. Web. 29 Mar " Land-mines: A deadly inheritance." unicef:donations, n.d. Web. 29 Mar "Landmine Facts." United States Coalition to Ban Land Mines. US Campaign to Ban Landmines, n.d. Web. 29 Mar "South Asia: Afghanistan." ISSN , 26 Mar Web. 28 Mar "Facts about Afghanistan." World Map. © Compare Infobase Ltd, n.d. Web. 29 Mar