Roles of Civilian Communities on the Humanitarian Demining: “Left over Landmines, Humanitarian Quest Everyone Concerning.” By Vasu Chanarat Weera Polwadana, Suphakrit Sopikul, and Vicha Wanadurongkawan

Background Landmines remain near borders of Thailand. Preventing further injuries is needed attention. The Thailand Mine Action Center (TMAC) recorded in 2001: 27 Provinces 934 Locations 2,556.7 sq.km. 3,469 Human Casualties

Mine Action 1.Mine Awareness Warning materials reminding the children and the people who live or work on such areas are required to distribute. The leaflets suggesting not to pick up odd items found on the ground are no less important.

2.Personal Protective Equipment (PPE.) Risk management involves the identification, analysis, assessment and removal (or reduction) of risk. The term implies dominance and control of risk, and the application of agreed processes to achieve consistent results.

3.Mine Victims and Disabilities Support The number of Thai mine Victims is approaching more than 3,468 casualties. The treatment for an individual casualty is well taking care of. Unfortunately, there are many disabilities support programs that need to be continued.

What have been done TMAC found that one approaching alternatives is to open the coming help form NGO humanitarian contributions. In Thailand such involvements by civilian communities are MOM, PRO, and General chatichai Choonhavan Foundations. In Chanatburee province, there are 30 sites, 8,801,476 sq. meters of the left over landmines. More communities are getting involed by R&D.

Objectives To follow up the routine tasks of TMAC’s mine action activities. To establish the workable organization and the strategic planning for the community volment in mine action programs. To perform mine action programs under the limitation of civilian abilities.

The risk study from Plumb of Blast Works that have been done can be summarized as follows ;

PPE ; Much of works on the Personal Protective Equipment have been researched; # Personal Protective Cloth, Helmet and Face Shield

Personal Protected shoes (Pan Blast Boots) A pair of the pan Blast Boot is the shoes capable of reducing the blast reaction produced by M14 Personal mine. To preserve the foot and leg from the damage under a condition of pressure-heat-gas and the fragmentations A pair of the Pan Blast Boot weighs only 1.1 kilogram.

M14-(29g of Tetryl) Blast results on the simulation leg comparing between Blat Boot and the combat boot under M14 trials

Before blast Fatal After blast Result of combat boot on the blast trial

Pan blast boot with the blast trial result Foot deform but no tear offAfter blast

Most of the simulation legs after blast can be prevented from the heavy injury Blast Boot

Mine detector system; research and develope by Mahanakorn University A The set of mine detector system and view of operation

Encountered Problems * The budget funding. * The local area community basic mine awareness background knowledge.

Conclusion * Mine action programs for all of the remaining mined areas need to be urgently concerned by all communities. * The proceeding steps may initialize with the primary task, that is, to form the prototype of the community mine action team arming with the project plan, the operating tools, equipments, and trained personnel.

Suggestions 1.Calculating and requesting for approval from TMAC the cost to establish humanitarian mine action projects and the operating cost. 2.Raising and/or requesting fund for the needed operating tools and equipments. 3.Initiating the basic mine awareness propagation program and the mine victims and disabilities program to the selected communities. 4.Recruiting and training the community mine action team personnel.

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