The
Legacy of War in Chechnya
by Kimberly P. Hill
Hundreds of lives
are destroyed daily; most of which are left unrecorded and unacknowledged. The
struggles and suffering of a few bears witness to the atrocities of many forgotten
casualties and even survivors of all ages. The epidemic of landmines continues
to devour many lives in its path, but it is the aid of others and the written
words of some that convey the true horror of their reality.
War
Zone: Grozny
The heat pounded
down upon the necks of two figures standing on the stairs as they glanced
around at the void that was once their home, but now lay in ruins. They lit
their cigarettes and continued to smoke as they probed beneath the surface
of the debris. The smoke was a screen the two used in hopes of dissipating
the stench that permeated throughout the rift in of their basement. The dust
spun around them in circles, gagging the two survivors as they stared down
into the hole, bewildered by what was left before them and sick from the smell
of the victims left behind. The two 15-year-old boys, Magomed and Ruslan,
stood at the opening in amazement at the devastation and the countless lost
souls left just from the past months of fighting. Magomed said emotionlessly,
"Corpses. There are still a few of them down there, but we leave them
because it is too dangerous to try to clear them away." Magomed and Ruslan
also spoke about explosions and bombs that would flash across the night sky
leaving their town paralyzed with fear and at the light of day, shattered
from the damage. At the age of 15, an age of innocence for many, these two
boys were left to pick up the remaining pieces of their lives and attempt
to mend them back together, despite the on-going war.
Fatima Umarova,
a farmer in the village of Goiskoye, south of Grozny, looked over the fertile
plains, which extended beyond her yard to the edge of the foothills of the
Caucasus Mountains. She looked upon this untended land as a death trap waiting
to destroy what was left of her family. Her life has been torn apart and now,
although she is mending her home, she is still left to face many of the continuing
horrors of war. All of the Umarova's cattle were sacrificed in the war, so
they are not forced to venture into the dangerous fields as much, but many
families are faced with the daily challenge of sending their sons into the
mined pastures just to herd their cattle and make a living. The majority of
landmine victims are children. They are often gathering wood, tending to animals
and like any child, exploring. Upon arriving in Chechnya, HALO Trust, a British
charity dedicated to disposing of explosive debris across the world, said,
"There is an urgent need for demining in Chechnya." Their teams
discovered a total lack of equipment, training and organization despite the
constant support of the Chechen government. HALO theorized that a year's worth
of work would cost up to $1million to safely clear the areas needed. The need
for reinforcements in Chechnya continues to grow because even as the teams
disperse and begin their demining, Russian troops lay more landmines, counteracting
everything that the teams have established. ICRC member Paul Costella said,
"Mines are defensive weapons. They are cheap and simple to use and they
are a vital part of the former Soviet military doctrine." ICRC has also
been one of the forerunners in the attempt to get humanitarian aid to the
civilians in Chechnya. ICRC, like HALO Trust has unfortunately been forced
to evacuate Chechnya until safety can be guaranteed.
Shamil Basayev,
a separatist senior militia commander, returned to Chechnya in hopes of clearing
away the landmines, but found that without the aid of maps and special equipment,
he was of little help. As of the 1980 protocol, maps of the mine fields were
encouraged, but most have been lost or destroyed during the succession of
wars. The original protocol never mentioned the use of landmines in an internal
conflict, like the detachment of the former Soviet Republics. A new condition
to include the internal conflicts came into effect in 1999. Another approach
to demining was to utilize the people who originally laid the landmines, but
most had died in the course of the wars leaving the survivors clueless as
to minefield marking.
The Russians
have randomly dropped thousand of "leaf" bombs into the woods and
mountains, killing innocent and unsuspecting civilians. Many say, this current
war has been a war against the civilian population, an ethnic cleansing. Unfortunately,
this bombing of civilian targets happens everyday and shatters thousands of
lives. Injured victims face another challenge, the hospitals. Over two-thirds
of the hospital facilities in Chechnya were destroyed during the previous
war (1994-1996). The main hospital in Grozny was bombed in 1996 by the Russians.
The hospitals in Chechnya are under staffed, unequipped and hundreds of new
victims arrive in search of treatment. Most of the staff are volunteer, as
they have only received three months pay for the last two years. The prosthetic
facilities are just as cumbersome because of the lack of funding and support.
As of 1999, reports showed that over 3,500 people were in need of artificial
limbs and the only landmine victims who receive the prosthetics are those
who have enough money to buy one. There are no real rehabilitation programs
in Chechnya. People in need are funneled into other programs in nearby countries.
A spokesman for
a Russian arms dealer, Rosvooruzheniye, stated that Moscow now complies with
an international export embargo which prohibits them from selling the landmines
outside of the country, but the internal affairs still rage on unaffected.
The Russian government is not the sole proprietor of these deadly weapons,
as corrupt or financially challenged military personnel also sell these weapons
to any and all that supply them with the money. One woman, Rosa, a Chechen
nurse stated that, "The Russians will even deliver it." This concept
is one of the reasons that demining is so frustrating because it seems as
through these `easy killers' will never disappear because of the availability
in which they can be received. Whenever a conflict arises, the landmine is
one of the first weapons chosen because of the ease of obtaining them and
using them to protect the positions of both sides.
The plague of
landmines continues to sweep further and further across the borders of Chechnya
as landmines are indiscriminately laid by the Chechen rebels and the Russian
army. Many believe that the future of this country as well as several other
Republics is bleak and that the hope of peace seems ages away, but several
NGO's and countries in the European Union are strongly encouraging Russia
to pursue a diplomatic settlement to the current war. One western military
expert said, "Mines are the last line of defense and they [Russians]
have nothing else to replace them with. In the West, diplomacy is replacing
mines. Once Russia's policy changes and relations with its neighbors are no
longer hostile, there is hope, but that will be some time in the future."
