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Mine Action in Cambodia by Tim Grant
Introduction
During the past five years, I have worked in four different mine awareness programs. The first was in 1990 with the Land Mine Awareness Programme (LMAP) whose mandate was to reach the Cambodian refugee camps on the Thai/Cambodian border. LMAP was the first mine awareness program to operate in the South East Asian region and was run through the International Rescue Committee (IRC) with funding by the Office of the U.N. Secretary General for the Coordination of Cambodian Humanitarian Assistance Programs.
My job, as media coordinator, was to design and produce all the education materials for the program and to run the informal media component. After LMAP finished, I entered Cambodia and set up the first mine awareness program there, which was called the Mine Awareness Training Team (MATT) and was funded by World Vision Cambodia (WVC). As program manager, it was my job to structure the program, adapting LMAP materials with new designs and approaches. I handed the running of MATT over to the local staff in 1994, and it is still successfully operating. As a consultant to a Cambodian/U.S. government initiative, I used my mine awareness experience to assist with the setting up and training of soldiers from the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF). I saw the main asset for this program was to create teams that could enter insecure areas where other mine awareness programs cannot go and train those people who are living on the frontline.
More recently, I have volunteered
my services to GINIE, an organization set up with support from UNICEF and UNESCO
and based at the University of Pittsburgh in the United States. It maintains websites
on the Internet that depict mine awareness education materials from around the
world. It is also setting up an emergency response group that is connected via
e-mail and can give quick responses to any questions or queries that people in
the field have on mine awareness issues. As most major cities in the world now
have Internet and e-mail access, its use is a practical medium to communicate.
It is looking for more organizations to contribute work. If interested, please
contact Miki Fukuhara at ginie@pitt.edu.
Role of Mine Awareness
Education in Preventing Injuries photo c/o CMAC In Cambodia, there are more
than 40,000 people who are disabled due to landmines. It is estimated that between
100 to 300 people per month step on mines. In October 1995, in just one province
of Cambodia, 13 children were killed and injured by mines and UXO. Landmines
must be recognized as significant contributors to the ongoing impoverishment
of mine-affected communities. They are also a constant source of fear and insecurity
for the population. In countries that have been mindlessly sown with landmines,
demining is overwhelmingly the most pressing need. But because of the high costs
and the time requirement, I see mine awareness as absolutely necessary until
the mines cease to be such a threat.
Mine Awareness in Conjunction
with Demining Programs
At the rate of current demining
in Cambodia, it may take more than 60 years to clear the mines from the most
important areas—that is if they stopped laying mines today. Deminers must assess
the priority areas and clear these first. For the people living in the lower
priority areas, mine awareness is their protection. Mine awareness should never
be presented as a 100 percent guarantee that it will stop people from stepping
on mines, but it is the safest way for people to negotiate and inhabit dangerous
areas. Local people must be aware that it is up to them to protect themselves
from becoming another mine victim. The mine awareness messages
must be repeated in many different media forms. People have become accustomed to living in mined areas,
and, subsequently, need constant reminders of the dangers. Different groups
must be especially targeted. For example, children who have grown up with mines
as common objects have little fear of them; young men who think it is brave
to be seen handling mines; forest collectors who believe their fates are already
destined, and therefore, do not take proper precautions; women who spend most
of their time in the villages and have less experience with and knowledge of
the mine danger. In Cambodia, people are forced by economics to venture into
possible mined areas. In many cases, a safety message such as "Do not enter
into known or likely mined areas" is not heeded. Some people have no choice
but to enter into known danger areas or they will starve. Children are often
in charge of their family's buffalo herd, requiring them to continually venture
to new areas to look for more grass, which typically leads them to mined areas
as they are the most overgrown. It is at these times that techniques such as
recognizing warning clues, retracing footsteps and marking and reporting are
useful skills. photo c/o CMAC There is debate as to whether
the marking of mined areas is more effective than mine awareness. In Cambodia,
this does not seem to be the case. People are suspicious of mine signs and sometimes
think that the person erecting the sign is hiding something valuable or that
they are claiming the land as their own. Mine signs do not last long in this
tropical, termite ridden environment, requiring continual replacement. Also,
a mine sign is a valuable sturdy piece of material that has many purposes. I
have seen them fashioned into buckets, used to patch roofs, as a hand fan and
as children's toys. On the other hand, mine awareness equips the people with
survival techniques to use in the field. During my research period, I found
that those who survived the longest in the most heavily mined areas were the
ones who knew the mine awareness messages and had practiced them. It is essential
to equip those living with mines with as many survival techniques as possible.
In LMAP and MATT, we had experienced
trainers to instruct the mine awareness teachers of proper procedures and techniques.
I tried to hire trained, experienced teachers for the MATT program, never deminers
or ex-soldiers. My view is that military personnel already possess too much
technical information, in mine awareness terms, which they could, inadvertently,
pass on to the villagers. The mine awareness teachers are taught all the information
that is necessary for them to pass on safety messages and not any potentially
dangerous in-depth technical details. They are instructed in the "Teacher's
Notes." If you are ever asked questions that are too technical, relating more
to demining or the workings of a mine, you could answer "Sorry, I do not know
that information because this is a mine awareness program, not a demining program."
The new recruits were given
a two week, in-house training, which covered such topics as comprehending each
message, how to correctly deliver the messages, how to use the educational aids,
how to answer questions, how to present themselves to the audience, how to promote
audience participation and other basic teaching techniques. For the teachers'
first sessions, we invited local NGOs and government field workers to our office
for training. After several weeks of monitored fieldwork, they were ready to
be on their own. As mentioned earlier, it took more than just knowing how to
deliver the curriculum before the recruits became effective mine awareness officers.
Field Level Coordination
Just after I started MATT
in Cambodia, I performed spot checks on my teams, showing that they were not
performing their jobs properly. Most of the staff were ex-refugees, and because
of the dependency they developed on foreign assistance, they had little knowledge
of work structure and ethics. After I assigned a trustworthy and experienced
supervisor, the general day-to-day performances improved. From that time forward,
the teams consisted of five people: two teachers, one media assistant, one driver/media
assistant and one supervisor.
Job Descriptions
The supervisor's task was
to function as a liaison with the authorities, plan the schedule, supervise
the staff, discuss local issues with the village headperson, write a report
on each village and fill in as a teacher when necessary. The teachers would
give formal lessons in different parts of the village, using a combination of
silk screens, models, posters and simulations as aids for their presentations.
After the formal lessons were over, they would visit homes, gathering small
groups for more personalized training. Throughout the day, the media assistants
would play the video, display the materials, play games with the children and
erect posters. This combination of different mediums and media helped to cater
to people's different tastes, reaching many sections of the population. In the
formal setting, detailed techniques are delivered in a serious manner, simplified
concepts are presented informally as entertainment and printed materials are
used as a reference and for studying.
Security Issues
Because of security concerns,
the teams would return to the town every night after visiting one village per
day. To overcome the problems involved with only day visits (i.e., not reaching
people who are out in the field everyday, who consequently, are the ones who
need the messages the most), we employed one local person as our village representative.
Their job required them to visit all the villages within their local area, play
the video, conduct mine awareness lessons at night and update the posters.
The areas that are the most
heavily mined are also the areas that are the least secure and prone to bandit
and guerrilla attacks; consequently, we equipped each car with a radio for security
purposes, which also helped field coordination. I spent a lot of time reminding
the teams of the importance of their job, which is to help save people's limbs
and lives. As it became clear to them that their suggestions and observations
were being listened to and acted upon, they started to take a more personalized
interest in the program. Toward the end of my term with the MATT team, the staff
had started to develop a pride in their work and were coming up with their own
new ideas and initiatives.
Local Cooperation
In Cambodia, it was imperative
to have the support and cooperation of the local authorities. Visits to all
the necessary authorities from the top down had to be made, first by the program
manager and then the team supervisors. We provided all the necessary authorities
with copies of our printed materials and a T-shirt as a gift. In turn, they
encouraged the villagers under their control to attend our lessons, locate the
best facilities and sometimes supply lunch for the staff. As the mine issue
is too severe for any official to ignore, it was in everyone's interest to allow
the program into all accessible areas. In general, it was not too hard to get
a reasonable proportion of the village population to attend a session. Some
came out of curiosity but most were quite worried about living among mine fields
and wanted to learn new techniques to protect themselves.
Appropriate Messages
In general, there were good
relations between all the mine awareness programs operating in Cambodia as well
as those teaming up for special events and needs, e.g., National Mine Awareness
Day and new emergency situations. The program managers meet every month to outline
their program's progress and plans for the coming month. This meeting facilitated
the exchange of ideas and ensured that we were not doubling up on the teaching
and not wasting our resources. Problems with the consistency of the safety messages
were experienced after more organizations started new mine awareness programs.
Modifications
The messages that are now
included in the National Cambodian curriculum have come from eight years of
testing, information gathering and trial and error. The LMAP Curriculum Developer
was from Afghanistan's Operation Salamâs Mine Awareness Programme, and she brought
their curriculum, and materials with her. These materials and the curriculum
were adapted for a Cambodian audience through questionnaires and interviews.
Many of the basic messages, such as "Do not touch," "Ask the locals for the
safe path," "Stay on the safe path at all times" and "Retracing footsteps,"
remained the same as in the Afghan curriculum, and I think are transferable
across all mine awareness programs. Despite the similarities, many changes were
made to the details and techniques, e.g., mine types, likely mined areas, warning
clues, and warning signs.
LMAP was located on the Thai
side of the Cambodian border at a time when there was no access to foreigners
into Cambodia. So, information on the mine types, warning signs and local habits
had to be gathered from Cambodian soldiers, Thai authorities and refugees within
Thailand. Some of the information, such as what warning signs they used to indicate
a mined area, was not always easy to obtain. When I first arrived in Cambodia,
my assistant and I, Mounh Sarath, conducted a three-month survey of the
people's mine awareness knowledge who inhabited the most heavily mined areas.
The survey confirmed that most of the curriculum points were correct, plus new
information was gathered to refine the curriculum. Later, with the help from
MAG and CMAC, we combined the MATT curriculum with MAG's to become the national
curriculum. The curriculum consisted of a list of main points set out so the
teacher can reference them easily during a session. Combined with this list
was the "Teacher's Notes," which gave hints on the presentation, encouraging
audience participation, necessary technical notes and the background for some
of the more complicated concepts, such as fate, magic and karma.
Children
For the children's curriculum,
which was used by the MATT Village Representatives in their local schools, we
simplified all the messages and cut out some of the more difficult concepts.
The following are most of the main points: 1) do not touch Mine/UXO/fuse; 2)
recognition; 3) bravery; 4) stay close to your parents when traveling; 5) always
tell someone where you are going; 6) do not go off the safe path; 7) do not
chase your animal; 8) identify likely mined areas; 9) recognize warning clues
and signs; 10) retrace footsteps; and 11) if you cannot see your footsteps,
you must stop, call for help and wait. The message of "Do Not Touch
Mines/UXO" must be stressed repeatedly to the children. Surveys have shown that
a significant number of child injuries and deaths come from playing with mines/UXO.
Children are naturally curious and tend to touch things despite what they are
told. Making the "Do Not Touch" message into a catchy tune can help the children
to remember and heed this main message. Taking into account that a child's most
common chore is to herd the animals and collect firewood, the next most important
message is to stress should be how to identify the most likely mine areas, how
to recognize warning clues, how to recognize warning signs and how to retrace
your footsteps out of a mine field.
The same problems arose with
first aid. There is strong debate about the details of first aid training and
whether it should be taught at all. Some medical people think that no one should
be taught to apply a tourniquet to stop bleeding, as tourniquets can be very
dangerous and may cause more damage because it will stop the blood from getting
to the tissue below the tourniquet. Many people lose more of their limb than
necessary because their rescuers do not know that the tourniquet must be released.
In most cases, applying a compress to the wound can stop bleeding. Their views
have come from experiencing many cases where whole legs have had to be amputated
because the tourniquet was not released to allow bleeding (there is a huge difference
in quality of life between an above-knee amputee and a below-knee amputee).
On the other hand, other medical people say that the tourniquet should be used
because as many people die from a loss of blood on the way to hospital as from
improperly applied tourniquets.
The MATT staff thought it
was Khmer folklore to automatically apply a tourniquet; so, it is better to
teach the people to apply a tourniquet the correct way. In case they do apply
the tourniquet unnecessarily, they would then know to release it after a proper
period of time to save the rest of the limb. In this case, they decided to stop
teaching the tourniquet method and change the curriculum to instruct people
to apply a firmly tied bandage compressed around the wound but with a reference
to the tourniquet. If you cannot stop the bleeding by this method, only
then is it necessary to use a tourniquet. First aid was also not taught to the
children and is given only to the adults at the end of the instruction on mine
field rescue procedures (i.e., prodding).
Real Mines and UXO vs.
Models I have seen real mines and
UXO being used in a formal setting for identification purposes and felt it went
against the messages. At one session, a UNTAC soldier had approximately 20 active
mines laid out on a bench in front of the audience. During the lesson, a small
child wandered up and went up to touch a mine; her mother managed to pull her
away just in time. Later, when he was demonstrating how booby traps work, he
removed the pin from a grenade before he placed it in a tin can. This action
caused most people in the room discomfort. I think his view was that using real
ordnance is the only way to ensure good clear identification, and the adults
would understand that they are experts in handling ordnance and that these particular
models are perfectly safe. The opposing view is that mine awareness staff should
set good examples by not touching or carrying any mines/UXO (even wooden models)
in the presence of their students. Most of the mine awareness staff are not
demining experts and do not know how to handle a mine. A "live" mine may accidentally
get mixed up with the "free from explosives" mines, and even experts are not
immune to accidents—there are many stories of experts accidentally triggering
mines. Though identification is important, to identify every mine found in Cambodia
may be an information overload (in the UNTAC case, most of the mines were bounding
mines, which, to a lay-person, all look similar). If people have a good idea
about what the most common types of mines look like, around 13 types, it should
be sufficient for their needs.
Materials
The LMAP Curriculum Developer,
Anne Campbell, patiently taught me the basic do' s and don'ts of education materials
design. We spent many hours cutting and pasting the designs. All the unnecessary
background imagery that the artist put in "to make it attractive" had to be
cut out. The lines at the sides of the safe paths were thickened so that the
people at the back of the groups would understand its importance. The size of
these screens works well in most of the groups that LMAP and MATT have taught,
though they are a little small for teaching larger groups. The designs were
always tested on target audiences, passed by technical experts and other relevant
people before the final draft was completed.
Since those early days, the
curriculum content, educational aid designs and program structure have become
an ongoing process of change, according to the new information that has been
regularly gathered from experts and those people living in and around the mine
fields. New materials were being developed at different stages of the programs
to continually reinforce the messages as we visited the most heavily affected
areas on several occasions and to retain interest with new attractions. I used
equipment and materials that were durable and long-lasting, with most being
made by staff or locally produced. This task provided the staff with opportunities
to learn new skills and to ensure the option for them to continue if and when
funding is cut or pulled out. For the electronic equipment, it always proved
more efficient and cost saving in the long-term to purchase the best quality
items, and the staff were always encouraged to clean, maintain and repair the
materials and equipment immediately when needed to ensure the equipment's life
span.
Because of the 30 percent
illiteracy rate, all materials were designed to be understood without the aid
of the written word. There was a lot of debate about the content of each organization's
program's aids and printed materials. It is a difficult area because it involves
strong criticism and artistic egos. After working on a design for an extended
time, it is sometimes difficult to consider changes or scrapping the design
completely. There was endless debate among the Khmer staff in Cambodia over
the correct wording and terminology used on the printed materials. This debate
was partially solved by drafting a Mine Awareness Terminology Glossary, though
debate over the issue still surfaces occasionally.
Other difficulties came from
the accurate depiction of local characters in the illustrations. Foreign artists
did not always depict the characters in their works accurately, but despite
the majority of the artists being local, most were from cities and had "modern
views" on what a country person should look like. It could help to draft some
clear guidelines on how to develop and test materials. Outlined steps for conducting
material testing, how to analyze the results and who are the necessary experts
to check the technical details could be useful for field staff. These guidelines
would have to be written as simply as possible because many of the field staff
may not be highly educated.
Assessment and Evaluation
Accident statistics could
not be used to gauge the effectiveness of the mine awareness programs because
the hospitals did not kept accurate records and most deaths in the field went
unreported, though more reliable mine incident statistics are now being kept
and used in Cambodia. The LMAP program was evaluated and tested on a number
of occasions by the Curriculum Developer. At the start of the LMAP Program,
we surveyed and ascertained that many people did not know what a mine looks
like; what sets a mine off and how they kill; the signs to indicate the presence
of mines; safe behaviors around mines; what they should do if they see a mine;
how to get out of or rescue someone from a mined area; and how to treat someone
injured by a mine blast. During the final assessment of the program, the results
showed a vast increase in people's mine awareness knowledge (the survey results
are not available).
To evaluate what impact MATT
training was having on the population, I directed the staff to hand out periodical
questionnaires. The people from villages that had not received any MATT training
would be questioned on their mine awareness knowledge. Around three months after
the MATT teams had trained the village, they
The MATT staff were encouraged
to record any information they learned or heard in the field about mines, mine
awareness points, problems encountered and the effect mines were having on the
people's lives. One of the staff members, Phan Sokha, was an accomplished writer
and reported in detail many new and relevant facts. The staff knew well that
any negative information they gathered would not be taken as an assessment of
their own personal performances but as an indication that an area may need change
and improvement.
Integration with Related
Programs
None of the programs I worked
in were, at the time, linked to demining or development programs. The refugee
camps with which LMAP worked were strictly controlled—free trade was officially
banned and movement by the refugees outside the camp was illegal. We could not
consider any link to development and there were no demining programs operating
there. When MATT started in Cambodia, demining programs were just setting up
and the NGO's role was limited. MATT was the first mine awareness program to
operate in the country and was started as an emergency response group with no
links to other programs. After around two years of operation and after all the
most heavily mined areas had been visited on several occasions, we decided that
the emergency status of MATT had passed. This decision was made at the end of
my contract, so I have not been involved in the changes. Since then the MATT
teams have been integrated as part of the World Vision's Income Generation Program,
but I do not have details on the structure or details on its operation. (To
obtain information, please contact Mounh Sarath, c/ WVC Battambang, Cambodia).
Towards the end of my time
with MATT, I proposed to restructure the program to have the teams spend at
least one week in each village giving formal lessons. in addition to the most
important task, conducting in-depth discussions with the villagers to find out
how they could best help them meet their main needs and problems. This could
require marking off certain areas, quickly clearing some easily located mines,
placing a high priority order on the demining in that area, concentrating on
specific messages or focusing on particular target groups.
In Cambodia, it is necessary
to take time to establish a relationship with the villagers before they will
open up to you. Barriers such as large flash cars, expensive watches and short-wave
radios need to be broken down. It may take several casual informal talks before
the full details start to emerge. Then the mine awareness teams could evaluate
that particular village's requirements and act as a link to the services available
(i.e., demining, marking, new materials development) and advise the villagers
how they can continue these contacts in the future. Other information such as
the village's history of mine incidences and the mapping of the exact locations
of the surrounding mined areas could also be made and then passed to the relevant
organizations. The staff should be well aware not to make false promises to
the villages about what services are available or what they can do for them.
Conclusion
In summing up, I would like
to emphasize some of my main points. I feel that to have a successful program
you must be flexible and willing to modify your materials whenever conflict
and/or new information is received. The mine awareness staff should be continually
asking questions, evaluating and assessing the experts about technical issues,
the villagers on their reaction to the training and materials and the people
who work in the field/forests for feedback about needs and habits. This information
must be checked, discussed and acted upon. No matter how hard you try, it is
easy to make mistakes. Do not think that if you make mistakes or miss some vital
information that your program is a failure. It may take many years of field
experience before you can feel your program materials are 100 percent correct.
If you are a foreigner working
in another country, it is important to make sure the messages are adapted for
a local audience. This modification will involve collecting information and
working closely with the local staff. For example, when my mine awareness programs
first started, I was instructed not to include any blood or gore in my images
because some of the U.N. staff thought it may be offensive to the local people.
After working with Cambodians for a period of time, I found that the most popular
and effective images are those depicting graphic details about what happens
if you do not follow the safety messages.
It is imperative that all
relevant information you collect is shared openly with the other mine awareness
programs operating in the country. Do not fall into the trap that some agencies
do of holding back information and being territorial. You cannot forget the
reasons that you are doing mine awareness is to save people's limbs and lives,
not to start an empire or to be the biggest and best mine awareness program
in the country. It is better to share your designs with the other agencies and
ask for feedback before the printing stage. It is better to try to get it right
the first time and respect the experience and ideas from the other programs.
Do not forget to follow your own advice when you are in the fields and among
villagers. Be careful of mines.
Contact Information
Tim Grant
CMAC staff present MA messages.
Pointing out a mine to a MA leader.
Training
People have become accustomed to living in mined areas.
photo c/o CMAC
Mine awareness media event.
photo c/o Tim Grant
First Aid
Mine awareness session.
photo c/o Tim Grant
returned and asked the villagers the same questions to reassess their knowledge.
The surveys showed that there was an increase in their mine awareness knowledge
in most areas, especially in the areas of mine recognition (an increase of 26
percent), marking a location (35 percent), understanding a tilt/touch mechanism
(20 percent). Also, we found there were a few areas that required concentration,
e.g., understanding a tilt/touch mechanism (although there was an increase in
knowledge in the overall numbers, 41 percent of those surveyed knew about it,
this percent was still too low), using tied grass as a warning signs (only 26
percent of those surveyed knew this sign), how to retrace your footsteps (24
percent of the people who were asked to show how to retrace did not do it efficiently)
and the prodding technique (only 28 percent could prod correctly, 44 percent
said they did not know how and 24 percent prodded incorrectly). After receiving
the results of this survey, some changes were made to the curriculum and new
materials were designed and produced.
E-mail: pictim@iinet.net.au
Website: http://www.pitt.edu/~ginie/lm/cambodia.html