Watch where you step: Landmines can’t tell the difference between a child and a soldier

Landmines are bombs buried or hidden on the ground. They are intended to be a tool of war, but they can’t tell the difference between the foot of a soldier, the tire of a tank, and the foot of a child. When pressure triggers them to explode, they can cause serious injuries and even death.

Peace after a conflict doesn’t eliminate the danger of landmines; many are left over, hidden or buried in farmers’ fields, roads and even areas that children play. There are currently millions of landmines left unexploded in 72 countries around the world.

Girls and mines

Ironically, keeping girls at home to help with household chores helps protect them from landmines. 75% of child casualties happen to boys because they are more involved with outdoor activities like herding. But, the Landmine Monitor worries that girls casualties are under-reported, especially if girls with disabilities are being hidden and not receiving care. Girls do face a risk when they go out to collect water and firewood, herd animals, or do farm work.

Meet Song Kosal from Cambodia: When she was six, Song stepped on a landline while working with her mother in a rice paddy. Her leg was severely injured and had to be amputated. Song’s disability has inspired her to become an activist against landmines, working as an ambassador for the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. She also competed in Miss Landmine Cambodia, a beauty pageant that challenges conventional ideas of beauty.

An end to landmines

In 1997, 157 countries got together to sign the Mine Ban Treaty. Each group that signed promised to stop using landmines in conflict and destroy their stockpiles of mines. But the ban isn’t total: the latest news from the Landmine Monitor shows that mines are still being laid in Afghanistan, Colombia, Israel, Libya, Myanmar, and Pakistan.

It’s not just about who’s using landmines, though. It’s also about who produces and sells them. There are 12 countries that are busy producing landmines, including the United States!

Do you think landmines should be banned?