Photo: Petter ØlbergThe background for Norway’s engagement in Jordanian anti- mine work is the Ottawa convention of 1994 and the late King Hussein’s decision to remove all mines in Jordan after the peace agreement with Israel. At that point, Jordanian society had for long suffered from the negative effects of landmines; fertile has been left unused and innocent lives lost. It was estimated that around 500 000 people were affected by landmines in their everyday lives. Since then, over 50 000 mines have been removed, much with the help of Norway and the participation of Norwegian Peoples Aid.
How are mines lost?
The problem of lost mines occurs when a mined area has been cleared through standard procedure, but all the reported mines were not found. For instance, when a river valley floods, the mines can be transported with the water and change position, making it much more complicated to locate them. The experts know the mines are there, they just don’t know where. The process of finding them is tedious - much like the infamous needle in the haystack.
The Norwegian Ambassador visited the current project site in an area 15 kilometres north of the Baptism site. He was very impressed with what he witnessed. “The project is very professionally run and the management is tackling the problem of lost mines very thoroughly.”
As the Ambassador suited up in full protection gear to investigate the site in more detail, he truly got a taste of what it is like to work in a minefield. Much of the Jordan valley is below sea level and the temperatures get extremely hot. The work is dreary as much of the vegetation has to be carefully removed by hand. With sweat running after only a few minutes you quickly come to respect the people who do this all day.
Ambassador Petter Ølberg is ready to explore the anti mine project up close.
Facts:
- Jordan aims to become the first landmine free country in the Middle East.
- Norway is the biggest contributor to the anti landmine project in Jordan. Over the years, 8 million USD have been donated to help achieve this goal.
- The project is lead by the National Committee for Demining and Rehabilitation (NCDR)
- The sampling process has thus far found 1028 lost items including 93 anti personnel and anti tank mines.
Read more:
NCDR
Norwegian People’s Aid