While Radwa Muthana Nagi Al-Gini was playing next to her house in the Al-Shakhb neighbourhood in the Qa’atabah District of the governorate of Dhalea, she stumbled on a Houthi landmine.
Fortunately, the eight-year old had learned a lot about the different types of landmines found in Yemen, and the importance of not touching them through awareness campaigns conducted by Project Masam teams.
Radwa told Project Masam she found the landmine while she was playing near her house and was able to identify it because the many pictures and posters spread by Project Masam’s demining Team 18 in her neighbourhood.
The little girl explained that as soon as she identified the landmine, she told her father who directly contacted the Project Masam team in Al-Dhalea Governorate. Soon the demining team arrived in the neighbourhood and began clearance work to remove the mine. The team cleared other mines laid by the Houthis in the vicinity of the house when the militia controlled the area.
Commenting on the importance of the awareness campaigns conducted by the Masam teams, Radwa said: “The Masam teams distribute papers and posters to the residents to educate them about landmines. Those papers and posters are also found on the walls of schools and houses, and this helped me identify the landmine which was similar to those found in the posters.”
The leader of the Team 18 working in Al-Dhalea governorate said the eight-year-old’s conscious handling of the landmine is the outcome of the awareness campaigns carried out by his team to warn against the dangers of landmines and educate people about how to deal with them properly.
He added that since the liberation of the Al-Dhalea governorate from Houthis’ control, Project Masam started removing landmines in most districts and has been working around the clock to secure the return of the displaced to their homes and to clear farms and schools.
The leader of Team 18 confirmed that his team is continuing its work to remove all landmines in Al-Dhalea governorate and continues to educate civilians about the dangers of mines and about how to deal with them in a safe manner.
Project Masam’s emphasis on Mine Risk Education strives to achieve behaviour change to mitigate the risk of explosive devices through creating awareness and education about the risks of landmines and other explosive items as well as safe behaviour.
