Landmine explosions bring severe psychological trauma to those who survive them. Bassam Massawi was returning from a sea trip on Yemen’s West Coast with eight of his friends.
“After we ended the trip, and were returning to the Al-Khawkha region in the Al Hudaydah Governorate, we were hit by a mine,” Bassam told Project Masam.
Bassam was not the only victim in the incident, in which he lost his left leg. “I regained consciousness and found myself on a bed. Four of my friends had died, and four were amputated. My friends and I were badly affected. Now I am in a better condition than others: there are people who cannot move from above their beds.”
The significant physical damage to Bassam’s limbs means he struggles to walk, and work. “I could have worked on anything before, but now it’s hard to do anything other than begging. I hope to find a suitable job like a bus driver or anything simple to do in order to find my daily sustenance,” he explained.
“I hope that human rights organisations will intervene and remove these mines from all over Yemen. They only harm poor and innocent people.”
With this in mind, Project Masam has made it its mission to reduce the number of mine-related accidents, and ensure young people can return to normalcy.
