Hammam, Anhar and Wijdan’s story

Hammam, Anhar and Wijdan’s story

In Yemen, children make up for a large proportion of all victims of landmines, unexploded ordnance and improvised explosive devices. Hammam, Anhar and Wijdan are sadly some of the thousands of children whose life has been altered by mines.

“We went out for a walk in the vicinity of Al Jufina [Ma’arib governorate]. One of the children said that they found nails or something like that and we were surprised after that they collected them and took them home,” the children’s father explained as he waited in hospital as they were recovering.

“One of the children, Hammam, played and knocked with the hammer, which led to the explosion, resulting in deep wounds and minor wounds. And of course his left hand and left eye were amputated,” he explained.

His little sister Anhar suffered from wounds in her hands, left arm and face. One of little Anhar’s right finger was cut. Elder sister Wijdan suffered injuries on her left hand and right knee – including flesh from the front to the back of the joint.

“This is human killing. They blew up homes, deserted people, destroyed schools.
These children, what is their fault? They go to school and it explodes with them. A person goes to herd his sheep anywhere he and his sheep explode,” the father told Project Masam.

“Masam removed mines, in partnership with the Yemen Executive Mine Action Centre (YEMAC), and they did a tremendous and great job. They also sacrificed the best of their experts and also from the youth whom they recruited, which is also a tremendous job.”

Project Masam has evidence of landmines planted in the form of toys – making them attractive to children.

According to KSrelief Health and Environmental Aid Department Director Abdullah Saleh Al-Moallem, children are usually not capable of identifying the threats. 85% of children victims die before they reach the hospitals.

To learn how Project Masam’s teams are working to alleviate this tragedy, please follow us on Twitter @Masam_ENG and on LinkedIn: Project Masam.

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