Because of the presence of landmines, several Yemeni schools experienced full paralysis, as their students and staff turned away from them, and parents were afraid explosions could kill their children.
Thanks to Project Masam’s humanitarian landmine clearance, the schools have been brought back to life and are back in harness.
On the occasion of the International Education Day, Aref Al-Qahtani, Masam’s supervisor in Taiz, underscored the effective role played by Masam teams in ensuring the educational process is maintained.
“The random and extensive planting of landmines brought harm to schools in Taiz Governorate, which in turn brought harm to students and the educational process as a whole. Many of these schools had mines planted in them, and the educational staff left to other governorates,” Al-Qahtani said.
Al-Qahtani noted that more than 107 students suffered different injuries due to landmine explosions, as he claimed the Houthi militias deliberately planted pen and toy-shaped landmines in schools, which wounded and killed many students.
Many schools in Taiz suffered from the spread of mines, such as the Al-Shaab School in Akkad village in Jabal Habashi. There, Masam’s Team 22 discovered many mines, explosives and UXOs on its ground.
This is in addition to Qutaybah Ibn Muslim School and Shahid Al-Zubairi School in Jabal Habashi, Al-Thawra School in Al-Mayarif, and Aqaba Ibn Nafeh School in Salw, in addition to Ibrahim Ibn Aqil School in Sabir Al-Mawadim, where landmines were planted in, near and on roads leading up to them.
Al-Qahtani said that these mines hindered the educational process, pushing some parents to prevent their children from going to these schools to spare them the dangers of mines.
Al-Qahtani voiced his pride in Project Masam, describing it as a sustainable project on the human level. The supervisor claimed the project should go on with its mission as Taiz and several other Yemeni regions are still in dire need of Masam’s humanitarian support so that life can go back to normal -socially, educationally and economically.
