When we first met Saliha Abdah outside her simple house made of concrete blocks, she avoided our gaze. Her three young children huddled around her; she slowly started telling her story.
“We were displaced when the war started; the Houthis entered our region and planted landmines. I went to the mountain to collect wood. Suddenly, a landmine exploded under me. The explosion led to the amputation of my leg, under the knee.”
This incident, she said whilst picking the skin on her fingers, signified a brutal change in her life. Unable to face the responsibilities and physical burden resulting from Saliha’s landmine injury, her husband left the family.
Unfortunately, in Yemen and around the world, landmine survivors often face stigma and discrimination from their own family or the community around them.
Saliha feels she can no longer contribute and her children are still too young to become providers for the rest of the family, already burdened by their displacement.
“I used to have my legs, I used to go to work. Now my children and I don’t have anything, and no one gave us anything. All I want is water and food, and nothing else, because I am disabled and can’t work.“
In order to safeguard human life, dignity and health, Project Masam has made it its mission to rid Yemen of landmines, unexploded ordnance and improvised explosive devices and allow for the safe passage of humanitarian goods, including medical supplies, food and water.
By clearing 23,270,112sqm of Yemeni land and neutralising over 254,918 explosive threats since mid-2018 (as at 11 June 2021), we have ensured displaced families were able to return to their homes safely, and children could go back to school.
Watch Saliha’s story, here.
