25.10.2019 10:18
Among the 3,400 residents of the Falklands are a community of about 100 Zimbabweans, who have been a familiar and welcome sight in the past decade, clearing the 25,000 mines laid by Argentinian troops during their 74-day occupation of the islands in 1982
A sign warns of landmines in Stanley, the capital. The Ottawa treaty requires the UK to clear all mined areas under its jurisdiction or control, including the Falklands
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By 2010, about 20,000 landmines remained within clearly fenced and marked-off areas. Although not all of these were anti-personnel mines, the UK remained obliged to clear all the mined areas across East and West Falkland
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The Zimbabwean workers are highly skilled, with extensive experience of de-mining in their home country
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Zimbabweans work on a mined beach in Stanley. Care is required to remove each mine by hand or, if necessary, conduct demolition in situ. The Falklands are 8,000 miles from the UK and have limited sea and air support
According to reports, 7m sq metres of land has been made safe, about 5,000 mines have been cleared and disposed of, and thousands of additional items of unexploded ordnance have been removed
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It is hoped the work will result in the removal or elimination of all the mines that were listed in the Argentinian minefield reports
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Zimbabweans work on a mined beach in Stanley
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A mined beach in Stanley. Goose Green became the first settlement to be cleared last year
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The littering of the Falklands with landmines was one of the most damaging legacies of the war for the residents of the islands
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Jonas Muza, a member of a mine-clearing team, at his home in the Falklands
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The mined areas of the Falklands make up about 0.1% of the land area, meaning they do not pose a significant danger to residents
Earlier clearance work found the landmines, which were made in Italy with small amounts of detectable metal, were still in good working order after 27 years
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A mine-clearer takes a break on a beach in Stanley
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The mine-clearing operation began in 2009 and is expected to conclude next year
Post published in: Featured