From the President
During the first five months of the new UNA Florida Division Administration we focused mainly on strengthening the infrastructure necessary to implement the work program during 2002-03, as was briefly defined in our last newsletter. Now the time has come for concrete action.
One of the most significant activities will be the adoption of a minefield in Viet Nam. This project is part of the Adopt-A- Minefield campaign, launched by UNA-USA in 1999, aimed at engaging individuals, community groups and business organizations in United Nations activities to remove landmines in six countries (Afghanistan,Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cambodia, Croatia, Mozambique and Viet Nam). The need in these areas is urgent. Worldwide, more than 60 million landmines in 70 countries kill or seriously injure approximately 25,000 civilians every year�one third of these casualties are children.
Vietnam is among the countries most severely affected by landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). There are at present around 3.5 million landmines and 300,000 tons of UXO left over from various conflicts in Vietnam. More than 38,000 civilians have been killed and 64,000 maimed in munitions related accidents since 1975, when the war ended with the deaths of around three million Vietnamese and 58,000 Americans. Each year Vietnamese suffer over 2,000 casualties from landmines and unexploded ordnance.
The de-mining of the all suspected areas in Viet Nam, approximately 70,000 square kilometers, requires a great deal of skill, equipment and financial resources that the Vietnamese government cannot afford given its present economic situation. Viet Nam, which has been in a post-war period of recovery and reconstruction, has to count on foreign aid to help in cleaning these landmine-affected areas. So far, some international organizations and foreign governments, especially from the United States, Germany, and Britain, have provided Viet Nam with financial and technical support for de-mining work. However, the foreign aid received for this purpose has been very limited in relation to the need and only a very small proportion of affected areas have been cleared. Based on current trends the experts estimate landmines and UXO will continue to maim and kill Vietnamese for another 30 to 50 years.
As part of a Humanitarian De-mining program the United States has provided about $3.1 million in support of these efforts in Viet Nam, including 1.7 million dollars in such materiel as UXO detectors, safety equipment and computers. However, considering the high level of past US involvement in the Viet Nam war, this amount remains very small compared with more than 500 million dollars the US government has contributed to de-mining programs around the world since 1993.
The minefield VTM-019, adopted by the UNA Florida Division, is located in Quang Tri province (Central Viet Nam), along national highway one. This landmine affected area covers part of a 65 hectare clearance site which has been planned for the resettlement of several hundred families. The beneficiaries would all be local families from Hai Thuong commune, a flood-prone area, who have been living in overcrowded and difficult conditions around the edge of the site for over 25 years waiting to return to this land. Since the end of the war, 28 local people have been killed and 10 people injured in mine and UXO accidents in this area. A large number of livestock have also been lost from accidents. The de-mining of the minefield VTM-019 will last approximately four weeks and cost $21,475.
Our Board of Directors has been providing strong support to the Adoption-A-Minefield campaign in Viet Nam. The Board has been quite aware that raising this amount will be a difficult task, requiring a great deal of time, skill, hard work and patience. However, the success of the Sarasota-Manatee Chapter in its Adopt-A-Minefield campaign for Croatia in 2001 has shown us that �difficult� does not mean �impossible� and our project can be accomplished with devotion and team work. I believe all of us would be delighted to learn one day that, thanks to our efforts in this small village in Viet Nam, children are safe playing in their back yards or on their way to school, farmers work without fear of mine explosions and hundreds of families live in safe places.
To achieve our goal we need support and assistance not only from our UNA members but also from caring individuals everywhere. I believe that saving lives of innocent adults and children from landmines is the responsibility of every person, in particular citizens of the rich and industrial countries that mass produced these deadly weapons.
Your generous contributions to minefield VTM-019 will not only save lives but also turn this dangerous area into a safe and productive place for hundreds of Vietnamese families.
Daniel Luu
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