When bombs, grenades, missiles, and cluster munitions are dropped, launched, or thrown during conflict they typically create widespread devastation, as intended. However, the mere release of such weapons does not guarantee detonation, which means they will remain dangerously active wherever they land until disabled or detonated.
On my first day I walked into the MAG America office headquartered in Washington D.C. completely unaware of what I'd be doing and who I'd be working with. I had zero job experience and all the wrong expectations. It only took me about three hours to realize the corporate world isn't as intimidating as it seems and that I was really lucky to have found MAG.
In April 2012 I made my first visit to MAG’s programs in northern Iraq, southern Lebanon and Libya.
The first country visited was northern Iraq, or Iraqi Kurdistan. The first thing that strikes you on arriving in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, is just how different it is from the news stories you hear of Iraq. Western news focuses on the war and upheaval which is only one piece of the story of this country. Even though I knew the difference existed before traveling, it was something else to actually see and experience it. I certainly never imagined that we would be walking around Ainkawa (the area of Erbil where MAG’s office is) including the ancient citadel, bazaars and minaret park, without a single security concern.
My visit to MAG’s program in Lebanon was an eye-opening experience and another demonstration of the hard work MAG deminers undertake day in, day out—often in difficult and tiring conditions.
Co-Laureate of the 1997
Nobel Peace Prize
©2012. MAG America is a 501(C)(3) Organization.
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