Landmines

MAG and Luzi, Angola: A Success Story
Posted by MAG | May 06, 2013

Michael Fryer, MAG International’s Information and Production Officer, wrote an article for the Thomson Reuters Foundation recently about MAG’s work in Luzi, a village in eastern Angola. Luzi was one of many towns in this area of the country suffering terribly from the aftereffects of the Angolan civil war – a war that, though it had ended several years previously, was still wreaking havoc on its citizens. Landmines and UXO were rife in the village, and Luzi’s population had dwindled to less than 100 by 2005.

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MAG America's Board President, Pat Patierno, Reflects on his 18 years of Work in Humanitarian Mine Action
Posted by MAG | May 01, 2013

I have been involved in humanitarian mine action for nearly 18 years, almost exclusively in a policy or program management capacity. While it is not what defines me, it has become a passion.

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MAG's Somalia Mission
Posted by MAG | March 27, 2013

Last weekend, a landmine exploded at a school in Heraale in the Galgadud region of Somalia, killing two children and injuring three others. While this is devastating news, it is sadly not surprising.  Landmines and UXO are rife in Somalia, especially in the Galgadud region; they have been for 35 years, since the end of the Ethio-Somali War in 1978.

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Nguyen Van Phong – Another Victim of the Vietnam War
Posted by MAG | March 20, 2013

This is Nguyen Thi Len and her seven-year-old son.  This past summer, her older son died and became yet another victim of the Vietnam War. Friday, May 29th, marks the 40th anniversary of the day U.S troops left Vietnam after an eleven year active struggle that included massive bombing raids like Operation Rolling Thunder and Operation Linebacker, which does not include time the U.S. spent supporting the French occupation. Although it’s been 40 years, the Vietnam War still has an incredible impact on the people’s lives.

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Fleeing to safety but finding landmines - The situation for Syrian Refugees
Posted by MAG | March 13, 2013

In late January I attended a briefing from the UN’s Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on the humanitarian crisis in Syria.  At the time there were nearly 700,000 Syrian refugees who had fled their homes to escape the violence and brutality occurring in their country.  Now, just over a month later, that number has grown to over 1 million.  According to a recent CNN report, the number of Syrian refugees could double, and possibly triple, but the end of the year if the situation does not change.

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