The Realities of War

This week one of my field days was to Qayyarah. Just a regular visit. As we approached the area, we found ourselves surrounded in all directions by military vehicles. There were vehicles full of soldiers, there were pick up trucks with rocket launchers fixed in the back, there were flat bed trucks stacked with boxes of ammunition, there were tanks, there were military humvees, there were trucks stacked with food supplies. We knew it would be like this, we were anticipating the launch of a new offensive against ISIS in an area called Hawiga. And it's not exactly the first time I've seen this kind to troop movement. But as I watched all the movements, all these different armed groups (it's not as simple as the Army, RAF and Navy - we have all different ethnic factions with their own groups of fighters, their own flags, their own unique goal in mind) it struck me again what a truly dirty war this is.

Earlier in the week I was in my office listening to some new security information that staff had learned and we were trying to decide whether to suspend movements in an area based on these rumours. I was told in some detail (before I had a chance to say I didn't want to hear the specifics) of the torture that had been carried out on a captured ISIS fighter in order to try and glean information about sleeper cells.

As I watched all these men heading off to new frontlines this week, and thought about the treatment of those captured; I just kept thinking 'all of these men are sons, fathers, brothers, friends'. They are all leaving someone behind praying for their safe return. That's the reality of what is happening here and it's heartbreaking. If you pray, please continue to pray for peace in this country.

Mine Risk Education

I think I have mentioned on here before the issue of mines and explosives in this country. The years of different conflicts have left the land littered with unexploded bombs and mines. The latest conflict has seen a truly evil use of explosives hidden in children's toys, abandoned house, religious books etc; as well as the usual remnants of weapons that have failed to detonate. All of this puts populations at huge risk. I can't tell you how many stories we hear of children picking things up that then explode, or families returning to homes they have fled to find them booby trapped.

Part of my organisations work is highly specialised mine action work. This includes mine clearance, but in this post I want to tell you about Mine Risk Education (MRE). If you were returning home after fleeing during a conflict would you be able to spot potential dangers? Would your kiddies know how to stay safe? And how would you train them without scaring them?

This is where the incredible work of MRE comes in to play. We have teams that go in to pre-schools, schools, community centres, any where they can find groups of children or adults gathered regularly and teaches them about how to spot potential mines, how to report the sighting to the right agency, how to mark it so others are aware, and how to deal with an emergency. They do all this in fun, interactive ways that keep people's attention and helps them remember what they have learned.

Recently I went and watched an MRE session in a primary school and was astounded by the way the team made such important but difficult lessons accessible to kids. It reminded me of watching earthquake safety lessons in Haiti - children really are knowledge sponges. It's impossible to know what the true impact of this work is, but I really believe that it is a critical part of recovering from conflict.

P.S. Apologies for the awful quality photo - it's hard to get a photo of kids that doesn't show their faces when you're the foreigner in the room!