[Angola] Demining gives Angolan poor stake in postwar future

from Reuters Alert Net

By Christopher Thompson

HUAMBO, Angola, June 14 (Reuters) - At a minefield in central Angola, deminers display a map of the region that is littered with sinister red dots, the explosive legacy of the African country's 27-year civil war.

"The road ... went through minefields, so that was our priority," head of operations Albertino Manuel said, standing in a thatched hut. The entrance to the hut is flanked by two white markers signalling mines that have been found and destroyed.

The area at Canhama is just one out of 327 minefields in central Huambo province, Angola's former breadbasket. Small villages border minefields, while farms, water supplies and the local school straddle routes surrounded by "suspect areas".

With Angola's first elections in 14 years now likely to be held next year, demining will allow people to register to vote this July -- giving previously isolated citizens a stake in the political process of this oil-rich country for the first time.

Perhaps more importantly, demining also allows them to make a living.

"People are not so concerned by either party; they want the freedom to work," said Waldemar Fernandes, who works for demining non-governmental organisation HALO Trust. "Now they will have more power over their own future."

In the neighbouring province of Bie, roads have been cleared in and around 200 villages. U.S.-based mine watchdog Humpty Dumpty Institute (HDI) estimates that demining will allow an additional 200,000 people to vote.

"Everything was destroyed by the war," said Fernandes. "Armies put mines, which is easy. Demining is difficult, especially since the army doesn't have records - so we have to find them all."

WAR'S LEFTOVERS

Since the end of the civil war in 2002, Angola's economy has grown massively. But most of its 13 million people still live in abject poverty.

The former Portuguese colony is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world. An area about the size of Texas is still pitted with up to 4 million mines.

Mines strangle economic development, commerce and political participation. The dirt road from Canhama to Huambo's central San Pedro market was mined meaning villages could not trade.

"The road was our first priority or else people are cut off," said Fernandes.

The delicate work of clearing the land falls to "Sapadores". They kneel in small fenced rectangles, meticulously going over every inch of ground with a metal detector.

"When the long grass is cut, by machine, we can then proceed. After the first clearing it is checked over three more times by superiors," said Bruno Ferreira, a supervisor in charge of HALO's demining operation. "Concentration is all."

Further into the bush, paths grow narrow, with poles marking the slim walkways of safety.

Manuel Cotingo, who has been with HALO since 2000, is working at the end of the path in the shade of a tree.

"We have been two months in this area and now the population is returning to the fields to cultivate," he said.

NEW VICTIMS

Although mines are ostensibly aimed at enemy armies, the heaviest casualties occur amongst civilians, especially the young, with most victims aged between 15-35.

The government estimates that there are 70,000 to 80,000 mine survivors in Angola, representing 78 percent of all persons with disabilities. Approximately two-thirds of survivors are concentrated in Luanda, with others found in the mine-affected provinces of Bie, Huambo, Malange and Moxico.

"In Huambo, most mines came from the USSR, Germany, Cuba, China, Czechoslovakia and a few from France and Italy - these countries had no shame," Fernandes said.

Now, foreign countries are helping to eradicate the legacy of war: China is rebuilding roads and railways in return for Angolan oil, and Britain is funding demining operations.

Casualties caused by mines are declining, after a brief surge following the 2002 peace deal when hundreds of thousands of refugees began returning to the central Planalto region.

Landmine-related injuries rose dramatically and farmers were unable to safely transport their produce to and from markets.

"When HALO Trust arrived in Huambo there was an accident every day - just in the city - around 30 a month. Now, it's about 3 to 4 accidents a month in the whole province of Huambo," said Fernandes.

Clearing the field of long, golden grass in Canhama will directly benefit about 10 families living close by.

"The population can also register for next year's elections. To change things they have to vote," said Ferreira.

Justino Jose, a farmer from the nearby Chiva village, said he would now expand his operations.

"I grow maize, potatoes and beans. Now I can go down the road freely to the market. When HALO leaves, we will work to grow everywhere - the land is fertile."

But it is a measure of their poverty that some farmers, still knowingly risk their lives by cultivating suspect fields.

"It's dangerous, but they have to eat," said Fernandes.