Photo: Megan Latimer prepares lengths of safety fuse with detonators to destroy landmines that were found earlier in the day (Angola, 2008).
Photo courtesy the HALO Trust.
Last Sunday’s International Day for Landmine Awareness came and went with little notice in the mainstream media – but for Megan Latimer, everyday is about landmines.
The 27-year-old Canadian is currently working with the demining NGO, HALO Trust, in Colombia and spends much of her time trying to find and destroy these weapons of war.
Cheap and efficient, anti-personnel landmines affect both soldiers and (mostly) civilians in dozens of countries around the world.
Ms. Latimer is determined to do something about this issue.
She got involved in mine action after finishing university. An internship with Mines Action Canada led her to Mozambique to help build capacity and evaluate a community liaison and demining project run by Handicap International.
While in Mozambique, she visited a mine clearance operation conducted by HALO Trust and was so impressed with their work that she applied for a job. It wasn’t long after that she was accepted.
“I underwent my deminer training with HALO Trust, mostly in Angola,” said Ms. Latimer, in an email interview. “I spent a month being trained as both a deminer and a minefield supervisor (these roles are normally filled by people from the local community). This training was invaluable, not just for the obvious (being able to supervise minefield operations) but also to empathize how it feels to be a deminer. Demining is incredibly monotonous work, and I admire very much the men and women who are on their knees 25 days a month searching for mines so that they can be destroyed,” said Ms. Latimer.
She has worked with HALO on demining projects in Afghanistan, Mozambique, Sri Lanka and Angola – where she was responsible for a staff of 1,200 deminers and support staff.
If you think demining is dangerous – you are right.
“One of my most nerve-wracking days was when I first went to Sri Lanka and had to disarm my first mine,” she said. “Normally we never touch mines (we) just blow them up when they are found; however in Sri Lanka, it was very difficult to get access to explosives because the army was afraid they might fall into the hands of the Tamil Tigers. This means that instead of destroying the mines where they are found, we have to disarm them and bring them back to the headquarters until explosives or other methods are available to destroy them. It was an incredibly hot and humid day, and as my luck would have it, with the first mine I picked up, a Pakistani P-4, the detonator refused to come out. A tree root had grown right around the bottom where the detonator assembly is located. I stood there with my Sri Lankan staff watching – already skeptical having a new, female boss. The sweat was running into my eyes. Luckily, after a couple of minutes of delicately working at the root with my Leatherman, trying to stay well away from the pressure plate on the top of the mine, the root finally came loose, and I was able to unscrew the detonator. It was a moment of extremely intense relief,” she said.
Ms. Latimer is currently based in Colombia, where she works as the Deputy Program Manager for HALO. As the program there is relatively new, she spends a great deal of her time in high-level meetings with government officials in Bogata. She also liaises with a variety of embassy staffers, trying to secure funding for HALO’s work.
The remainder of her time is spent in the field, where she gathers information about the mine threat and interviews local people who are affected by the landmines. This information is used to determine future demining projects.
Colombia is a difficult country to work in. Forty years of internal conflicts have made it one of the most mined countries in the world.
Despite the fact that Colombia is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT) and some progress has been made demining affected areas, non-state armed groups continue to lay landmines. This will make it difficult for the country to meet its Article 5 obligations (destruction of anti-personnel mines in mined areas).
According to Landmine Monitor, there were 6,696 casualties of explosive devices between 1999 and 2008.
Ms. Latimer says the drug trade also has an affect on demining operations.
“Colombia is also well known for its cultivation of coca to feed the drug trade,” said Ms. Latimer. “It is common to find people in the countryside growing coca in small plots. Usually these people are being forced to grow it by armed groups and are paid a fairly lucrative amount, which is impossible to pass up. If they refuse to grow it, they and their families will face serious consequences from the armed groups. These plots of coca are often protected by landmines and at the moment it is HALO’s policy not to go anywhere near these mines, as they are still considered tactical mines. I was once led accidentally into a coca field by a local informant as we were making our way to a different area. He didn’t realize the coca was there (it was surrounded by normal crops such as maize which hid it from view). We promptly turned around and left the field as fast as we could, but it was a slightly disconcerting experience,” she said.
Despite the challenges and dangers, Ms. Latimer loves her work.
“I like the variety of it, and the fact that I get to see or do something new almost every day,” said Ms. Latimer. “This was especially true when I was based in Africa. The other thing I love is getting to work with people from different backgrounds and cultures. I learn so much from my coworkers, they continually challenge my perceptions about this world and I am incredibly grateful to them for it,” she said.
She has worked with HALO on demining projects in Afghanistan, Mozambique, Sri Lanka and Angola – where she was responsible for a staff of 1,200 deminers and support staff.
If you think demining is dangerous – you are right.
“One of my most nerve-wracking days was when I first went to Sri Lanka and had to disarm my first mine,” she said. “Normally we never touch mines (we) just blow them up when they are found; however in Sri Lanka, it was very difficult to get access to explosives because the army was afraid they might fall into the hands of the Tamil Tigers. This means that instead of destroying the mines where they are found, we have to disarm them and bring them back to the headquarters until explosives or other methods are available to destroy them. It was an incredibly hot and humid day, and as my luck would have it, with the first mine I picked up, a Pakistani P-4, the detonator refused to come out. A tree root had grown right around the bottom where the detonator assembly is located. I stood there with my Sri Lankan staff watching – already skeptical having a new, female boss. The sweat was running into my eyes. Luckily, after a couple of minutes of delicately working at the root with my Leatherman, trying to stay well away from the pressure plate on the top of the mine, the root finally came loose, and I was able to unscrew the detonator. It was a moment of extremely intense relief,” she said.
Ms. Latimer is currently based in Colombia, where she works as the Deputy Program Manager for HALO. As the program there is relatively new, she spends a great deal of her time in high-level meetings with government officials in Bogata. She also liaises with a variety of embassy staffers, trying to secure funding for HALO’s work.
The remainder of her time is spent in the field, where she gathers information about the mine threat and interviews local people who are affected by the landmines. This information is used to determine future demining projects.
Colombia is a difficult country to work in. Forty years of internal conflicts have made it one of the most mined countries in the world.
Despite the fact that Colombia is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT) and some progress has been made demining affected areas, non-state armed groups continue to lay landmines. This will make it difficult for the country to meet its Article 5 obligations (destruction of anti-personnel mines in mined areas).
According to Landmine Monitor, there were 6,696 casualties of explosive devices between 1999 and 2008.
Ms. Latimer says the drug trade also has an affect on demining operations.
“Colombia is also well known for its cultivation of coca to feed the drug trade,” said Ms. Latimer. “It is common to find people in the countryside growing coca in small plots. Usually these people are being forced to grow it by armed groups and are paid a fairly lucrative amount, which is impossible to pass up. If they refuse to grow it, they and their families will face serious consequences from the armed groups. These plots of coca are often protected by landmines and at the moment it is HALO’s policy not to go anywhere near these mines, as they are still considered tactical mines. I was once led accidentally into a coca field by a local informant as we were making our way to a different area. He didn’t realize the coca was there (it was surrounded by normal crops such as maize which hid it from view). We promptly turned around and left the field as fast as we could, but it was a slightly disconcerting experience,” she said.
Despite the challenges and dangers, Ms. Latimer loves her work.
“I like the variety of it, and the fact that I get to see or do something new almost every day,” said Ms. Latimer. “This was especially true when I was based in Africa. The other thing I love is getting to work with people from different backgrounds and cultures. I learn so much from my coworkers, they continually challenge my perceptions about this world and I am incredibly grateful to them for it,” she said.
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