Landmines - A Relic of History for Canada, a Pervasive Nightmare for the Less Fortunate

Ronald Leung

The horrors of war burn death and destruction deep into bodies and minds of soldiers and civilians alike. When it finally ends, widows and orphans are left to mourn. The lucky few who survive breathe a sigh of relief while tears are shed, monuments are erected, and funerals are conducted. Life moves on—and leaves behind prisoners, eternally trapped in the shadows of war.  

Landmines—what better than an artificial, expendable security guard that can keep enemies at bay with the hovering threat of dismemberment and death? Yet when the treaties are signed and the battle lines retreat, it’s not only the bodies that are left behind—no one bothers to reclaim the mines. Today, when recovery operations are in progress, 80 mines a day are still recovered in Belgium—ones that were armed in World War I.  

Canada was a leader in promoting landmine removal. In 1997, the federal government worked tirelessly to create what is now known as the Ottawa Treaty. Each state party that signs the treaty must—according to the official document—agree to never use anti-personnel mines. The treaty also requires state parties to never develop, produce, otherwise acquire, stockpile, retain or transfer to anyone, directly or indirectly, anti-personnel mines. Further, states parties must not assist, encourage or induce in any way anyone to engage in any activity prohibited to a state party under the convention. The International campaign to ban landmines (ICBL), which facilitated the treaty, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 and has advocated endlessly with the aims of the treaty boiled down to three basic goals: disarmament, mine clearance, and victim assistance. Around 125 states entered in the initial signing, and today that list has increased to 160. Celebrities such as Diana, Princess of Wales, have personally traveled to landmine-infected areas such as Angola, Pakistan, and Bosnia to support landmine removal.  

That was all in the past, however. Fifteen years after that glorious moment of peace-keeping, Canada is slowly waning from the fight. The current federal government has repeatedly cut down on the funds granted to support agencies. What was once a steady stream of money has slowed to a trickle. From a landmark high of $49.2 million funding in 2007, over $30 million has now been cut with only $16.9 million earmarked this year for landmine recovery and removal. This pales in comparison to the 16 other countries that are investing more than $43 billion (USD) into companies making cluster bombs, most of whom still refuse to sign the Ottawa treaty. Three of the banks and financial intuitions that invest in producers of cluster bombs are Canadian. Canada’s inaction does extend beyond funding cuts, however; compared to countries such as Italy, Belgium, and Ireland, who have national legislation in place that forbids domestic investing in companies that produce landmines. Canada is heading in the wrong direction.  

  Critics such as Dan Livermore, once the Canadian special ambassador on mine action, charges that “Canada has dropped the ball and walked away, leaving the job unfinished.” Land laced with landmines is not only dangerous, but also wasteful, especially in less fortunate countries where resources are scarce. “No one can build a school in a field of landmines. Farmers won’t till the land. Do you think Walmart will come and open stores? Canada is the pillar of this movement. Nothing is more Canadian than this. We should be doing it” adds Rahul Singh, the founder of Global Medic, a non-profit organization based in Toronto.  

The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade disagrees, however. Canada has continued to hold a “leading role internationally in addressing the humanitarian impact and explosive remnants of war,” with “more than $200 million contributed” since 2006 “through 250 projects to this global effort,” spokesperson Jean-Bruno Villeneueve responds. “Canada remains deeply committed to this cause.”  

What’s ironic is that the United States has funded over $420 million to mine recovery and action between fiscal years 1999 and 2003 alone, the largest total for any government, yet they are still one of the 36 states who refuse to ratify the Ottawa Treaty. The last self-acknowledged use of mines by the U.S. was in the 1991 Kuwait and Iraq conflict in which over 117,634 landmines were scattered from airplanes. Over 90,000 antipersonnel mines were stored in regains close to the Iraq conflict since the launch of the invasion in March 2003. The United States also have a robust stockpile of landmines: 10.4 million, the third most in the world behind China and Russia, who store an outrageous 110 million and 60 million respectively, two countries that also refuse to ratify the treaty.  

How can Canadians even begin to picture the devastating effect of landmines? No modern war has been fought on Canadian soil and with the rugged mountains and abundance of green space all over the country, it can be hard to picture the hellish confinement and destruction of post-war landmines.  Yet the village of Ustipraca, Bosnia suffers from an epidemic of mines, despite sharing a similarly beautiful landscape: blue lakes, rolling green hills, and orchards stuffed with ripe fruit, a scene that wouldn’t be out of place in the rich Ontario countryside. The landmines were primarily used in the Balkan wars which ended almost 20 years ago. Bosnia remains as one of Europe’s poorest nations and the 1,340 square km of mine-covered land certainly does not contribute to their economic fate. In only three years of the Balkan wars, an estimated two million mines were primed.  

These mines still persist today. In 2011, there was a forest fire near the village, but firefighters couldn’t reach the fire because of the continued threat of landmines. Frequent explosions echoing around the hills set off by the heat of the flames confirmed this deadly suspicion. The local wildlife also suffer similar fates. Once in a while, a single landmine will detonate after being stepped on by a deer. Despite the rich soil and abundance of timber and fruit dotting the hills around Ustipraca, almost all of it is untouchable. Even the roads leading into the village are fraught with danger. Just two years ago, a local man discovered a landmine near the main street leading into Ustipraca. Three workers then began to section off the area for isolation and clearing when one of them stepped on another landmine. None survived.

The removal of landmines is also exhausting work. Metal detectors, despite being displayed in popular media as sure methods to search for underground metals, are unworkable because of the abundance of natural minerals in the soil. This leaves the physical search of mines involving a metal poker. The rod is slowly and careful extended into the ground at a 30-degree angle to see if it clicks against a landmine. Workers repeat the process, for a maximum of only five hours a day because it is just extremely psychologically tense and mentally draining. If a landmine is found, detonation occurs in a safe and controlled manner with workers at least 30 meters away.  

The large amount of warning signs scattered all over the Bosnian landscape are not enough to prevent needless death. Resources have become so desperate that people take the danger signs before an area is clear and sell it for scrap metal. This leads to devastating results, such as the death and injury of six railway workers last year, in addition to other innocent bystanders.  In central Bosnia, Tarik Bijelic passed away after triggering a landmine while gathering firewood near his rural home. He was only six years old.  

It’s easy for Canadians to forget about the troubles of these villagers in rural Bosnia. How many of us have even thought about the possibility of landmines in Canada? Already, this idea sounds ridiculous, and for good reason—yet others do not have the same fortune. Why should an idea so passionately advocated by Canada sputter and die in silence? Waging war and leaving landmines to continue the cycle of death decades later is unacceptable—but so is leaving a task half-finished. 

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