POST-SIEGE | EU helps Zambo residents avoid dangers of unexploded mines

From InterAksyon (Nov 5): POST-SIEGE | EU helps Zambo residents avoid dangers of unexploded mines

As part of its commitment to support the peace process in Mindanao and following the three-week siege by followers of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founding chairman Nur Misuari, the European Union is funding a program to teach evacuees of Zamboanga how to avoid risks presented by unexploded ordnance (UXO) and mines.

According to the Delegation of the EU in the Philippines, 18 local volunteers, including local NGO staff and students from the Western Mindanao State University, were trained by FSD Swiss (a humanitarian Mine Action NGO) on what UXO look like; where they might be found; the risks they pose; safe behaviors to adopt; unsafe behaviors to avoid; and who to call for assistance.

Training sessions for aid agencies and volunteers involved in relief efforts were also held. Risk education posters and billboards, based on the course and appropriate to the local situation, are used in the presentations and are prominently displayed in evacuation centers and around the city.

During the Train-the-Trainer course, students learned how to design and deliver safety messages and materials, and the communication skills and strategies they needed to ensure timely and effective delivery of these messages.

Staff from the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, provided assistance in conducting the training, and in making initial contact with camp managers in the evacuation centers.

The Zamboanga Police Bomb Disposal team also gave trainers an update on clearance operations in UXO-affected neighborhoods and the types of UXO residents returning to their homes might encounter.

Close liaison between the trainers and the Zamboanga City Police Department ensures that, if returnees encounter UXO, they know who to call and that they can expect something to be done about the hazard.

The trainers now have a Facebook page, MRE Zamboanga, (MRE is for "Mines and UXO Risk Education) on which they post pictures of their activities in the camps: https://www.facebook.com/#!/mre.zamboanga

In September 2013, weeks of intense fighting between Philippine security forces and a faction of the MNLF left parts of Zamboanga City littered with UXO. While a clear-up operation by the Philippine Bomb Disposal teams has removed most of the UXO, hazardous items will continue to be uncovered as residents and repair teams return to the area, and rubble and debris is removed.

Earlier, in October 2013, the European Union provided P17 million to fund emergency supplies and assist in the management and provision of services at evacuation sites around Zamboanga.

The Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization based in Geneva, Switzerland. FSD is currently active in eight countries worldwide.

In partnership with the Philippine Campaign to Ban Landmines (PCBL), FSD is conducting a humanitarian mine action project in Mindanao. Under this project, FSD carries out surveys in villages affected by UXO and, wherever possible, facilitates UXO clearance. FSD also provides mines and UXO risk education (MRE) for conflict-affected communities. This project is implemented in 26 municipalities in Maguindanao, Cotabato, Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur and benefits from a P32-million grant from the European Union.

The project is funded by the European Union under its Instrument for Stability (IFS) program, and is implemented under a signed agreement between the government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/74171/post-siege--eu-helps-zambo-residents-avoid-dangers-of-unexploded-mines