[Ngo-lwg] Two children killed in front of their parents by cluster bomb left over from Vietnam War

Chuck Searcy chuckusvn at gmail.com
Tue May 27 11:44:43 BST 2014


This tragic story reported by MAG once again demonstrates the critical need
for Mine Risk Education (MRE) at every level of school and community
involvement.  The safety messages must be repeated over and over.  Children
and adults must not only be knowledgeable of the danger and the awful
consequences of touching or tampering with Explosive Remnants of War (ERW),
but they must be constantly on the alert for any item of ordnance that may
be lying by the roadside or partially concealed in a ditch or garden near
their home, and report it *immediately *so that EOD teams can respond and
safely remove or destroy the threat.  CS




*CHUCK SEARCYProject RENEW Veterans For Peace*

*M    +8 490 342 0769*

*E     chuckusvn at gmail.com <chuckusvn at gmail.com>*
*Sk   chucksearcy*




*THOMSON REUTERS FOUNDATION Tuesday 27 May 2014*
 <http://d24pg1nxua23qm.cloudfront.net/contentAsset/image/43433226-6d4b-4456-ace0-53166b7ab01c/image/byInode/1/filter/Resize,Jpeg/jpeg_q/90/resize_w/960>
*The father of the two young boys killed in a cluster submuntion accident
in Quang Binh.*

Two children killed in front of their parents by cluster bomb left over
from Vietnam War Source: MAG (Mines Advisory Group)
Fri, 23 May 2014 05:36 PM
Author: Mai Chi, Community Liaison Officer, MAG
Vietnam<http://www.trust.org/profile/?id=003D0000017fbUGIAY>

*MAG Vietnam's Mai Chi was at the scene of mourning following a cluster
bomb accident that killed two young brothers in front of their parents.
This is her eye-witness report from Quang Binh - the province worst
affected by cluster munitions.*

For seven years working for MAG in Quang Binh as a Community Liaison
Officer, I have heard about so many accidents in the poor villages: two
14-year-old boys, one killed and one badly injured when they set off a
cluster submunition in the schoolyard; a man who is still suffering from
the ball bearings pinned in his body as a result of an explosion; three
children, one killed and two injured when searching for scrap metal to sell
in order to help their poor parents.

On each occasion, I could feel how terrible the accidents were through my
conversations with the victims or their families.

Yesterday there was another.

It was a hot summer day and our teams were collecting information about the
location of unexploded ordnance in Dong Giang village, Hung Trach Commune,
when we received news that two brothers - aged five and nine - had been
killed 2km away.

They had been tampering with a BLU-3 cluster submunition, left over from
the Vietnam-American War, in front of their home.

We went there immediately. The rundown house was surrounded by hundreds of
people.

I couldn't tell who the mother of the two children was among the many
crying women there, but someone pointed out the father, himself still
bearing the pain from a recent traffic accident.

He couldn't move, and was on his knees screaming: "Today is my sons' first
day of summer holiday. Why didn't God let me die instead of my sons, why
did he take my sons away? They were still so young." I couldn't stop the
tears streaming down on my face. My heart really hurt.

I saw the pliers and a pair of broken sunglasses that the children had used
to tamper with the submunition, in an attempt to get scrap metal to sell
for cash. I saw a pair of torn sandals, a hole on the floor and the ball
bearings from the submuntion.

I walked closer to the bed in the centre of the house. Someone pulled the
blanket up, revealing two dead bodies. Legs and hands were smashed and
blown away.

What a terrifying scene. I closed my eyes, felling breathless and ran out.
People were crying louder and louder.

Why did these innocent kids have to die? The older brother was a good pupil
at school. He was just nine years old, but always tried to help his
parents. Every day he walked far to bring back some clean water for the
family, and he took care of his five-year-old brother while their parents
were out.

A bright future was ahead of them. But the legacy of the war that ended 40
years ago has taken their lives away.

I informed a victim assistance organisation of the accident, so they could
provide support to the family. I left MAG's telephone hotline number there
in case they needed help. This village was on our current priority list for
clearance next month.

I suddenly thought of my three-year-old son. This should never happen
again. I have to do something. I will start teaching my son his first Risk
Education* lesson today.


*For more on MAG's work in Vietnam and worldwide please visit
www.maginternational.org <http://www.maginternational.org/>.*

*** *Risk Education aims to prevent death and injury from landmines,
unexploded ordnance, cluster bombs and other explosive remnants of war, by
raising awareness of the problems and promoting safer behaviour.* *For more
information go to www.maginternational.org/community-liaison
<http://www.maginternational.org/community-liaison>.*
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