April 5th, 2017:
Landmine victim, Ho Ho Van Kim with his wife and one of their 3 children in his shop. Ho Van Kim lost his hands during a landmine explosion while farming in 2002. Xa Re village, Huong Tan commune, Huong Hoa district, Vietnam.
If you keep up with me on Instagram you’ll know I am in Vietnam at the moment working with a few different NGO’s here. I’m about 80% done with 3 weeks here, so I figured I should be responsible and bring some updates to the blog.
I spent about a week in central Vietnam in the Quang Tri region and one of the days I was with PeaceTrees and followed along on their Explosive Ordnance Disposal projects. PeaceTree employs 40 people who work on various teams which have Leaders, Medics, Drivers and Deminers/Disposal. They’ve been working in EOD for 4 years and work in the Huong Hoa and Dakrong Districts of central Vietnam.
Spending a day with these men who risk their lives to clean up the remnants of a 50 year old war and meeting people who have last limbs to left over munitions was a heart wrenching experience; I witnessed the best of humanity cleaning up after the worst choices of our species.
Explosive Ordnance Disposal Tech, Tran Cao Thinh uses a metal detector to search the ground while Deminer, Truong Quang Huy waits in the background. Huong How district, Vietnam.
Explosive Ordnance Disposal Deminer, Truong Quang Huy, slowly digs at a recently marked spot. Huong How district, Vietnam.
Explosive Ordnance Disposal team members, Tran Cao Thinh and Truong Quang Huy, examine a location. Huong How district, Vietnam.
Explosive Ordnance which is located is documented by photo and GPS before it’s removal. Huong How district, Vietnam.
Explosive Ordnance Disposal team leader, Tran Van Thang, carries a defused mortar through a cemetery in the Huong Hoa district, Vietnam.
Explosive Ordnance Disposal team members are given breaks every hour to help with the stresses of the job and the tropical heat in the Huong Hoa district, Vietnam.
Explosive Ordnance Disposal team, uses a large metal detector to sweep a field, if an alarm is sounded they mark the spot and the deminer will dig there. Dakrong district, Vietnam.
Deminer, Tran Cong Dung, digs at a recently marked spot for explosives. Dakrong district, Vietnam.
Explosive Ordnance Disposal Deminer, Tran Cong Dung, digs at a recently marked spot for explosives. Dakrong district, Vietnam.
Share your thoughts