Posts tagged demining
at James Madison University
South Africa company unveils new mine-protected products
South Africa’s globally respected specialist mine protection and demining company, Denel Mechem, made two major announcements last month. The first was of the company’s development of a new-generation version of the renowned Casspir mine-protected vehicle, the Casspir NG 2000. The second was of the develop- ment of a new multipurpose truck fitted with a new mine-protected cab.
The Casspir first entered service in 1979 and since then has seen service around the world with the United Nations (UN), various police forces and private security companies, as well as with the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). “The basic, reliable features of the Casspir remain the same,” affirms Denel Mechem GM Ashley Williams. “It has always been the world leader in its class – providing unequalled protection against landmines, roadside bombs and automatic rifle fire. Now we have improved the hull protection by using a higher quality of steel, increased its power, improved the accessibility for passengers and mounted it on a more versatile and reliable vehicle platform.”
The Casspir NG 2000 can resist the blast of 14 kg of explosives – equivalent to more than two landmines – under each wheel. It comes in two versions. One uses a Mercedes-Benz drivetrain while the other, designated the NG 2000B, uses a Powerstar engine as its platform. The result is improved power and manoeuvrability.
Senegal: MFDC gunmen abduct 12 mining-clearance experts
Twelve mine-clearing experts, including three women, have been abducted in Casamance, Southern Senegal, by members of the Movement of the Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC), reliable sources told PANA here Monday.
Demba Keita, an official of a nongovernmental organization (NGO), said they noted Friday the disappearance of the 12-member team from the village of Kailou near the border with Guinea Bissau.
Keita said the abducted persons were taken towards the neighboring Guinea Bissau.
Prime Tech launches the new PT-D:Mine series.
PT-300 D:Mine e PT-400 D:Mine: the new tracked PrimeTech vehicles for demining
The PrimeTech brand was founded in 2005 within the Italian FAE Group from which it inherits 20 years of experience in the design and realization of professional mulching shredders for tractors, skid steer loaders, excavators and special vehicles (prime movers). Since then PrimeTech’s signature designs tracked carriers that, depending on the fitted FAE head are used, can be used for forestry applications and for the stabilization and the remediation of soil, also in depth.
After extensive research and development in the field of mine clearance, PrimeTech has recently adapted its two top vehicles, the PT-300 with 275 HP and the PT-400 to 415 HP, to the remediation of mined areas. Both have been reinforced with special steel and equipped with demining heads that hit the ground causing detonation of the mines due to milling. PT-300 D:Mine (category Medium Machine) is a tracked carrier with a remote control module that receives the signal up to a distance of 1000 m. It is equipped with the forestry tiller FAE 300/TD of which its working width is 2500 mm and is designed to clean up areas affected by dense vegetation and to withstand explosions of anti-tank and anti- personnel mines. The Hardox ® and Weldox ® steel makes tool and rotor wear-resistant while the Periflex system ® protects the head during the explosion. Depending on the type of ground on which it operates (which is made of earth, sand, or gravel) PT-300 D:Mine reaches a daily productivity up to 25000 m² and is able to work at depths of up to 250 mm. The ground pressure exerted by the vehicle is of only 0.26 kg/cm ², thanks to the oscillating undercarriage which is capable of maintaining excellent mobility both on land with steep slopes and in swampy areas which are made inaccessible due to mud and snow.PT-400 D:Mine belongs to the category Heavy Machine and is equipped with an armoured cab that is driven by the operator. The demining head is a FAE 500/TD, designed with the same technical characteristics of the FAE 300/TD but with a working width of 2750 mm and a working depth of up to 300 mm depending on the type of soil. The daily production of the PT-400 D:Mine, which is always subject to the conditions of the remediation area to be cleaned up, is around 35000 m², while the pressure that the vehicle exerts on the ground is just 0.35 kg/cm ².
Egypt orders new mine-clearance equipment
The Egyptian Army will receive a second Armtrac 400 mine-clearance vehicle from the United Kingdom as it continues to clear up the millions of landmines left over from the Second World War.
The contract was signed during a ceremony on Wednesday and is worth $1.2 million, according to Egyptian news publication Ahram Online. Armtrac will also train four Egyptian military personnel to use the vehicle, which will be delivered in a month’s time, according to Armtrac.
The vehicle will be used to clear mines along Egypt’s northwestern coast. Egypt hopes to acquire another two of the vehicles for mince clearance, according to the Egypt State Information Service. The country successfully completed trials of the first Armtrac 400 in September 2010, in El Alamein.
U.N., OAS to help clear Colombia's minefields
It’s an uphill task and absence of peace with armed rebels means more mines may be laid in Colombia’s vulnerable regions as international aid tries to demine areas affected by decades of conflict.
BOGOTA, April 25 (UPI) — It’s an uphill task and absence of peace with armed rebels means more mines may be laid in Colombia’s vulnerable regions as international aid tries to de-mine areas affected by decades of conflict.
This month the United Nations and the Organization of American States pledged more funds to a seemingly never-ending operation that has absorbed resources that could have gone into Colombia’s chronic poverty reduction programs.
OAS and U.N. representatives signed an agreement that hopes to push forward a now-on and now-off campaign to rid Colombia of tens of thousands of mines.
Large Improvements in Afghanistan Since 2001
Only two years after the Taliban was overthrown in 2001, 7,000 public schools enrolled roughly 3.9 million children, 25 percent of which were females. There are now 12,000 public schools that enroll roughly 9 million children, 40 percent of which are females. With the increase in adult learning centers, more and more adults are learning how to read and write. Since 2001, the private-business sector has grown in Afghanistan. Many consumer goods such as clothing and shoes are being produced locally within the country, creating job opportunities and enhancing the economy.
Afghanistan’s Biggest Challenges
On Friday, April 19, a Taliban suicide bomber struck security forces in the southern province of Helmend, injuring five policemen and two civilians. In Afghanistan, these types of tragedies happen weekly. As a result of past conflict, Afghanistan is littered with landmines. Every month, 20 to 30 individuals including men, women and children are killed or injured due to landmine accidents. Many of these people live in rural areas and/or are displaced people from neighboring countries. As NATO troops continue to withdrawal from the country, the Afghan people are becoming worried that life will return to how it was in the ‘90s when the Taliban maintained control. Parents are keeping their children from attending school, and local and foreign investors are losing interest in Afghanistan. Furthermore, funding and support for landmine clearance is insufficient.
The CISR–JMU Community Can Help
It is important that CISR, through mediums such as The Journal of ERW and Mine Action, continue to publicize facts about Afghanistan’s challenges in order to increase awareness worldwide. CISR must also continue to provide strategic guidance and organizational support to organizations like the Mine Action Coordination Centre of Afghanistan (MACCA).
Roughly 60 percent of Afghan students are educated under tents without the luxuries of classrooms, air conditioning, computer labs, etc. These brave and persistent students should be recognized as heroes, giving inspiration to underprivileged students all over the world. James Madison University can provide encouragement by simply acknowledging the Afghan students’ incredible commitment to learning. This can be done via social media, publications, bulletin-board postings, etc. This will not only give these students encouragement, but it will provide them with hope for the future.
~ Daniel Braun, CISR staff
Afghan de-mining threatened by int’l pullout
Since Haji Abdul Samad lost his leg in a minefield more than 20 years ago, he has unearthed at least 1,000 explosives and become one of Afghanistan’s most experienced de-miners.
“After my accident, I told myself that I had to do work to save lives. I had to clean the rivers, hills, villages,” Samad, who was fighting against the Soviets when he stepped on a mine in 1989, told AFP. “But I’m not afraid of mines,” he added, at a site being cleared outside the capital Kabul on the eve of the UN International Day for Mine Awareness on Thursday. “I will continue to work as long as even just one remains in the country,” he vowed.
Samad, a father of eight children originally from the southern city of Kandahar, is part of the huge de-mining effort taking place in Afghanistan, which is dotted with minefields after decades of conflict.
Prince Harry at minefields in Tete province, Mozambique, 2010
(Source: princeharrysupporter)
(Source: jaymsramirez)
![Humanitarian Demining Fellowship Awarded
Harrisonburg, VA (March 6, 2013) – The Center for International Stabilization and Recovery at James Madison University announced Christopher Murguia as the 2013 recipient of the Frasure-Kruzel-Drew Humanitarian Demining Fellowship sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (PM/WRA). The Fellowship raises awareness about landmine contamination around the world and allows the recipient to assist program and resource managers with conventional weapons destruction programs in impacted countries. Beginning in 2013, the Fellows serve a two-year term, allowing for a more extensive professional development experience. The State Department and JMU will continue to select a new Fellow annually.
Originally from Virginia Beach, Va., Murguia received a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in international nongovernmental organization management from JMU in December 2012. He received his Bachelor of Science in justice studies from JMU in May 2011 and works as a Graduate Fellow at the University.
Murguia’s interest in humanitarian demining began during graduate school when he worked as an editorial assistant at CISR. “Working for CISR opened my eyes to the impacts that ERW [explosive remnants of war] and landmines have on populations around the world, and I cultivated a deep respect for the services that demining organizations provide.” As part of his MPA studies, Murguia interned for eight weeks with Danish Demining Group in Juba, South Sudan. He felt the Fellowship would be a great opportunity given his experience and interest in demining.
JMU and the State Department established the Fellowship in 1999 to raise awareness of landmine contamination around the world and U.S. Government efforts to address the problem. The Fellowship’s name honors Ambassador Robert C. Frasure, Dr. Joseph J. Kruzel and Col. Samuel Nelson Drew, who lost their lives in an August 1995 automobile accident in Bosnia and Herzegovina while on a mission to help end its conflict. Murguia is the 22nd recipient of this Fellowship. “I am honored and excited to be the next Frasure-Kruzel-Drew Fellow,” says Murguia. “This Fellowship will be an amazing learning and professional-development opportunity, and it will allow me to apply my academic skills and experience in the demining sector to accomplish PM/WRA’s mission.”
JMU founded the Mine Action Information Center in 1996, which became CISR in 2008. The Center for International Stabilization and Recovery helps communities affected by conflict and trauma through innovative and reliable research, training, information exchange and direct services.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/0c4116a0a721e3e4e78c9ac6a173375a/tumblr_mj7hrlqOPz1r2wfn8o1_400.jpg)
Humanitarian Demining Fellowship Awarded
Harrisonburg, VA (March 6, 2013) – The Center for International Stabilization and Recovery at James Madison University announced Christopher Murguia as the 2013 recipient of the Frasure-Kruzel-Drew Humanitarian Demining Fellowship sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (PM/WRA). The Fellowship raises awareness about landmine contamination around the world and allows the recipient to assist program and resource managers with conventional weapons destruction programs in impacted countries. Beginning in 2013, the Fellows serve a two-year term, allowing for a more extensive professional development experience. The State Department and JMU will continue to select a new Fellow annually.
Originally from Virginia Beach, Va., Murguia received a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in international nongovernmental organization management from JMU in December 2012. He received his Bachelor of Science in justice studies from JMU in May 2011 and works as a Graduate Fellow at the University.
Murguia’s interest in humanitarian demining began during graduate school when he worked as an editorial assistant at CISR. “Working for CISR opened my eyes to the impacts that ERW [explosive remnants of war] and landmines have on populations around the world, and I cultivated a deep respect for the services that demining organizations provide.” As part of his MPA studies, Murguia interned for eight weeks with Danish Demining Group in Juba, South Sudan. He felt the Fellowship would be a great opportunity given his experience and interest in demining.
JMU and the State Department established the Fellowship in 1999 to raise awareness of landmine contamination around the world and U.S. Government efforts to address the problem. The Fellowship’s name honors Ambassador Robert C. Frasure, Dr. Joseph J. Kruzel and Col. Samuel Nelson Drew, who lost their lives in an August 1995 automobile accident in Bosnia and Herzegovina while on a mission to help end its conflict. Murguia is the 22nd recipient of this Fellowship. “I am honored and excited to be the next Frasure-Kruzel-Drew Fellow,” says Murguia. “This Fellowship will be an amazing learning and professional-development opportunity, and it will allow me to apply my academic skills and experience in the demining sector to accomplish PM/WRA’s mission.”
JMU founded the Mine Action Information Center in 1996, which became CISR in 2008. The Center for International Stabilization and Recovery helps communities affected by conflict and trauma through innovative and reliable research, training, information exchange and direct services.
