bobdina
08-31-2009, 12:16 PM
Aussie soldier leads the way out of minefields for poor Afghans, offering new hope
Afghan civilians who previously risked life and limb scrounging for scrap metal in minefields now have an opportunity to enjoy a safer life and work in paid jobs, thanks to efforts led by an Australian soldier serving with the United States (US) military.
Major Dave Bergman, an Army combat engineer from Melbourne, is the officer in charge of the Mine Action Centre, a detachment of mainly US military personnel which is focused on demining operations in and around the massive Bagram Air Field in Northern Afghanistan.
Landmines continue to saturate the landscape of Afghanistan more than any other country on Earth. Informed estimates suggest that as many as 20 million anti-personnel and anti-tank mines were laid during the Soviet occupation and the later conflict between the Taliban and Northern Alliance.
Over the past six years, more than 200,000 landmines have been cleared in and around Bagram Air Base, but it is a slow, tedious, dirty and dangerous job. Hundreds of Afghans are already employed as deminers by government agencies and private contractors, but there are other civilians so poor, unskilled or young who are prepared to risk everything by venturing into the minefields in search of scrap metal.
Aware of the high rate of injuries caused by landmines being handled by non-qualified people, Major Bergman decided to look for ways to get the scavengers off the minefields while still allowing them to make a living.
“People wandering through the minefields present a danger to the deminers as well as themselves,” Major Bergman said.
“I know of one man who has been blown up four times and now has a prosthetic leg simply from gathering scrap metal in the minefields in order to make enough money to feed his family.”
The Mine Action Centre approached Hemaya Brothers International Demining Company, an Afghan-owned demining company, and developed a joint approach to address the unemployment issue. The result is a number of pilot programs that have begun over recent months.
Major Bergman is relieved that many of those who previously searched for scrap metal in the minefields now have a safer way to make a living.
“Hemaya Brothers International Demining Company has established a demilitarisation program which recycles munitions from the minefields in a safe and secure manner as well as a carpentry program that teaches new skills and provides products for the community,” Major Bergman said.
“The demilitarisation program employs five people. Three qualified carpenters are employed in the carpentry program to teach up to ten locals who all have a mine-related disability.”
“It’s wonderful to see an Afghan-owned company empowered and successful enough to be taking the lead and finding solutions to help the citizens of this country in such a way,” he said.
Major Bergman and the Mine Action Centre have also been at the forefront of negotiations to establish a medical outreach program and secure jobs on Bagram Air Base for the bread winners of poor families whose only other source of income would be to tend animals in the minefields or scrounge for scrap metal.
On average two civilians per week are injured by landmine explosions in the Bagram area. The significance of the new programs and the hope they bring for a better life is highlighted by the tragedy inflicted upon Romina, a 12-year old Afghan mine victim.
“I was herding our cows in a field and they started straying,” Romina said through an interpreter.
“All I remember is swatting them and the next thing I know I am on the ground and my sister is lying a little way from me bleeding. I didn’t even realise my leg was gone until I looked over and saw it.”
Left untouched, the mines littering Afghanistan will still pose a danger decades from now. Landmines are also often used by insurgents to make homemade bombs, otherwise known as Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). Therefore, reducing the number of mines helps lower the threat and protect the Afghan population and troops of the International Security Assistance Force.
Dave Bergman commands a team of seven American servicemen and women and has oversight of more than 500 military and contractor personnel who support the demining effort on and off Bagram Air Base. He is passionate about his work, even to the point of learning Dari prior to leaving Australia so he could communicate with the Afghan people in their native tongue, instilling a sense of trust and confidence and forming bonds of friendship.
He says that for an Australian to be chosen to lead Americans in an operational area is a huge personal honour as well as recognition of the Australian Army’s capability in combat engineering.
“Personally, being able to bring about influence for the better by implementing programs that help the Afghan people is extremely rewarding. More than 72,000 displaced civilians have so far been able to return home as a result of landmines being removed and we’re reducing the risk faced by those who would otherwise scavenge in the minefields,” Major Bergman said.
“Professionally, it is a huge responsibility to lead and put soldiers from another nation at risk, but the opportunity for Australia to provide the officer in charge of the Mine Action Centre allows us to wield influence in the community and the international coalition. In turn the Army and Australian Defence Force is gaining invaluable knowledge and experience in this type of work.”
Major Bergman will soon leave Afghanistan but he’ll be replaced by another Australian Army engineer officer, continuing what has now become a proud and significant contribution to the international coalition by Australia.
Afghan civilians who previously risked life and limb scrounging for scrap metal in minefields now have an opportunity to enjoy a safer life and work in paid jobs, thanks to efforts led by an Australian soldier serving with the United States (US) military.
Major Dave Bergman, an Army combat engineer from Melbourne, is the officer in charge of the Mine Action Centre, a detachment of mainly US military personnel which is focused on demining operations in and around the massive Bagram Air Field in Northern Afghanistan.
Landmines continue to saturate the landscape of Afghanistan more than any other country on Earth. Informed estimates suggest that as many as 20 million anti-personnel and anti-tank mines were laid during the Soviet occupation and the later conflict between the Taliban and Northern Alliance.
Over the past six years, more than 200,000 landmines have been cleared in and around Bagram Air Base, but it is a slow, tedious, dirty and dangerous job. Hundreds of Afghans are already employed as deminers by government agencies and private contractors, but there are other civilians so poor, unskilled or young who are prepared to risk everything by venturing into the minefields in search of scrap metal.
Aware of the high rate of injuries caused by landmines being handled by non-qualified people, Major Bergman decided to look for ways to get the scavengers off the minefields while still allowing them to make a living.
“People wandering through the minefields present a danger to the deminers as well as themselves,” Major Bergman said.
“I know of one man who has been blown up four times and now has a prosthetic leg simply from gathering scrap metal in the minefields in order to make enough money to feed his family.”
The Mine Action Centre approached Hemaya Brothers International Demining Company, an Afghan-owned demining company, and developed a joint approach to address the unemployment issue. The result is a number of pilot programs that have begun over recent months.
Major Bergman is relieved that many of those who previously searched for scrap metal in the minefields now have a safer way to make a living.
“Hemaya Brothers International Demining Company has established a demilitarisation program which recycles munitions from the minefields in a safe and secure manner as well as a carpentry program that teaches new skills and provides products for the community,” Major Bergman said.
“The demilitarisation program employs five people. Three qualified carpenters are employed in the carpentry program to teach up to ten locals who all have a mine-related disability.”
“It’s wonderful to see an Afghan-owned company empowered and successful enough to be taking the lead and finding solutions to help the citizens of this country in such a way,” he said.
Major Bergman and the Mine Action Centre have also been at the forefront of negotiations to establish a medical outreach program and secure jobs on Bagram Air Base for the bread winners of poor families whose only other source of income would be to tend animals in the minefields or scrounge for scrap metal.
On average two civilians per week are injured by landmine explosions in the Bagram area. The significance of the new programs and the hope they bring for a better life is highlighted by the tragedy inflicted upon Romina, a 12-year old Afghan mine victim.
“I was herding our cows in a field and they started straying,” Romina said through an interpreter.
“All I remember is swatting them and the next thing I know I am on the ground and my sister is lying a little way from me bleeding. I didn’t even realise my leg was gone until I looked over and saw it.”
Left untouched, the mines littering Afghanistan will still pose a danger decades from now. Landmines are also often used by insurgents to make homemade bombs, otherwise known as Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). Therefore, reducing the number of mines helps lower the threat and protect the Afghan population and troops of the International Security Assistance Force.
Dave Bergman commands a team of seven American servicemen and women and has oversight of more than 500 military and contractor personnel who support the demining effort on and off Bagram Air Base. He is passionate about his work, even to the point of learning Dari prior to leaving Australia so he could communicate with the Afghan people in their native tongue, instilling a sense of trust and confidence and forming bonds of friendship.
He says that for an Australian to be chosen to lead Americans in an operational area is a huge personal honour as well as recognition of the Australian Army’s capability in combat engineering.
“Personally, being able to bring about influence for the better by implementing programs that help the Afghan people is extremely rewarding. More than 72,000 displaced civilians have so far been able to return home as a result of landmines being removed and we’re reducing the risk faced by those who would otherwise scavenge in the minefields,” Major Bergman said.
“Professionally, it is a huge responsibility to lead and put soldiers from another nation at risk, but the opportunity for Australia to provide the officer in charge of the Mine Action Centre allows us to wield influence in the community and the international coalition. In turn the Army and Australian Defence Force is gaining invaluable knowledge and experience in this type of work.”
Major Bergman will soon leave Afghanistan but he’ll be replaced by another Australian Army engineer officer, continuing what has now become a proud and significant contribution to the international coalition by Australia.