How landmines scar a country

Afternoon is boom time in Quang Tri, Vietnam. Fifty years since the war here ended, and they’re still getting rid of America’s mess. Frags, flechettes, Bouncing Bettys and cluster bombs are scattered unexploded across the country, ready for a farmer to run them over or a child to pick them up. ‘Deminers’ work with metal detectors to scan bits of land in the morning, and after lunch they destroy whatever munitions they find. I’ve come to Vietnam to see how Ukraine will clear its landmines – a third of the country is already contaminated with the explosives and the Foreign Office has just issued a six-million-pound contract for British deminers to help. 

Demining takes so long because its mostly done manually. There are dogs and giant rats that can sniff out explosives, and armoured vans that force bombs to go off under their weight. But nothing can replace the human deminer. The animals aren’t reliable, and the vehicles break down.