The Way I See It - The gift that keeps on giving

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Wed, Dec 02, 2009, 7:00 am  //  Ham Hayes

Landmine Result on Bulldozer
Near Pailin, Cambodia
Photo courtesy of the Overlake School
Woodinville, Wa
A news article appeared just before Thanksgiving on banning land mines. The Obama administration has decided not to sign the Mine Ban Treaty after recently completing a policy review according to a State Department spokesman. This caused a bit of an uproar among groups supporting the ban. Initially drafted in 1997 at the prompting of then-President Bill Clinton, the treaty has now been signed by over 150 countries. However neither the Clinton, Bush, or now the Obama administrations have chosen to sign it. Other significant countries who also have not signed include Russia, China, India, Pakistan and Myanmar (the only country apparently known to be still engaged in active land mining). The Obama administration did issue a clarifying statement a day after the first statement, saying it would continue to review the policy and would send observers to a conference being held this week in Cartagena, Columbia. President Obama’s position on the Mine Ban Treaty is difficult for many to understand.

In 2003, I made my first trip to Cambodia. Before I arrived, I had an under-appreciation for the real effects of land mines on one of the most heavily land mined countries in the world. The visible presence of amputees, a museum craft store documenting the numerous types of mines laid in Cambodia, and the visibly marked mine fields located around the town were overwhelming. Those impressions, as well as discussions with our Cambodian hosts, resulted in a commitment to sponsor the construction of a school in Phnom Dek, Preah Vihear Province, Northern Cambodia. This school, the Bellingham Community School, was co-sponsored by many individuals, businesses and at least one private school in Bellingham. It began operation in October, 2005. The purpose of my second trip to Cambodia, in January 2006, was to celebrate the opening of the school with the local Cambodian villagers, teachers, students and province officials. I was joined by a group of eleven Bellingham citizens, parents, students and a teacher to help with the celebration and learn about rural Cambodia. A parallel reason for the journey was to gain a better understanding of the barriers Cambodians face in order to recover their country and society.

The estimates for the number of land mines buried in Cambodia range from 1 million to many millions. A commonly accepted number is between 3 and 4 million, many of which are still in the ground. In fact no one really knows how many there might be as many of the minefields were never recorded, which adds to the difficulty of the de-mining efforts. It is estimated that eighty-five percent of the land mines were placed between 1978 and 1999. This is the period of the civil war between the Khmer Rouge, a Vietnamese-installed government, and later, after 1993, a UN mandated government. Ninety nine percent of the land mines placed in Cambodia were anti-personnel mines of Russian, Chinese or Vietnamese manufacture.

In Cambodia, land mines could have been buried anywhere including in roads, trails, rice paddies and school yards. The locations of most minefields is not known. In 2005, one de-mining agency director estimated most of the rice paddies were probably free of mines, as casualties among farmers and their livestock were no longer being reported. Even then, in 2005, almost 1000 casualties per year from land mines or unexploded ordnance were being reported. It should be noted that much of the unexploded ordnance is a result of the extensive U.S. bombing of the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Eastern Cambodia during the Vietnam War. And a number of the current casualties are a result of that unexploded ordnance as well. Cambodia has about the same area as the State of Washington. Imagine the impact on our lives of hundreds of thousands or millions of undetected land mines and a thousand casualties a year.

As far as the Bellingham Community School in Phnom Dek goes, yes, the land it sits on had to be de-mined. Essentially every project in Cambodia has to go through a de-mining process, which is still largely done by hand. By one agency’s estimate it costs from $1000 to $1500 to remove ONE mine. The effort to remove the highest priority mines, if funded, will likely take many decades. Once the land mines are removed, the economic and societal benefits can begin to take hold.

The United States, other countries and many private groups and citizens have done much to aid de-mining efforts in Cambodia and elsewhere. The unspeakable legacy of pain, suffering and deconstruction of society due to land mines used on such a massive scale is now recognized by most countries on the planet. We Americans purport to be the “shining light on the hill,” yet in this matter we have blinked once again. The consequences to those who must try to survive, live, raise their families and work in a heavily land mine polluted environment are extreme. There may be good reasons why the United States has not signed the Mine Ban Treaty. And if there are good reasons, the Obama administration needs to explain to the American people and the world what those reasons are. Our country has a dilemma: we are telling countries like Cambodia we won’t ban mines, but we will help them remove land mines sometime in the future. I think we need to show more leadership than that.

David Camp  //  Wed, Dec 02, 2009, 11:15 am

How are Land Mines different from IED’s and car bombs? All are passive instruments of terror, killing and maiming innocent civilians.

If the United States Government labels the perpetrators of car bombs and IED’s as terrorists, and declares war on them, how are we to think about this same government’s endorsement of land mines?

Who is the terrorist here?

And why does the US Government hate America so much?

Lummi Ferry Petition is Linked

Wed, Sep 01, 2010, 2:40 pm  //  John Servais

A petition to the federal government online at skookum.us. It asks they step in to resolve the impasse between the Lummi and Whatcom County.

0 comments

Lummi Island - The Price of Admission

Thu, Aug 26, 2010, 3:01 pm  //  Tip Johnson

Legal or Political Football?

4 comments; last on Aug 27, 2010

Politics & Ice Water: Part 1 of ?

Sat, Aug 21, 2010, 8:07 am  //  Larry Horowitz

Politics is like a pool of ice water. When men jump in their balls shrivel up.

5 comments; last on Aug 26, 2010

Lummi Island Softball

Fri, Aug 20, 2010, 3:26 pm  //  Tip Johnson

Islanders need a new game

1 comments; last on Aug 24, 2010

Cantwell Confused

Wed, Aug 18, 2010, 4:07 pm  //  Tip Johnson

Ignoring the real problem

3 comments; last on Aug 19, 2010

Election Results

Tue, Aug 17, 2010, 8:05 pm  //  John Servais

A running blog this election night

0 comments

The Political Downzone of Responsible Land Use Planning

Mon, Aug 16, 2010, 12:55 pm  //  John Lesow

John Lesow rebuts Jack Petree's Herald oped article that strongly criticized county planning.

30 comments; last on Aug 25, 2010

Herald runs a beautiful smear of Rossi

Mon, Aug 16, 2010, 12:03 pm  //  John Servais

Headline and article paint U.S. Senate candidate Dino Rossi very badly on final day ballots are mailed. The Bellingham Herald editors print a perfect smear.

5 comments; last on Aug 18, 2010

Lummi Football

Sat, Aug 14, 2010, 12:20 pm  //  Tip Johnson

Time for hardball?

0 comments

Mail your ballot by Monday, 3 p.m.

Sat, Aug 14, 2010, 6:51 am  //  John Servais

Mailing even late Monday evening is gambling on its being counted. Mail in time.

1 comments; last on Aug 14, 2010

Deceptive Herald article on planning

Fri, Aug 13, 2010, 8:39 am  //  John Servais

Am looking for a writer to rebut Jack Petree's BIAW propaganda article the Herald saw fit to print.

3 comments; last on Aug 20, 2010

The Way I See It - Time to change

Wed, Aug 11, 2010, 4:00 pm  //  Ham Hayes

Fear and attack-rhetoric are leading us in the wrong direction.

1 comments; last on Aug 12, 2010

Candidate choices of John Servais

Mon, Aug 09, 2010, 3:15 pm  //  John Servais

Personal opinion and recommendations from an independent liberal and progressive. ADDED more on Tuesday, Aug 10.

3 comments; last on Aug 13, 2010

And in the 40th we have…..

Mon, Aug 09, 2010, 1:49 pm  //  Ham Hayes

Candidates, o candidates - where art thou? Monday Updates

2 comments; last on Aug 04, 2010

Where’s the Info?

Mon, Aug 09, 2010, 12:38 pm  //  Viki Warner

One week till the Primary, but no info?

3 comments; last on Aug 09, 2010

Cooperation no substitute for small libraries

Sat, Aug 07, 2010, 8:18 am  //  John Servais

A library card from any Whatcom County library can now be used at any library in the county

5 comments; last on Aug 15, 2010

40th District State Representative Pos 1 Primary - Tom Pasma’s Responses

Fri, Aug 06, 2010, 4:54 am  //  Ham Hayes

Tom answers our questions

1 comments; last on Aug 08, 2010

40th District State Representative Pos 2 Primary - Rep. Jeff Morris’ Responses

Fri, Aug 06, 2010, 4:50 am  //  Ham Hayes

Jeff answers our questions

0 comments

40th District State Representative Pos 1 Primary - Chuck Carrell’s Respones

Fri, Aug 06, 2010, 4:48 am  //  Ham Hayes

Chuck answers our questions

0 comments

Act of War or Act of Congress?

Thu, Aug 05, 2010, 1:50 pm  //  Tip Johnson

Where, oh where, are our federal representatives?

6 comments; last on Aug 06, 2010

A letter to the Bellingham City Council

Thu, Aug 05, 2010, 8:28 am  //  John Servais

We ask why the EIS extension was given to the Chuckanut Ridge developers when the city is negotiating to buy the property.

0 comments

City bumbles on Chuckanut Ridge extension

Wed, Aug 04, 2010, 8:12 am  //  John Servais

Bellingham Planning Department is giving quiet extensions to the Chuckanut Ridge developer - propping up the property value.

1 comments; last on Aug 04, 2010

Chuckanut Ridge Development Gets Extension

Mon, Aug 02, 2010, 1:30 pm  //  John Servais

Bellingham Planning Department gave a three month extension, till Oct 29, to Greenbriar

2 comments; last on Aug 02, 2010

John Powers death, in the words of a friend

Sat, Jul 31, 2010, 9:29 pm  //  John Servais

John Powers died yesterday. Ted expresses his remembrance.

0 comments

Raising a Village: Can the Bellingham Cooperative School be saved?

Fri, Jul 30, 2010, 10:54 am  //  Kamalla Rose Kaur

Mourning the loss of a valuable community asset

2 comments; last on Aug 01, 2010

The Way I See It - Mud resurrected

Wed, Jul 28, 2010, 4:39 am  //  Ham Hayes

It is time we gave “mud” back its good name.

0 comments

The Way I See It - En Garde

Wed, Jul 21, 2010, 4:42 am  //  Ham Hayes

“We have lots of robberies.” As I reported last week, that was the apocalyptic statement by the investigating officer to our recent plight in St.…

0 comments

Greed: The Shadowy So-called Non-profit Taecan

Mon, Jul 19, 2010, 11:53 am  //  Tip Johnson

For-Profit Non-Profits - Pulling the Plug on Services

0 comments

The Forsaken Constituents of Lummi Island

Mon, Jul 19, 2010, 11:20 am  //  Tip Johnson

Taxation without representation

3 comments; last on Jul 28, 2010

Libraries are still very valuable

Fri, Jul 16, 2010, 8:18 pm  //  John Servais

The New Spice Man tells us why libraries are useful and valuable. This applies to all libraries.

0 comments

Three Port Executive Finalists Withdraw

Fri, Jul 16, 2010, 1:30 pm  //  John Servais

In a surprise development, the Port of Bellingham is starting over again in their search for an executive director. Position now vacant for over a…

1 comments; last on Jul 18, 2010

Book Review:  Whole Earth Discipline

Fri, Jul 16, 2010, 4:44 am  //  Guest writer

Eric Hirst reviews this October 2009 book by Stewart Brand of Whole Earth Catalog fame. Stewart is critical of several mainstream environmental stances.

1 comments; last on Jul 19, 2010

 

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