Government taking steps to remove UXOs

vietnam news

Update: March, 29/2017 – 18:30

Soldiers successfully removed a live 225kg bomb from the central province of Phú Yên last year. — VNA/VNS Photo

Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) on Tuesday reported about unexploded ordnance (UXO) contamination from past wars in Việt Nam and activities undertaken to mitigate its effects.

The conference was held to observe International Mine Awareness Day, which is on April 4.

The ministry said that Việt Nam has faced severe consequences of UXO, which has greatly affected the country’s development in general, and people living in bomb- and mine-polluted areas in particular. Tiếp tục đọc “Government taking steps to remove UXOs”

CƠ SỞ DỮ LIỆU VỀ BOM CÓ ÍCH CHO CHIẾN TRANH TRONG QUÁ KHỨ VÀ HIỆN TẠI

Lieutenant Colonel Jenns Robertson’s project is aiding efforts to spot unexploded bombs that still endanger civilians.

MEG MCKINNEY FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE

Dự án của Trung tá Colonel Jenns Robertson đang hỗ trợ các nỗ lực định vị các quả bom chưa phát nổ vẫn đang gây nguy hiểm cho người dân.

Cách đây 6 năm, dường như là một ý tưởng ngây thơ khi Trung tá Colonel Jenns Robertson, 45 tuổi, một người bản xứ ở Minnesota đeo kính hạng ngoại hạng thậm chí hơn cả các tiêu chuẩn của quân đội, đã bắt đầu một sở thích khá bất thường: ghi lại dữ liệu về bom của không lực Mỹ trong một thế kỷ – từng quả bom một Tiếp tục đọc “CƠ SỞ DỮ LIỆU VỀ BOM CÓ ÍCH CHO CHIẾN TRANH TRONG QUÁ KHỨ VÀ HIỆN TẠI”

Bomb database useful for past, present wars

Boston Globe
JULY 30, 2012

Lieutenant Colonel Jenns Robertson’s project is aiding efforts to spot unexploded bombs that still endanger civilians.
Lieutenant Colonel Jenns Robertson’s project is aiding efforts to
spot unexploded bombs that still endanger civilians. MEG MCKINNEY
FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE

MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. — Six years ago it seemed a zany idea when Lieutenant Colonel Jenns Robertson, 45, a bespectacled Minnesota native with an outsized gee-whiz quality even by military standards, began a rather unusual hobby: documenting a century of US air power — bomb by bomb. Tiếp tục đọc “Bomb database useful for past, present wars”

Lethal legacy of secret war in Laos

XIENG KHOUANG, LAOS – Tuesday, September 06, 2016 07:00

Reuters – Addressing the legacy of war in Laos will be a focus of U.S. President Barack Obama’s trip this week to the country’s capital, Vientiane, for a meeting with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders and an East Asia Summit.

Obama, who will become the first sitting president of the United States to visit Laos, is expected to announce more funding to help clear leftover bombs and conduct Laos’ first national survey on unexploded ordnance.

Tiếp tục đọc “Lethal legacy of secret war in Laos”

Bom, mìn chưa nổ ngày nay vẫn còn là mối nguy hiểm dọc theo tuyến đường mòn Hồ Chí Minh

LM – Bom, mìn chưa nổ ngày nay vẫn còn là mối nguy hiểm dọc theo tuyến đường mòn Hồ Chí Minh

IMG_2083-2

Triệu Phong, Quảng Trị (23-8-2016) – Gần nửa thế kỷ sau khi đường mòn Hồ Chí Minh được đưa vào sử dụng trong thời gian chiến tranh, đội RENEW vẫn đang còn phá hủy vật liệu chưa nổ được tìm thấy dọc theo tuyến đường này. Hôm nay, 19 vật liệu chưa nổ  gồm bom máy bay, đạn pháo, rocket và đạn cối tại bãi nổ tập trung của RENEW ở thôn Linh An, xã Triệu Trạch. Tiếp tục đọc “Bom, mìn chưa nổ ngày nay vẫn còn là mối nguy hiểm dọc theo tuyến đường mòn Hồ Chí Minh”

Sau những tiếng nổ, là bình an…

30/04/2016 06:53 GMT+7

TTCT– Ở “Trung tâm trưng bày hoạt động khắc phục hậu quả bom mìn” (Mine Action Visitor Center – MAVC) tại Quảng Trị có một quả bom hiện vật, phần vỏ thép bị xé rách, tạo hình như dáng đứng đau thương và nhẫn nại của một con người trên vùng đất quá nổi tiếng vì đạn bom này.

Sau những tiếng nổ, là bình an...
Nguyễn Thị Diệu Linh bên quả bom chôn 42 năm ở nhà ông Nguyễn Vũ -Ngô Xuân Hiền

Tiếp tục đọc “Sau những tiếng nổ, là bình an…”

“Chợ bom” đã bớt cưa bom

22/03/2016 13:41 GMT+7

TTO – Nhiều người cho rằng sau vụ nổ kinh hoàng ở Hà Đông, dân kinh doanh phế liệu là vỏ bom mìn ở “chợ bom” xã Diễn Hồng, huyện Diễn Châu tỉnh Nghệ An đã biết sợ.

“Chợ bom” đã bớt cưa bom
Phế liệu bom mìn tại các cơ sở kinh doanh phế liệu ở Diễn Hồng năm 2005 – Ảnh: Vũ Toàn
Sau vụ nổ kinh hoàng ở Hà Đông (Hà Nội), chúng tôi tìm đến “chợ bom” ở xã Diễn Hồng, huyện Diễn Châu (Nghệ An) – nơi mà trước đây sắt, thép phế liệu, trong đó có bom, đạn đều được họ mua tuốt luốt (bài “Chợ… bom” , Tuổi Trẻ ngày 25-5-2005). Tiếp tục đọc ““Chợ bom” đã bớt cưa bom”

Deadly blast in Hanoi allegedly caused by man opening bomb with blow torch, police said

By Ha An – Minh Chien, Thanh Nien News

HANOI – Sunday, March 20, 2016 16:26

The large crater caused by the blast in Hanoi on March 19. Photo: Minh Chien

The large crater caused by the blast in Hanoi on March 19. Photo: Minh Chien

thanhniennews: The Ministry of Public Security has found traces of explosives and bomb debris at the site of a blast in Hanoi on Saturday that killed four people, injured 10 others and damaged more than 120 houses.

The explosion at about 3.10 p.m. at a scrap metal trading business seriously tore through 36 houses and damaged 95 others, and left a large crater in Van Phu residential area, Ha Dong District, the police said. Many vehicles along the street were damaged too.

Although the police was yet to officially pinpoint the cause of the blast, they speculated that it was ignited when the shop owner tried to cut open a bomb using a blow torch.

One of the perished victims was Pham Van Cuong, 42, who had rent the house for his scrap metal shop since 2013 and reportedly often used a blow torch to cut large scrap metal pieces, police said.

Tiếp tục đọc “Deadly blast in Hanoi allegedly caused by man opening bomb with blow torch, police said”

Project RENEW’s Prosthetics and Orthotics Mobile Outreach Program

LM – Project RENEW established a mobile outreach program to provide prostheses, orthotics and education to explosive remnants of war survivors in the remote communities of Vietnam.

Susan Eckey, Former Deputy Director General for Humanitarian Affairs, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, visits with the P&O team. Photo courtesy of Dang Quang Toan/Project RENEW.

Susan Eckey, Former Deputy Director General for Humanitarian Affairs, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, visits with the P&O team.
Photo courtesy of Dang Quang Toan/Project RENEW.

According to a 2014 report compiled by Vietnam’s Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, Quang Tri province currently has 37,292 persons with disabilities, 13,023 of whom were disabled by Agent Orange and 5,094 by explosive remnants of war (ERW).1,2,3 Disabled persons living in rural areas often live in poverty and do not have access to basic services. For those with injuries resulting from unexploded ordnance (UXO), prosthetics are difficult to obtain. Tiếp tục đọc “Project RENEW’s Prosthetics and Orthotics Mobile Outreach Program”

8 người phụ nữ săn thần chết

19/10/2014 16:11 GMT+7

TT – “Bom mìn là thần chết, nhưng công việc của chúng tôi là đi tìm thần chết ấy.

Rà phá bom, mìn luôn đầy rẫy hiểm nguy
Rà phá bom, mìn luôn đầy rẫy hiểm nguy

14 năm lăn lộn khắp vùng rừng rú của tỉnh Quảng Trị này, chúng tôi đã phát hiện và phá hủy hàng ngàn quả bom, quả đạn, mìn và các vật liệu chưa nổ” – chị Trần Thị Thảo, 39 tuổi, đội trưởng đội 1 của dự án MAG Quảng Trị (viết tắt của Mines Advisory Group – nhóm cố vấn bom mìn do Vương quốc Anh tài trợ), nói.

Trước khi ra hiện trường thực hiện phóng sự này, quy định bắt buộc chúng tôi phải đăng ký nhóm máu của mình với nhân viên y tế để xử lý cấp cứu nếu xảy ra rủi ro. Trên tấm bảng thông tin ở các điểm rà phá bom mìn luôn nổi bật sơ đồ chuyển thương ngắn nhất đến các bệnh viện. Tiếp tục đọc “8 người phụ nữ săn thần chết”

Mine Risk Education

Team Leader Truong Cong Vinh taking notes from Hoa and Phien, ninth graders at Trieu Van School, whose information guided a RENEW team to four different locations littered with more than 500 wartime unexploded ordnance (UXO).

LM – The main objective of Project RENEW’s Mine Risk Education is the risk of ERW accidents among chilren and adults is reduced and eventually eliminated through education, information, and public awareness in support of EOD quick response.

World War I and World War II-era bombs are still found by the thousands in European countries, even today. According to Spiegel Online, in Germany alone, more than 2,000 tons of aerial bombs and all sorts of munitions ranging from hand grenades and tank mines to artillery shells are recovered each year.  So it is impossible – and not necessary –  to clean up every bomb and mine in Vietnam.  The real goal must be to make Quang Tri safe ­– which means placing priority on removing cluster bombs, grenades, mortar and artillery rounds, and other small ordnance on the ground or just under the surface – the main items that kill and injure children, farmers, and other adults. Tiếp tục đọc “Mine Risk Education”

Cluster bomb is safely destroyed so construction of a new clan temple in Quang Tri Province can continue

Hai Lang District, Quang Tri Province – 30 October 2015

The O Lau River flows through Hai Lang District in Quang Tri Province.  Along its banks is historic Luong Dien Village, one of the oldest villages in the province. In 1508, people migrating from Tonkin settled in this area and founded a small village named Ke Lang.  Called Luong Phuc in the 18th century, the village was chosen by the Nguyen Lords as the location to be their headquarters and army base for their conquest of the south. Luong Phuc was again renamed as Luong Dien in 1804; two years after Emperor Gia Long – the first king of the Nguyen Dynasty – ascended the throne. Tiếp tục đọc “Cluster bomb is safely destroyed so construction of a new clan temple in Quang Tri Province can continue”

Two UXO call-ins from local people lead RENEW teams to dangerous munitions caches left from the war

Project RENEW

Hai Lang, Trieu Phong Districts, Quang Tri (22 October 2015)

On Tuesday local Quang Tri residents made two urgent phone calls to Project RENEW’s hotline to report their discovery of wartime ordnance, and to ask for assistance.

35-year-old Hoang Van Ty, a villager in Trieu Van Commune of Trieu Phong District, was preparing land to build a temple in the village cemetery when he encountered unexploded ordnance (UXO).  He reported the discovery immediately to commune military officer Nguyen Van Lam, who used his mobile phone to call to Project RENEW. Tiếp tục đọc “Two UXO call-ins from local people lead RENEW teams to dangerous munitions caches left from the war”

A triple amputee who overcame tragedy and built a new life

landmines.org.vn – Trieu Phong, Quang Tri Province, 10 September 2015 – On the road that leads to Ai Tu Village of Trieu Ai Commune, a man is hurrying home on his three-wheel bike.  He has finished tending his cows, and now he’s coming home to have lunch with his family.  He’s bringing fruit he just bought at the market.

As his wife prepares lunch, 44-year-old Hoang Than talks with his two children, 9-year-old son Hoang Anh and 6-year-old daughter Hoang Thi Dieu Anh, about their first day at school. The kids just started school after their summer break. The photo above is a picture of happiness, father and children together.

However, it was not always this way.  Than has overcome much tragedy in his life. Tiếp tục đọc “A triple amputee who overcame tragedy and built a new life”

Young woman, big responsibility

 

Eight months ago Ms. Nguyen Thi Dieu Linh was promoted to Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) Operations Manager at Project RENEW in Quang Tri Province.  The 32-year-old is the first woman to be selected for this position in Vietnam.  Linh now manages 160 technicians and support staff who make up 26 teams that are deployed every day.  Team members map confirmed hazardous areas for clearance and provide EOD response to safely dispose of cluster munitions and unexploded ordnance throughout the province. Linh spoke with Ngo Xuan Hien and Chuck Searcy.   Tiếp tục đọc “Young woman, big responsibility”