Afghan de-miners cling to hard but much-needed jobs
KABUL — Afghans who scratch out a living by removing some of the country’s countless land mines have long had to contend with rugged terrain, accidental explosions and the threat of kidnapping — but these days they face the added risk of being laid off.
A financial crisis in recent years has forced the country to cut back on efforts to remove explosives left over from decades of conflict — buried bombs that kill and maim dozens of people every month and render precious farming and grazing land unusable.
Aid agencies have been forced to scale back operations, and funding has dried up as they scramble to address crises in other parts of the world.
The government has set the ambitious goal of clearing all the country’s known minefields by 2023, but that looks increasingly unattainable, especially since armed groups are actively planting new roadside bombs.
Afghanistan remains one of the most heavily mined countries in the world, with millions of people living within yards of a minefield, according to Farid Ahmad Homayoun, HALO’s Afghanistan country director.