January 2021 Humanitarian demining has long been seen as a rather masculine field. Today, mentalities have changed and many organizations have mixed or all-female teams. FSD trained its first female deminers 15 years ago in Sri Lanka, and recently established a demining team composed of women only in Iraq. An internal survey conducted among FSD’s […]
THE CHALLENGES OF WINTER DEMINING
December 2020 In some of the countries where FSD operates, climatic conditions fluctuate between extremes. The dry and scorching summers are followed by harsh winters where snow and rain fall in abundance. These variations not only greatly affect the daily lives of the inhabitants of these regions, but also the work of our deminers. As […]
PREVENTING ACCIDENTS THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA
November 2020 In order to raise awareness on the risks of explosive devices among affected populations, mine action organizations traditionally make “live” presentations. Today, digital means, and in particular social networks, make it possible to reach more people and thus promote safe behavior more effectively. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the transition to digital explosive ordnance […]
DEMINING RESTARTS IN IRAQ
October 2020 In August, Iraqi government coronavirus restrictions on NGOs began to lift and mine action organisations were allowed to start back to work with a 25% capacity. FSD mobilised two full teams in Kudila village, Makhmour District, Nineweh Province; this included refresher technical training, resurvey of sites and safety plans and medical training. It’s […]
AGRICULTURE AFTER CLEARANCE
by: Cristina Borsatti Since March 2016, FSD has been implementing a survey and clearance project in areas recently liberated from ISIS in central and northern Iraq. Most of the beneficiaries of the rural communities targeted by the program base their entire income on agricultural activities, which have stopped due to ISIS insurgency and occupation. Agricultural […]