Annamaria
on Monday
Readers
who have followed this blog over the last several months will have met Victor,
my adopted HeroRat. I heard about the work of APOPO from a blogpost of Michael’s last April. They are a
Belgian NGO based in Tanzania, Mozambique, and Cambodia that trains African giant pouched rats to
detect landmines and tuberculosis. I
adopted one of the critters at the cost of $8 per month, named him Victor, and
designated that he would work in mine detection. From time to time, I update everyone on
Victor’s progress so far. He is six
months old now. Here is the latest
report:
Victor just sniffed out
its first deactivated landmine!
The landmine that Victor detected is an
"anti-personnel" type, and is only the first of many, many more that
it will help APOPO's mine action teams detect in the years to come. And because the mine contained TNT, Victor
needed almost no additional training to be able to correctly identify it. Starting at this stage of training, Victor
will work in areas of APOPO's training field that contain some partially
exposed and some completely buried, deactivated landmines.
There are many different
types of landmines that endanger civilian populations around the world. Some are "anti-personnel" and some
are "anti-vehicle," but nearly all of them contain the explosive
compound, TNT. Anti-personnel landmines pose a direct threat
to human and animal life in dozens of countries and are specifically
manufactured to target people. The
anti-vehicle mines are used primarily during wartime to prevent the trucks and
tanks of the conflicting groups from entering an area.
Manufacturers of
landmines use TNT because it is stable, even in moist environments, meaning
that the landmines can remain active in the soil for many decades, a hidden
threat to anyone who passes by or wants to develop the land. Once through with
the full training, Victor and the other rats in its team will be able to detect
not just mines, but also other explosive remnants of war such as bombs and small
arms and ammunition.
Victor’s training is taking place simulated
minefield in Tanzania, where, in collaboration with Tanzanian Peoples Defense
Force, APOPO has developed a beautiful
240,000 square meters training ground at the foothills of the Uluguru Mountains.
Victor and his trainers work among more
than 1,500 deactivated landmines. The
field also contains grass, rocks, insects, and many other distractions. There Victor is becoming accustomed to the
challenges he will face someday in a real minefield.
Victor
would like to introduce you to one of its favorite trainers at APOPO in
Tanzania, Mark Shukuru.
 |
| This province of Mozambique now mine-free thanks to HeroRats like my Victor! |
 |
| It is not just humans who suffer from unexploded mines. |
In
the past, Victor’s predecessor HeroRats and their APOPO handlers turned over a
mine-free Gaza province to the government of Mozambique and Instituto Nacional
de Desminagem (IND). APOPO's Mine
Detection Rats and its Mozambique country staff accomplished this feat more
than a year before the deadline!
APOPO
is now preparing their heroes—humans and rats—to go to Cambodia, where unexploded
ordinance has taken its greatest toll in history. 40,000 Cambodians, over one-third of them
children, have lost limbs. There are an
estimated 4 to 6 million mines and unexploded ordinance in that small
country. Perhaps, once he is fully trained, Victor will
go there to help. Whether or not he
himself does, his APOPO teammates will soon be there, saving lives and
limbs.
If
you want to help by keeping Victor’s HeroRat confreres in mangoes and peanuts
and their trainers and managers in business, you can do so by going here:
VIVA
Victor. Onward to Victory.
