Warrior faces 'death' in peacetime.

Having to declare their blood type and be prepared for casualties at every step, deminers often begin their workday like this.

Early one morning in October, many young men and women gathered in Ward 2, Cam Lo town, Quang Tri province, to prepare for a cluster bomb clearance operation in the local rice fields.

All were in uniform and busily preparing their equipment before the mission. They successively put on their boots, trowels, ropes, color-coded marker stakes, and metal detectors. The mine clearance team of the MAG (Mines and Explosives Advisory Group) was listening attentively to instructions from their superiors.

Participants had to declare their blood type and listen to regulations regarding mine safety and how to handle incidents. In what was considered a battlefield, even a small mistake could cost lives.

The group silently entered the marked contaminated area. The weather was gloomy. Today's demining area consisted of a few rice fields in Cam Lo town. Earlier, the demining team had found a mortar shell and two cluster bombs. Everyone assumed that there would surely be more.

The MAG's Mine Clearance Team No. 9 members divided into small groups, each responsible for an area of ​​about 50 square meters that had been cordoned off and marked with colored stakes previously placed by the NPA (Norwegian People's Aid).

Teams of two slowly moved their metal detectors across the muddy rice paddies, where the summer-autumn rice harvest had just ended.

Occasionally, the machine would emit a series of beeping sounds, varying in pitch and rhythm. It was easy to tell if the sound was loud enough that a metal object was located somewhere about 30cm below the detector. "It could be a bomb, or it could just be a piece of scrap metal," an employee explained.

Workers use metal detectors to scan muddy rice paddies in Ward 2, Cam Lo town, Cam Lo district, Quang Tri province. Photo:Xavier Bourgois.

After a while of searching, the team found what they were looking for: cluster bombs. One of them looked relatively intact, its casing gleaming in the sunlight, although part of it was covered in mud, unlike the others, which were usually found rusted or partially broken, revealing dozens of small iron balls.

These fist-sized cluster bombs are the primary culprits behind the deaths of thousands of people since 1975. They are part of cluster bombs – explosive devices that launch hundreds of smaller bomblets, often scattered over large areas long after conflicts have ended and very difficult to clear.

Cluster bombs are dangerous because when they fall, they usually land on the surface or at shallow depths, making them particularly easy for people to come into contact with. More than 100 countries have signed treaties banning the use of this type of weapon.

“The tracks of a cluster munition are very different from those of other types of explosive bombs,” explained Resad Junuzagic, country director of NPA Vietnam. “If you find one or two cluster bombs, you’ll find others right near that area.” Junuzagic said the U.S. Air Force’s provision of numerous diagrams documenting their wartime bombing plans greatly aided the demining process, although the accuracy wasn’t absolute.

The cluster bombs found by MAG Team 9 were deemed immobile and would be detonated on the spot. A bomb disposal expert proceeded to set the explosives, working alone to minimize casualties should an accident occur. Finally, everyone retreated to a safe distance, and five personnel with loudspeakers fanned out in each direction, warning local residents about the impending explosion.

“4…3…2…1… Explode!”, the captain shouted, before a loud “boom” echoed across the field.

A cluster bomb was detonated on the spot. Photo:Xavier Bourgois

See more photos:Those who confront the dangers of landmines.

Long-term effort

For over 20 years, Quang Tri has received attention, assistance, and cooperation from international friends in overcoming the consequences of war. Since 1995, the Government has allowed Quang Tri to receive many non-governmental organizations to participate in demining and land clearing. Organizations such as MAG (UK), SODI (Germany), Peace Trees (USA), and the Renew Project... have made many outstanding contributions in clearing bombs and mines in this area.

Experts on landmines agree that it will be very difficult to remove all unexploded ordnance and landmines left over from the Vietnam War. However, they all agree that effective demining requires the cooperation of all parties, from international organizations and governments to local people.

The Renew project, launched in 2001 and funded by the NPA and the U.S. Department of State, connected international organizations. In 2014, the idea of ​​creating a unified information system for bomb disposal operations in Vietnam was put to the test, and from 2015 to the present, it has demonstrated clear effectiveness as non-governmental organizations have become more specialized and overlapping efforts have been reduced.

The diverse support activities for landmine victims have contributed to reducing physical and mental trauma for victims, their families, and affected communities, and improving their living conditions.

At the end of 2013, Dong Ha city and Quang Tri town were included in Renew's operational area, benefiting from educational programs that helped raise awareness about landmines among local people, especially school-aged children. Throughout the province, more than 360,000 students and residents have accessed the "Landmine Awareness Education" program.

Rusted shell casings from the war are displayed at the Mine Clearance Exhibition Center in Dong Ha city, Quang Tri province. Photo:Xavier Bourgois.

Locals now play a crucial role in demining efforts. MAG's rapid response teams receive dozens of reports daily about unexploded ordnance found by residents in their homes. But this also reveals the reality that in these villages, people still live alongside landmines, with the haunting memories of war seemingly remaining intact after all these years.

Previously, many experts estimated it would take up to 300 years to remove all the unexploded ordnance left over in Vietnam from the wars of decades past. Following the efforts of MAG, NPA, and many other NGOs in demining, it becomes clear that a great deal of work still lies ahead.

Meanwhile, the NPA Director in Vietnam expressed optimism regarding the plan to completely remove landmines from Quang Tri: "We are very confident with our current approach and progress in mine clearance, and we hope to complete this work by 2020."

"There's a huge difference when you can complete a task that would normally take hundreds of years in just five years, or even six or seven years."Junuzagi saidFor a long time, it has been believed that removing all unexploded ordnance from Vietnam is a pipe dream and impossible. But perhaps there is still hope.

Non-governmental organizations such as NPA, MAG, and many others have destroyed more than 370,000 unexploded ordnance throughout Quang Tri since 1998. No one knows how many bombs and mines still remain in this war-torn land. For Junuzagic, it seems the time has come to complete this seemingly endless task.

According to VNE