Seattle Man to Run 300K for Landmine Victims

A Seattle physical therapist will compete in one of the toughest footraces on the planet while raising funds to help landmine accident survivors.

Hearts and Mines: A documentary on the work of Clear Path International

All of us at Clear Path are thrilled to see the new trailer for HEARTS AND MINES the documentary by Dr. Joan Widdifield, a long-time CPI supporter. Hearts and Mines follows the CPI Vietnam staff as they work with landmine and bomb accident survivors and their families.

In Afghanistan, Goats Provide Livelihood for Landmine Survivors and More

In Clear Path's first survivor assistance project outside Kabul, 18 beneficiaries in the eastern city of Jalalabad received goats and animal husbandry training from CPI's local Afghan partner, Afghan Disabled & Vulnerable Society.

Clear Path International now Independent, Expanding in Afghanistan

After two years as a subcontractor in Kabul, Clear Path International is now a full-fledged independent grant recipient of the U.S. Department of State with a growing vision for aid to landmine accident survivors and people with disabilities in Afghanistan.

Clear Path International Provides The Gift of Hands for the Landmine Survivors at Care Villa

Since we began supporting the Care Villa in 2002, we at Clear Path have dreamed of providing prosthetic hands for the amputees we serve there. Many of them have lost one or both arms in a landmine explosion and are wholly dependent on others for their care. Almost every time we visit our Karen friends at the giant sprawling Mae La refugee camp on the Thai-Burma border, we are asked for a device that will allow the men to use their upper limbs.

US State Department Funds Clear Path International Programs in Vietnam & Cambodia

The largest grant of $127,000 will be used to fund efforts that assist survivors of accidents with landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) in central Vietnam. The second grant of $50,000 will be used for CPI's rice mill enterprise for landmine survivors in Battambang, Cambodia, where its beneficiaries receive training, microcredit and crop processing services.

CPI Starts Year of the Buffalo with Pig-breeding Project For Landmine Accident Survivors in Vietnam's Gio Linh

In the new lunar Year of the Buffalo, Clear Path in Vietnam began its activities supporting landmine and bomb accident with a pig-raising project in the coastal commune of Gio Hai in Quang Tri Province's Gio Linh District.

Clear Path International Releases Annual Report

In the period covered by the report, the U.S.-based organization with offices in Vermont and on Bainbridge Island, Washington, assisted 6,325 beneficiaries in Afghanistan, 1,679 in Vietnam, 929 in Cambodia and 538 on both sides of the Thai-Burma border.

Afghanistan: Better Access to Schools for Disabled Girls and Boys

It’s one thing to be disabled and face the kind of discrimination typical for anyone with a disability here. It’s another to be disabled girl and go to school in one of the most conservative Islamic countries in the world.

The last thing you need is to face physical barriers as well, particularly in a wheelchair.

Clear Path International's Afghanistan Partner Reaches Out And Speaks Up For Survivors

We had reached one of Kabul’s many neighborhoods. Kristen, Peter and Zabi had taken me here to see another one of Clear Path’s implementing partners in Afghanistan, the Afghan Landmine Survivors Organization. Life seemed more normal here than in the fortified and rarified sections of the downtown area with its foreign embassies, company headquarters and NGO offices.

Afghanistan: Better Tools, Better Lives

A steel landmine probe. A deminer’s trowel. A flail hammer. Mine field marking tape. Newly polished safety visors. These tools may not sound familiar to you, but mine clearance professionals use them every day.

The Eyes of Zab Mohammed: Fear & Hope On My First Trip to Afghanistan

I can’t explain it. I’ve met hundreds of landmine and bomb accident survivors in the past nine years. I’ve visited them at home after years of painful recovery. I’ve seen them shortly after their accident their families in tears. I’ve seen the faces of boys scarred by shrapnel and girls who couldn’t walk because of burn injuries. I’ve seen survivors who could no longer see or touch because they lost their sight and their hands.

It moves me every single time but I usually remain composed.

Clear Path Featured in Journal of Mine Action

The latest edition of the academic periodical Journal of Mine Action published by James Madison University features a cover photo and an in-depth article about the work of Clear Path International in central Vietnam. Co-authored by Ari Perlstein, a medical student at the Oregon Health & Science University, and CPI co-founder Imbert Matthee, the article highlights the persistent problem of UXO (unexploded ordnance) accidents in a region which ranks among the most mine-affected in the world.

YouTube: Myanmar's Landmine Survivors at the Mae Tao Clinic

The military regime's ongoing repression in Burma (Myanmar) kills and maims hundreds of civilians each year through the use of landmines. Planted throughout ethnic territories, landmines are used to quell insurgent rebel armies, but more often kill civilians, especially children

Ministry of Defense in UK raids Landmine Removal Fund to Pay Repair Bills on Fighter Jets

Money set aside to clear landmines and remove arms from conflict zones is to be raided to pay a private defence contractor to keep Tornado jets flying in Iraq, according to a confidential memo seen by the Guardian.

CPI Aid in Thailand and Myanmar Reached Nearly 300 Landmine Survivors in 2007

With our partners, the Mae Tao Clinic, the Karen Handicap Welfare Association, KNPLF (Karenni) and the Shan Health Committee, we expect to provide services to more than 400 survivors at seven locations along the border in 2008. Groot Klimmendaal, Lobke’s employer, has been encouraging its other employees to volunteer in the area. Neeltje Rosmalen, a psychologist and cognitive trainer helped train medics and counselors in psychological treatment of new and existing accident survivors.

The Scent of Northern Thailand: A Volunteer's Experience on the Thai-Burma Border

By paying close attention to the patients’ behaviors and by being deliberate with my facial expressions and voice tones, I strived to offer patients some physical relief, encouragement, and a sense of being cared for.

Reuters: Landmines threaten Iraqis and hamper development

Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the mines were spread across about 4,000 minefields left across Iraq after the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War, the first Gulf War in 1991 and the 2003 U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein.

Landmines and UXO kill and maim hundreds in Afghanistan in 2007

Most victims are males aged 1-26, largely from the insurgency-affected southern provinces where the worsening security situation has hampered de-mining activities.

Young & Rubicam Creates Radio Spot to Support Landmine Victims: Tell us what you think!

All of us at Clear Path International are grateful to Young & Rubicam Malaysia for creating a 35 second radio spot for CPI. Please click "read more" to listen it and let us know what you think.

A Certificate of Merit Awarded to Clear Path in Vietnam

I don’t often write about ceremonies. Most of the time they’re just for looks, photo ops, grip and grins. When you have an all-hands-on-deck agenda to get things done, fluff and puff can be kind of a nuisance. But the recent presentation to CPI of the Certificate of Merit from the Provincial People’s Committee of Quang Tri was different to me. It was a real milestone in our seven-year history as a humanitarian mine action organization.

13-year-old Boy Blinded by Burma Army Landmine

From the Free Burma Rangers website: On 19 November, 13-year-old Saw K'Tray Soe detonated a landmine while gathering bamboo soot leaves to make a roof for his family's house. The mine blew up in his face, severely injuring his eyes...

Good News, Bad News For Mine Clearance In Countries Where Clear Path International Has Assistance Programs

Although increased funding and fewer casualties were reported in 2006, many countries are not on course to meet their Mine Ban Treaty clearance obligations, says a new report from the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.

2007 Evening of Hope Benefit for Landmine Survivors Brings in $50,000!

Our third annual Seattle fundraiser, generously underwritten by the law firm Marler Clark, brought in more than $50,000 for our direct assistance work. That amount is a 43 percent increase over last year’s $35,000.

In Burma, child soldiers bought and sold

Burma is filling the ranks of its depleted armed forces with children as young as 10 and may try to capture even more boys after the recent crackdown on pro-democracy protests, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday.

YouTube: Thank you, Martha!

This video was shown on the 10th anniversary Celebration of Martha Hathaway's work with landmine and bomb survivors in Vietnam, Cambodia, Afghanistan and the Thai-Burma border.

Senator Leahy Honors Clear Path | Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion Perform to a Sold Out Crowd

10th Anniversary of Public-Private Partnerships at US Dept of State's Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement

Ten years ago an initiative was begun at the US Department of State that would energize the mine action community in a creative and exciting way. In October of 1997 the State Department initiated the Humanitarian Mine Action Public-Priivate Partnership Program. Clear Path has benefitted greatly from the program as have 56 other NGOs.

AP: Villagers flee Myanmar’s deadly landmines

A Human Rights Watch report in December last year accused the military of planting mines around rice crops and routes to fields in an effort to hamper the annual harvest, effectively starving the people off their land.
It also said that Myanmar’s soldiers had used civilians as human mine sweepers, forcing them to walk in front of troops through landscapes possibly laced with the deadly ordnance.

Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion with Senator Patrick Leahy Benefit Clear Path International!

Sarah Lee Guthrie, the granddaughter of Woody Guthrie and the daughter of Arlo, will be returning to perform in Southern Vermont with her husband, the critically acclaimed Johnny Irion on Saturday, October 13th at Long Trail School in Dorset, VT. Speaking before the event will be long-time Clear Path supporter and landmine advocate, Senator Patrick Leahy.

Esquire: The Devil in the Dirt

There are so many landmines in Afghanistan, the country is literally about to blow. But removing these mines is no easy task.

Rutland Herald: CPI continuing to grow its reputation as a force for humanitarian relief

By PATRICK McARDLE Herald Staff
DORSET - Clear Path International is continuing to grow its reputation as a force for humanitarian relief with new developments this year in Afghanistan and Slovenia.

Iraq: Which minefield should we clear next?

I could go on and speak to the villagers to ask about the benefits of the mine clearance but I didn't need to. Sitting right in front of me were five - very cute - reasons to clear this minefield. I didn't need to speak to their parents to know that they didn't want their children growing up alongside the Valmaras - or any other mines for that matter.

Shell explosion kills 3 family members in Vietnam

The explosion occurred at the victims' house in Duy Xuyen District on Tuesday afternoon when the 31-year-old man named Pham Van Thang was trying to break the shell for scraps. His wife, standing nearby, and the child held in her arms were killed on the spot.

Howstuffworks.com: How Landmines Work

So many people come to our site to learn how to clear landmines, that it seems many of you may be interested in how landmines work. Click the read more button for an excerpt from a great article by Kevin Bonsor for howstuffworks.com.

O & P Edge: CPI Clearing the Way for a Safer Future

The bulk of (Clear Path International's) work is deadly serious. With programs in Vietnam, Cambodia, along the Thai-Burma border, and now Afghanistan, the realities of war—even wars that ended more than 30 years ago—could not be any more dramatic. Dealing with the everyday horror can be overwhelming, but Matthee recalls a moment that makes even the most trying days seem worthwhile.

Landmine explosion in Vietnam kills 3 children

The children collected the landmine while tending their buffaloes and tried to smash it open when it exploded.

Clear Path International, International Trust Deal offers new hope for landmine, bomb survivors in Vietnam

The agreement's first proposal commits ITF to raise $230,000 from among its 27 government and private-sector donors to match the funds Clear Path is raising from the US State Department and US-based private-sector

Man Learns to Walk Again After Losing Limbs to Decades-old Bomb in Vietnam

The accident occured at about 11:00 a.m when Thi was digging up a tree stump. In close distance, Vinh was bending down, pulling fallen branches away. A loud explosion woke up the quiet forest as Thi’s pick hit the ground. The ordnance was subsurface and thus, nobody knew what it was; but the powerful blast knocked two men down on the ground.

Elephants "Learn" to Avoid Land Mines in War-Torn Angola

"Maybe they are able to smell the mines," Whyte said. "They move about with their trunks right on the ground, and it could be that they pick up the scent in this way.

"But they are also intelligent animals which move in groups. Maybe they learn to avoid places where they see other elephants get blown up."

Clear Path Burma Site: Landmine death toll rises in Karen state

Saw Eh Thamwe, the coordinator of the clinic’s mine victim department, said that the clinic had treated 16 people injured by landmines in June alone and that increased tensions between the Karen National Union and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army were to blame.

“This year has the highest number of land-mine cases due to intensified fighting. in previous years, there were as few as ten landmine cases a year but in the first six months of this year we had 30 cases,” Saw Eh Thamwe said.

China clearing landmines on Sino-Vietnamese Border

His heart pounded as rivulets of sweat trickled down his face in the semi-desert heat. Wei Lianhai's hands, moist with perspiration, snipped the wire of a landmine laid in the Friendship Pass area, on the border between China and Vietnam.

Reuters: Decade after Diana campaign, few use landmines

Ten years after the death of Princess Diana and the first global treaty against antipersonnel landmines, experts say only a handful of rebel groups and perhaps one state dare use what has become a pariah weapon

Jody Riggs: Burma’s situation is real!

This is not history! That is what continues to ring in my head. My name is Jody Riggs and I am a student prosthetist from Canada. The atrocities that I am reading about and the repercussions that I am witnessing are current events, happening just over those hills and across the Moei or the Salween river in Burma.

In Another World, You Are An Illegal Refugee With Nothing To Your Name

The Mae Toa Clinic on the Thai-Burma border is founded and run by refugees. The prosthetics department manager is an astounding and committed man. He does not make money and will never be able to buy his family a truck, or a home, or a vacation. His workshop lacks government funding and only survives by donation and outside funds.

Rice Mill Project Fires Up in Rural Cambodia!

Its not often that I actually get giddy by someone firing up a big 'ol diesel powered generator, but that's the emotion I settled upon as the most appropriate description, when they cranked up the rice mill the first time for me. Its not often, come to think of it, that I would even recognize a diesel powered generator or any of the multitude of tools and metal appliances which go into making a rice mill. And, yet, throughout the last few months, I've become more familiar with all things rice related than I ever thought possible.

Clear Path International to Assist Afghan Landmine Survivors As Part of U.S. Department of State Contract

KABUL, Afghanistan – Clear Path International (CPI), a U.S.-based humanitarian mine action nonprofit organization, has received a multi-year contract from DynCorp International to start a landmine survivor assistance program in Afghanistan on behalf of the U.S. Department of State.

United States Campaign to Ban Landmines Expands Its Mandate to Include Cluster Munitions Advocacy

From the USCBL: We are pleased to inform you that the Steering Committee of the US Campaign to Ban Landmines recently agreed to expand the mission of the coalition to include advocacy toward a prohibition on the use, production, and transfer of cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians.

Duane Nelson on the Thai Burma Border

The war, if you want to call it that, is deep-rooted, its got history, and it involves entire people groups and nations. How can I change anything?

Two New Volunteers Reach the Thai Burma Border

Duane Nelson is volunteering at the Mae Tao clinic in Mae Sot on the Thai-Burma border. Here is the first, of what I am hoping will be many, of his blog posts from the border!

Dutch Rehab Hospital Signs Agreement To Support Landmine Survivors on the Thai-Burma Border

Under a two-year agreement, the Dutch hospital will provide $30,000 in funding and facilitate the involvement of its professional rehabilitation specialists as volunteers in eastern Thailand where CPI has an active program fabricating prosthetics, offering physical therapy and providing full-time care for landmine accident survivors from Burma.

Memorial Day in The United States: Project Healing Waters

Recently I have been working a bit with an organization called Project Healing Waters. PHW helps disabled veterans learn to fly fish and tie flies and aspires to give them new hope in their struggle to overcome their disabiilities.

War Era Bombs Injure 2 Year Old and 72 Year Old In Vietnam

Accidents involving unexploded ordnance injured civilians ranging in age from 2 to 72 this last week in central Vietnam's former DMZ.

After More Than 30 Years ABN-AMRO's Loans to Cluster Bomb Makers Move Me To Close My Account

Over the years, I have had no complaints about ABN-AMRO, whose acronym stands for Algemene Bank Nederland and Amsterdam Rotterdam Bank. But, In the one of those moments that turns your stomach, I found out a few months ago that ABN-AMRO and another Dutch financial conglomerate, ING, made loans to European defense contractors that make cluster bombs.

Back from Baghdad: A Conversation with Corey Flintoff

A few years ago, NPR's Corey Flintoff helped out Clear Path by doing a voice over for our informational video. You can see the video embedded in this post. In this post we link to a story wherein he is interviewed about the challenges of reporting from Iraq.

YouTube: Bombhunters Now Available on DVD

Great news! I just got an email from our good friend Skye Fitzgerald who produced the film BOMBHUNTERS about scavengers of live bombs in Cambodia. The film is now available in DVD.

YouTube: Cluster Bombs, A Weapon out of Control

A Human Rights Watch video showing how cluster munitions have endangered civilian populations from the Vietnam era through current conflicts in Iraq and Lebanon.

Vietnam sits atop 600,000 Tons of Landmines and Bombs

According to Vietnam's Bomb and Mine Disposal Technology Centre (BOMICEN) at the Engineering Command, 600,000 tons of war-time bombs and explosives currently lie under the ground throughout Vietnam.

Young Man Loses Hand to Vietnam War Era Bomb

18-year-old Tran Van Khoa was injured by an explosive remnant of the US-Vietnam war at 8h a.m on March 26th 2007 in Trieu Ai commune, Trieu Phong district of Quang Tri province.

YouTube: The Future of Landmines? I don't think so

Just found this video on YouTube tonight about a weapons system that the narrator claims could replace the landmine in future warfare. Doubtful...

Flickr: Children of War Photo Pool

From war zones all over the world, the images show children acting like children (or trying to) while the adults around them act like monsters.

Well Known and Controversial Citizen Deminer, Aki Ra, Retires... or not

He says that he will soon move his Cambodia Landmine Museum on the river near Angkor Wat to a new facility near Banteay Srei temple where he and his wife Hourt will start a new quieter life.

Israeli cluster bombs cause surge in demand for Prosthetics

Prosthetic limb-fitting centers in southern Lebanon are struggling to cope with the rising toll from the one million unexploded cluster bombs left over from last summer's Israeli offensive on the country.

Video: Elephant Landmine Survivors on the Thai-Burma Border

Not all landmine survivors are human. Many elephants,including baby elephants, are injured by mines while working in the jungles on the tense Thai-Burma border.

Clear Path Newsletter Available in PDF

The 2007 Winter/Spring CPI Newsletter is now available online. Read about our recent matching campaign with the US Dept of State, how we introduced a hippopotamus to Cambodia, and updates from Chi and Lobke, two of our representatives on the ground in Southeast Asia!

YouTube: Lost Arms to Grenade in Vietnam, Now He Swims and Rides his Bicycle

Mr. Lang was working with his parents in a potato field in 1976 when he saw a bright yellow device (M79 grenade). He picked it up and the device detonated in his hand. He lost two arms just below elbow.

Lobke's Story: It All Began Last Year

When I encountered many amputees (mostly landmine or UXO victims) in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, the picture couldn’t be much clearer. I wanted to work with landmine accident survivors. That was what I wanted to do. And that was exactly what I was going to do.

Seattle Post Intelligencer: Cluster bombs leave a lethal legacy

Given their high failure rates and controversial deployment, there is a growing movement afoot to restrict the use of cluster bombs. It's time to end the kind of post-conflict suffering I see every time I travel to Southeast Asia for Clear Path International.

Reuters: Hidden Bombs Stalk Vietnamese as States Seek Treaty

"It is sinful that the war has an impact after all these years, that the bombs and the landmines are still there," the boy's distraught father, Pham Van Cuoi, said in the family's small concrete dwelling.

Bombs Injure Three Boys, Kill One Over Tet Holidays in Central Vietnam

Both Son and Cong knew what cluster bombs were since they had seen many before. However, this was the first time they found one half of a bomb: a hemisphere, not a complete steel sphere. They could see the yellow TNT exposed and a round metal section at the center of the explosive.

BBC Series: Saving Lives on the Burmese border

A building at the back of the clinic houses a (Clear Path International funded) workshop for Maw Keh and his team, who construct prosthetic limbs for the many landmine victims in the region - a legacy of the long conflict between government and rebel soldiers.

Iraqi Shepherds Harvest Landmines and Bombs to Fuel Insurgency

Iraqi shepherds are increasingly venturing into these deadly fields to dig up mines planted during the Iran-Iraq war two decades ago, according to U.S. soldiers, who say insurgents then use the mines to fashion roadside bombs that kill American troops.

YouTube: Improvised Explosive Devices of the Vietnam War

A fascinating video on how unexploded US ordnance was used in Vietnam by North Vietnamese forces. Considering how much ordnance is STILL on the ground to this day, there must have been no shortage of the stuff.

Rick Gunn Visits, and Photographs, Clear Path in Vietnam

"Vinh was planting trees on his land," his doctor explained. "That's when he swung his pick into an unexploded bomb."...I cringed..."It might take a while," the doctor concluded, "but Vinh will learn to walk again."

Claymore Camera makes a dumb mine much smarter

From Gizmag.com: "This innovative and inexpensive product is a great tool to avoid the loss of innocent lives by mistake, solving the problem of not knowing what the mine is detonated against, but, above all, it turns regular dumb mines into intelligent mines which represents a revolutionary progress in minefield technology."

2005 - 2006 Landmine/UXO Victims in Central Vietnam

Chi of the Vietnam office compiled the last two years of UXO accident rates in central Vietnam and has posted his findings here. From 2005 to 2006, Clear Path Vietnam responded to 209 UXO accidents.

BBC Series: Life on the Burma-Thai border

There are three main camps around Mae Sot - Mae La, Noe Po and Umpium. Together, they are home to about 97,500 people. Many camp residents - particularly the recent arrivals - are just grateful for a safe place to stay and food to eat.

Remnants of War: Sara Smits in Syracuse University Magazine

"I’m fueled by the memories and knowing there are people who are struggling with the issues surrounding landmines.” She finds purpose in her research and does speaking engagements to raise funds for Clear Path. “They do amazing work,” Smits says. “I want to somehow give back to the people who gave me so much information and so much inspiration.”

Thai Burma Border: The Circle of Inspiration

The idea was there: we cannot give these guys back their hands, their eyes, their lives the way it used to be. But we can encourage them to bring back a little joy, a bit of fun, some challenges and to make one day a bit different than the other.

Thai - Burma Border: At 21 Years Old, Another Life Shattered

Sometimes you can hear the shootings, explosions, panic, but today it is very quiet....Then we receive a phone call. One of the girls that we dropped yesterday for the mine risk education mission has stepped on a landmine. I remember her face; she was sitting next to me in the truck.

One Boy Killed, One Man Loses Hand In Accidents Involving Ordnace in Vietnam

One man lost a hand and a boy his life in two accidents with unexploded ordnace in central Vietnam this week.

The Not So Funnies: Mary Worth On Dioxin and the Legacy of The Vietnam War

Mary Worth visits Vietnam and learns of one of the enduring legacies of a brutal conflict in a way only Mary Worth can: "They're innocents, maimed by dioxin! Victims of a war not of their making!"

U.S. gives Vietnam $400,000 to plan clean-up of Agent Orange hotspot

The money will be used to help pay for a $1 million study on how to remove dioxin from the soil at the former U.S. base in Danang, one of three Agent Orange hotspots recognized by the U.S. government. Dioxin is a highly toxic ingredient of Agent Orange, an herbicide U.S. forces used to strip away foliage from jungles during the Vietnam War.

Clear Path Welcomes the New Year with a New Team

This great new group of people adds to the current team -- equally impressive -- that includes the founders, our other existing board members, Francesca Thompson, Nancy Norton and Lori Trieu, our five fulltime employees in Vietnam -- Tran Thi Thanh Toan, Tran Duc, Le Thi Yen Nhi, Trang Hong Chi & Phang Thi Ai Phuong and our partner organizations in Cambodia and along the Thai-Burma border.

Five Years & 150 Students Later: Life After Our Center in Kampong Cham

Eighty-seven of the 120 who graduated are now successful small-business entrepreneurs, 20 have found employment with local companies while 13 work for one of Cambodia’s many non-governmental organizations.

ICBL: Burma / Myanmar Peace talks should include landmine issue

"An acknowledgment of the urgency of this issue within any cessation of hostilities would build confidence and would show a real commitment toward a lasting peace,"

Dr. Cynthia of Mae Tao Refugee Clinic on Myanmar Border Nominated for World's Children Prize

CYNTHIA MAUNG, Burma, who has fought for the health and education of hundreds of thousands of refugee children for 20 years, both under the military dictatorship in Burma and in refugee camps in Thailand.

CPI Vietnam Responds to Its First Accident of 2007

Just as I entered the office this morning Duc, our logistic officer, announced that he received a phone call last night reporting of a new accident happened earlier in the day (January 8th). One person was killed on spot and another 12 year old boy was seriously injured

AFGHANISTAN: UN rejects landmines along border

“We regret the decision of the government of Pakistan to proceed with the laying of landmines and we call upon both governments to strengthen their commitment to cooperative solutions to the security problems that this region faces,” Chris Alexander, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Afghanistan, said on Monday in the capital, Kabul.

Burma: Landmines Kill, Maim and Starve Civilians

"In order to separate ethnic armed groups from their civilian population, the Burmese army lays landmines and other explosive devices in order to maim and kill civilians," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "This is a concerted policy aimed at denying people their livelihoods and food or forcing them to risk losing limbs or lives."

Free Burma Rangers Report Landmine Use by Myanmar Army

"In this area over 5000 people have been displaced, most are in hiding and suffer from shortage of food and medicine. The Burma Army continues it patrols and laying of landmines."

Little Hope for Burmese Refugees in Thailand

Aid agencies maintain that Burmese troops have destroyed nearly 3,000 villages in the last ten years. They say an unmanageable health crisis is now developing in the refugee camps in Thailand that line the frontier.
"In displaced areas, one in five children will die before their fifth birthday," says Nobel peace laureate Dr. Cynthia Maung, who runs a medical camp on the turbulent Thai-Burma border.

Judy Collins to Perform War Victim Benefit Concert in Vermont

Dorset, Vermont- The legendary Judy Collins is set to perform a benefit concert in Dorset, Vermont on December 17th at the Dorset Playhouse to aid civilian victims of war in Vietnam, Cambodia and along the Thailand - Myanmar border.

Muppets teach children a land mine lesson

In Afghanistan the creators of Muppet stars Miss Piggy and Fozzy Bear have teamed up with two charities to teach children a lesson in survival: how not to get killed or maimed by the millions of land mines still buried in the Afghan soil.

United States Helps to Clear Lebanon of Explosive Remnants of War

From a press release from the US Department of State: The United States is committed to reducing the risk to Lebanese civilians posed by explosive remnants of war. From 1998 to the recent conflict, the inter-agency U.S. Humanitarian Mine Action Program invested more than $17 million dollars to rid Lebanon of persistent landmines and explosive remnants.

Thailand - Myanmar Border: Every dead end street has a side street leading somewhere

Lobke blogs from the Care Villa on the Thailand - Myanmar border: Clear Path doesn’t turn its back on (what seems to be) a dead end street. We cannot fix eyes, hands or legs. We cannot turn back time or solve the issues in Burma. But we can look for possibilities, a side street, a change of direction; just small things that can make a big difference.

A Slideshow from the Thailand - Myanmar Border

A slideshow of recent images from Clear Path funded clinics along the Thailand - Myanmar border.

Vietnam: Explosive Remnants of War Incident Report from January 2006 to September 2006

Over the last year Clear Path International's Vietnam staff has been working to create a database for reporting on accidents involving explosive remnants of war that are reported to us and to which we have responded to give assistance. These reports are only the incidents to which we (CPI) have responded and are not representative of the country as a whole. In this blog we post our first report.

Nobelity: Purchase this critically acclaimed film and help Clear Path

Filmed across the U.S., France, England, India & Kenya, Nobelity is a stunning look at the world's most pressing problems through the eyes of nine Nobel Laureates, including Wangari Maathai, Richard E. Smalley, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Three Men Dead: Wartime ordnance continues to kill in Vietnam

Three men were killed in Vietnam’s southern Dong Nai province Thursday while sawing an unexploded US artillery shell left from the Vietnam War 30 years ago. Two of the middle-aged victims, Nguyen Van Hanh and Nguyen Van Nam, who were killed by the 105mm shell, earned their livelihoods by searching for and selling American wartime ordnance, according to a source.

'After the War…the Killing Continues' Photo Exhibit on Bainbridge Island, WA

Photojournalist Erin Fredrichs accompanied a small group from Clear Path International on a three-week tour of its landmine survivor assistance programs in Southeast Asia last year. The compelling and deeply moving photographs Fredrichs took are now on display at Grace Episcopal Church on Bainbridge Island, Washington (near Seattle) through mid October. The pictures are a selection from Fredrich’s Master’s thesis project, “After the War…the Killing Continues,” towards her degree at Ohio University.

Thomas Nash: It's time to outlaw these ruthless killers

The massacre at My Lai spurred the public conscience to put an end not only to the Vietnam War, but also to the use of napalm, the incendiary weapon. The toll from landmines in Cambodia, Angola and Afghanistan prompted some countries to embark on a new process that banned landmines. The civilian toll from cluster munitions in Lebanon may turn out to be a similar turning point.

Israeli Cluster Bombs Litter South Lebanon Endangering Children

Hussein had just been reprimanded by his father. The reason for the chastisement was that Hussein had been outside playing in a field behind his house picking up “toys”. The bucket shown below is his proud collection of U.S. M-42 cluster bomblets. Some boys think the M-42’s are “lighters” or “batteries”. Some girls told this observer that they look like “perfume bottles”

Anti-weapons Group Says Myanmar Most Active Government in World in Using Land Mines

Myanmar's military regime makes more extensive use of land mines than any other government in the world, a group that lobbies against the weapons said Wednesday. In a global survey published annually, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines said that only three governments in the world use land mines: Nepal, Russia and Myanmar.... at least 231 people were killed or injured by land mines in Myanmar in 2005, it said.

Vietnam: Four Year Old Girl and Father Killed, Others Injured by War Era Ordnance

Another heartbreaking report from our staff in central Vietnam 1. (Ho Vien Khan, born in 1948 and Ho Thi Thia, born in 2002) An accident happened to a man and his daughter on August 5th 2006 in Hong Trung commune,...

Pictures of Home Office in Vermont: Welcome home, Kristen!

I think that most people are pretty surprised when they learn that Clear Path International is based in Vermont... most ask why we are not in DC or New York. One of the reasons is a really big reason... COST.

Vietnam: Three Children Killed, Five Injured in Two Accidents with War Era Bombs

The accident happened at 5 p.m., in the front yard of Mrs. Vo Thi Ha’s, a local scrap dealer in Cam Nghia commune, Cam Lo district.

Cambodian resurrection: Land-mine victims forge a new pride in an unforgiving atmosphere

From Straight.com of Vancouver, British Columbia Cambodian resurrection: Land-mine victims forge a new pride in an unforgiving atmosphere By roberta staley Publish Date: 7-Sep-2006 San Suo hops down the rough wood ladder leading from the doorway of his one-room house,...

YOUTUBE: Lebanese Children Victims of Unexploded Cluster Bombs

YouTube: Princess Diana in Angola Raising Landmine Awareness

Whenever I tell people about Clear Path International's work with landmine and bomb accident survivors, invariably Princess Diana's name comes up and they ask me if I ever met her! No... sadly, the princess died about 6 months after my...

UN Humanitarian chief condemns use of ordnance against Lebanon as ‘immoral’

from The AP Newswire: UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. humanitarian chief on Wednesday accused Israel of “shocking” and “completely immoral” behavior for dropping large numbers of cluster bombs on Lebanon when a cease-fire in its war with Hezbollah was in...

US Munitions Still Deadly in Vietnam

On Aug. 13, in the Hoai An district of the central province of Binh Dinh, four 13- to 15-year-old boys died after they found a U.S.-made M79 rifle grenade and broke it open to get the gunpowder. The grenade exploded,...

Unexploded Cluster Bombs Prompt Fear and Fury in Lebanon

A child plays in the streets of Aitta Shaaba, a village riddled with cluster bombs. Photograph: Scott Peterson/Getty Four dead as mine-clearing teams fear death toll from Israeli weapons could soar Declan Walsh in Yahmour Monday August 21, 2006...

Four Children Killed by Explosive In Vietnam

Last week, on August 13th, while looking after their families' cows, four children (ages 12, 13 and two at 15 years old) living in Hoai An district of Binh Dinh province, Vietnam picked up an explosive left over from the...

YouTube Video: If Some Bombs Are Smart Then 'Cluster Munitions Are Destructive Morons'

This YOUTUBE video from Canada's CBC NEWS shows the dangerous nature of cluster bombs in warfare. Many of the injuries/deaths from unexploded bombs we see in Vietnam are the result of cluster bombs left over from the Vietnam war....

Mines Advisory Group Makes Emergency Appeal for Lebanon

Please note the following emergency appeal for assistance from Mines Advisory Group for their live saving work in Lebanon EMERGENCY APPEAL – LEBANON Of the estimated 4,000 bombs dropped daily during the current conflict, around 10 per cent of them...

US Department of State to MATCH Donations To Clear Path!

The U.S. State Department has announced it will match up to $60,000 in contributions made by any grassroots and private-sector donors to Clear Path International’s landmine accident survivor assistance work in central Vietnam. The matching period will last at least...

Martha, Executive Director of CPI on Vermont Public Radio

Vermont Public Radio interviewed our executive Director, Martha Hathaway, on her upcoming trip to Afghanistan and the work of Clear Path International in Asia. You can hear the interview here. The text of the article is below (source VERMONT PUBLIC...

Looking for Land Mines Photo Gallery

The link below leads to photo gallery highlighting different landmine (land mine) detection methods. http://news.com.com/2300-11395_3-6092294-1.html?tag=ne.gall.pg...

Family Catastrophe: Three Children Killed, Three Wounded

On May 30th, 2006, a terrible UXO related accident happened in central highland of Vietnam. Six children from 2 to 11 years old were killed and injured by a cluster bomb explosion. The accident happened in Kong Chro district, Gia...

Harvard Film Series | AT HOME AND ABROAD: THE VIETNAM WAR ON FILM

THE HARVARD FILM ARCHIVE PRESENTS AT HOME AND ABROAD: THE VIETNAM WAR ON FILM JUNE 2 – JUNE 24, 2006 24 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (617) 495-4700 www.harvardfilmarchive.org Admission is $8 General Public, $6 Students and Senior Citizens The...

THREE YEARS OLD BOY INJURED IN A UXO ACCIDENT IN QUANG TRI, VIET NAM

When I first received the brief information over the phone about the accident, I couldn’t imagine how a three years old boy could involve in a UXO accident. For he is too small to cause anything that lead to a...

January 27, 1973: Vietnam Peace MIlestone

From the Washington Times Vietnam peace milestone By Stroube Smith January 29, 2006 "Friday marked the 33rd anniversary of the signing of the Vietnam Peace Accords, the agreement that was supposed to bring "peace with honor" and end the conflict...

Audio Post: "Why We Fight"

Clear Path International advisor Joan Widdifield, in addition to her tireless work for our cause, is also a film critic. She recently saw the documentary film "Why We Fight". Her review of the film (she liked it) is posted here...

Clear Path's Humanitarian Work Recognized

On January 23, 2006, leaders of the Quang Binh Committee for Population, Family and Children (CPFC) paid a visit to Clear Path's Vietname Office in Dong Ha town, Quang Tri province. Mr. Le Thanh Tan, CPFC chairman, was authorized to...

14-Year-Old Boy Lost Hand in War-Era Munition Accident

It was Sunday, January 8, 2006, a day off school and Nguyen The Thang was busy in the backyard moving some bonsai trees to plant in the front entrance. Tet, the Vietnamese traditional Newyear festival is coming in two weeks,...

Thanks, Jim! Subscription Donations are Catching On

Our latest donation (from our good friend Jim in the Netherlands) is a monthly contribution of 10 dollars a month automatically charged to his credit card. These monthly donations are EASY to make and are a great way to help...

One Dead, One Injured in Vietnam from War-Era Bombs

I hope later Chi will post more on these incidents (Chi, if you read this before we reach other, please do), but for now here is an email to me from Toan "Skinny" in Central Vietnam: Hi James, I am...

Hero of My Lai, Hugh Thompson, Has Died

The word hero has been applied so liberally in recent years, that it has largely lost its meaning. There is no other word than heroic, however, to define the actions of Hugh Thompson in the Village of My Lai on...

Clear Path's Outreach Worker - Medal Winner in PARAGAMES

Returning home from the 3rd regional PARAGAMES in Philippine, Le Thi Hoai Phuong, an UXO Survivor/a CPI’s Outreach Worker/a Class F44 Female Athlete had brought home 4 Gold medals and a Silver one, bringing her medal collection up to 24...

Great News from Vietnam

Chi posted yesterday a video of our 14 year old friend Nghia walking. I first wrote about Nghia on this blog in March of 2005. He was injured by a bomb left over from the US-Vietnam War while I was...

Boy Who Lost Legs Gets on His Feet

Ho Van Nghia, a 13-year old boy in Hue city, Viet Nam lost his legs and a hand in an UXO accident in March 2005. After going through long term treatments and rehabilitation, he now can get back on his...

Father of Five Killed in Vietnam

This just in from our office in Quang Tri Province, Vietnam: (Truong Quoc Dung-aged 40) A horrible accident happened to a 40-year-old man in Gio Linh district of Quang Tri province at 16h on Dec 27th 2005. Unknown ordnance suddenly...

Van Lai's Vietnam Ride for CPI Appears in Audrey Magazine

As we previously posted, Clear Path supporter, Van Lai, biked across Vietnam to help support our work. Audrey Magazine picked up the story and it can be seen here. Thanks again, Van!...

CPI Raises Substantial Funding in 4th Quarter

Good news in our most recent press release: During the fourth quarter of 2005, Clear Path International raised more than $275,000 for landmine accident survivors in Southeast Asia through major grants, special events and grassroots contributions, the organization said this week. In October, Clear Path’s fifth anniversary benefit dinner at the Columbia Tower Club in Seattle, attended by many of its island supporters, raised nearly $30,000. This included a $5,000 underwriting grant from the Seattle-based law firm Marler Clark, LLC. In December, the humanitarian mine action group received word from the McKnight Foundation in Minneapolis of $180,000 in grants for Clear Path’s survivor assistance projects in Vietnam and Cambodia during the next two years. The largest two-year grant from McKnight, for $105,000, will support a joint project of CPI and Cambodian Volunteers for Community Development in Phnom Penh to build a rice mill in Battambang Province, western Cambodia. The proposed rice mill and adjoining facility in Battambang will accommodate the training of landmine accident survivors and their families in hands-on agricultural and technical vocational skills. The total budget for the mill, whose production is expected to make the training program self-sustaining within three years, is $327,000. The other two-year McKnight grant for $75,000 will support Clear Path International’s survivor assistance program in central Vietnam, where the organization provides medical and socioeconomic assistance to hundreds of families in three districts north and south of the former Demilitarized Zone that once split the country in two. From the Mark D. Johnson Charitable Trust in California, Clear Path received a $50,000 gift, with $30,000 for survivor assistance in all three program countries �“ Vietnam, Cambodia and the Thai-Burma border area �“ and $20,000 for a media project to raise awareness of the landmine problem in Southeast Asia. In addition, Clear Path received a $5,000 grant for its survivor assistance and mine action work from the Olive Higgins Prouty Foundation and $4,000 from John and Hazel Griffith of San Jose. The remainder of the $275,000 came from individual donations. Since it was founded on Bainbridge Island in 2000, Clear Path has provided assistance to more than 2,300 landmine accident survivors and their families in Southeast Asia, and sent 60 containers with $4 million worth of medical equipment and supplies to dozens of hospitals in 20 countries affected by the presence of landmines.

August 25: One man killed, house down to ashes

The phone rang just as we enter the office after lunch break. Another UXO accident had just happened in Vinh Lam commune, Vinh Linh district. The informant just briefed that it was a serious accident involved a man killed...

Father of Five Killed by Bomb in Vietnam

Sounds of lament could be heard from a distance. Neighbors were quietly preparing for the funeral. An altar was set up right at the main entrance to the living room. A green curtain separates the altar from a bed...

US-Vietnam War Continues to Claim Lives, Limbs In Central Vietnam

QUANG TRI, Vietnam - August 22 - The US-Vietnam War continues to claim lives and limbs here in Central Vietnam. Bombs that lie scattered across the landscape detonate on a regular basis killing and maiming adults and children on a...

One Killed, Two Injured by US-Vietnam War Era Bombs

One Killed, Two Injured by US-Vietnam War Era Bombs Quang Tri Province, Vietnam- One man was killed and two other men remain hospitalized after encountering US-Vietnam War era ordnance this week in central Vietnam On August 10th, 32 year old...

Cruel Summer: Bombs of Vietnam War Continue to Kill and Maim

Cluster bombs and other ordnance left over from the Vietnam War continue to kill and maim civilians in Vietnam 30 years after the war ended here. Below is a brief on just some of the accidents that occured in Central...