Author(s):
Amy Dudley <amySPAMFLTER@SPATMFLTERicbl.org> .
Tuesday 08 August 2006
In a recent interview, Margaret expressed her enthusiasm for her new role as an ICBL Ambassador, sharing her own personal struggle as a landmine victim and her impassioned quest to strengthen landmine victim assistance programs worldwide.
Margaret at Mines Action Canada’s symposium on the 5th anniversary of the treaty signing.
Q: What has your current role with the ICBL entailed and how does if feel to have been named a new ambassador for the campaign?
Before I became a landmine victim, I had no idea about the problems facing people with disability. However, my perception on disability changed the day I lost my leg in a landmine blast. I learnt of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines through a landmine survivor Ms. Marianne Holtz at a landmine conference in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1999. This marked the start of my advocacy role on disability related issues and further on to the mine ban campaign. At that time, I was not yet prepared to speak but with encouragement to share my experience and support from the ICBL through Raising the Voices advocacy training, I regained my self esteem and opened up.
After learning about the work of the ICBL and how much civil society has achieved through the combined efforts of numerous NGOs to spearhead for a total ban on antipersonnel mines, as a survivor, I felt challenged to action and now feel proud to be a part of this noble campaign. With the support I received, there is a challenge to give back to the community and advocating on behalf of the thousands of survivors is the only way I can give back. My current role with the ICBL entails advocating for improved support/assistance to landmine survivors all over the world.
Considering the fact the ICBL is a Nobel Peace Price recipient, I feel greatly honored to be named as one of its ambassadors and appreciate the trust and confidence entrusted in me to carry out this cause.
Margaret and Mines Action Canada Director, Paul Hanon, participate in the official handover ceremony of ICBL archives to the National Archives of Canada.
Q: Can you describe your personal experience in connection with the plight of landmine victims and how this has affected your efforts in serving the anti-landmine community as an advocate for victim assistance?
When I was involved in a landmine accident in December 1998, it was a turning point in my life. I can say the same for every landmine survivor. I was desperate and would have lost hope in life but for my faith background. I had to learn how to do everything all over again including how to walk! Besides the period of rehabilitation and reintegration, I was faced with rejection, and the greatest task of being able to provide material and financial support for the wellbeing of my children as a single parent. With the formal education I had, I was able to secure a job one year after rehabilitation and life continued.
This however, is not the case with most survivors who live in the rural areas and are mostly peasant farmers. Their only source of livelihood is derived from the ability to engage in subsistence agricultural production. The production rate of subsistence farming becomes limited and survivors cannot produce to full capacity due to the disability suffered.
Many of the landmine survivors are people who are desperate and have lost hope in life. In my own country, I have not yet met a landmine survivor who does not look up with expectation whenever I turn to speak to them. This prompted me to become a voice for the voiceless
Margaret leading a session on landmine victim assistance in 2003
landmine survivors in my country and later on to champion the issues that mainly affect landmine survivors worldwide.
Q: How would you describe the current state of the landmine issue and victim assistance internationally today and how do you hope to tackle the issue as an ambassador?
Although 151 States are now party to the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT), landmines still continue to be a threat in many countries that are
faced with conflict. Rebel forces in some of these states use landmines and new conflicts keep on emerging all over the world causing an increase in the number of new victims.
Landmine survivors live in different environments worldwide. Some are in countries that have ongoing conflict such as in Afghanistan, Iraq, northern Uganda etc and others are in the post-conflict environment. In both environments, rehabilitation services are inadequate and often lacking, leaving survivors in deplorable conditions. In addition living standards are extremely low and the majority are unable to cope due to the extent of disability.
On victim assistance, I still feel that VA is under funded and lacks priority in the mine action community. Proper data collection systems are yet to be installed in most mine affected countries to regulate under reporting or irregular reporting of new cases.
Internationally, stakeholders have continued to provide survivors with the necessary assistance that fosters rehabilitation and reintegration but the outstanding issue still remains supporting the survivors to become financially independent. Socio-economic reintegration is of paramount importance if survivors are to become fully integrated into their community and be allowed equal opportunities in all aspects of life.
However, other health issues such as Malaria, HIV/AIDS, Water and Sanitation etc seem to feature highly on government priority and this tends to relegate Victim Assistance to the lowest ranking of government priorities. Although the MBT has registered progress in VA over the past nine years, more work remains to be done as new reported cases of landmine survivors around the world continue to emerge.
As an ambassador, I intend to continue highlighting the plight of landmine victims/survivors and their unmet needs to the international community at all levels through existing regional bodies. The strategy is to continue with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) lobbying techniques and advocacy to call for improved assistance to landmine survivors.
Q: What are your expectations for the 2006-2009 period that will determine the commitment of many state parties to the mine ban treaty?
My expectations for 2006-2009 are that:
Co-chair of the Working Group on Victim Assistance (WGVA), Margaret meets here with other members during the General Meeting of 2003.
1. The 24 States Parties to the MBT that are most needy in terms of victim assistance (VA24) show a marked improvement in the way VA is handled. They should be able to develop a database that gives concrete figures on:
- Landmine victims
- The number of trained personnel to handle landmine victims
- The number of health care facilities improved with adequate supplies of drugs/medicines
- Existing rehabilitation centers.
The VA 24 can report on established support structures to meet the psychosocial needs of landmine victims such as:
- Available counseling services
- Access to prosthetic rehabilitation services.
The VA 24 demonstrate economic empowerment of landmine survivors and their families and their full reintegration into society by showing good results in the following indicators:
- Landmine survivors trained in various vocations skills
- Landmine survivors who are beneficiaries of microfinance
- Landmine survivors gainfully employed
- Survivors with formal education.