Marco Di Lauro
Reportage by Getty Images
A Legacy of War
Sajad Faleh, 12-years-old is seen during his assessment at the PRC (ICRC’s Physical Rehabilitation Center) on February 5, 2014 in Najaf. A Legacy of War. Anti-personnel landmines are a silent yet open wound of the modern world. As one of the most merciless of war legacies in an already devastated region, their treacherous presence continues to indiscriminately affect the lives of innocent civilians long after conflicts have ceased.
A Legacy of War aims at shedding light on some of the lives of over 48,000 survivors of landmine explosions in Iraq, one of the most cluster-contaminated countries on the globe. Experts predict it will take about 25 years to clear the damage.
On any given day, farmers, sheep herders and pass-byers are at risk of stumbling upon an unexploded cluster munition. One of the victims, Sajad Faleh, was four when he and his brothers detonated by accident some explosive remnants in the city of Simawa in 2006. His older brothers were instantly killed, and he has been an amputee since.
The lives of landmine-explosion casualties have been altered forever. The mere act of standing or sitting among friends, peers and family or posing for a picture becomes an act of bravery that highlights the gruesome aftermath of war.
However, there are glimmers of hope for these victims. Sajad's path to recovery began when he was given prosthetic legs at a rehabilitation center run by the International Committee of the Red Cross. He was joined by Iraqi men and women of all ages who were also learning to stand and walk again.
Almost half of the mine casualties in Iraq are children. For this reason, mine educational programs in schools are of paramount importance. Some of the pictures depict Mines Advisory Group personnel explaining to young boys and girls the danger they may face upon their return from school.
Awareness has, however, risen over the years. Thanks to international bans and conventions, the number of landmine casualties has decreased by 60 percent since the 1990s. Nations have also started destroying cluster munitions and clearing contaminated territories. "A Legacy of War" follows the meticulous and dangerous work of the Iraqi deminers who work for up to ten hours a day to locate, deactivate and remove landmines or cluster munitions.
Such an effort is far from sufficient. Only a handful of international operators are conducting the survey and clearance works for humanitarian reasons. Amid poor funding, most of the task is carried out by contractors working only in the areas of interest to the oil companies that employ them.
As many in the West believe that the war in Iraq--and its crudest consequences--are over, many locals feel their lives have a premature expiry date. Landmine-contaminated fields are a threat to agricultural development, water delivery and, above all, to thousands of human lives.
These pictures were taken so that the pain of amputees, relief workers, clearance personnel, could not only be relieved, but could also contribute to raising awareness beyond Iraq's borders.