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Angola Diary
8th - 15th June 2003
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My mane is Mariano Halutenda. I am 35 years of age and was born in Huambo, in the centre of Angola. My parents fled from Huambo due to war in 1979. We came to settle in Cunene Province where we have been living until now. There are no plans at the moment to return to our area of origin. The homes were destroyed during the war and besides, the threat of mines is another blocking issue. Before we fled Huambo, I was doing Grade 4at school, and continued learning while in Cunene up to Grade 6. Then I got conscripted into the Angolan national army, FAPLA, at that time. I left the army in 1992. I was unemployed until I got employed by MAG in 1999. I am proud to say that apart from clearing mines MAG has created employment and so improved the lives not only of those living in mine infested areas but also its own staff. For example, I have a wife and 6 children whom I look after using my MAG salary. I have managed to build myself a house where we all now live.
After recruitment, I was trained by MAG for three months. I was trained in mine detection and disposal, and explosive ordnance disposal. Suffice it to mention at this point that MAG has a policy of continuous training for its staff to make sure that they reach a very high standard of professionalism. I am very proud of this because it has tremendously increased my confidence in carrying out demining tasks. I do not fear to work in a mine field because MAG has taught me safety procedures to follow. I have been working for 4 years now removing lots and lots of mines and UXO in their thousands and subsequently clearing thousands of square meters without registering any accident among our teams. We have been encountering complicated mines but due to the type of training I received with the rest of my friends, we have been able to handle all such situations without risking lives.
The situation in Cunene is not different from that in Huambo, my home area. Like Cunene, Huambo was also a scene of heavy battles. Therefore, I expect that thousands of mines and UXO are scattered everywhere making it highly dangerous for people like us to return and carry out a normal life free of mine risks.
Cunene has three Mine Action Teams .I belong to team N0.3. I am an Deputy Team Leader. My responsibilities include overseeing the demining supervision when the Team Leader is not present. I ensure that the deminers follow the laid down procedures as enshrined in our SOPs, (Standard Operation Procedures).
This week ending 15th June, I was working in Cuvelai, which is 180km from Ondjiva. There is a huge mine field called Macova, which is approximately 100,000m2. This was a defensive government minefield against possible enemy invasion. Fourteen (14) accidents have occurred in this field claiming human and stock lives. The mine field was revealed to MAG for clearance at the end of the war. So far we have cleared 88 mines and a lot of UXO. Nothing really touches my heart more than to see an innocent human mine victim and let alone a livestock. In this minefield you can see human and animal skeletons ? a physical evidence of innocent victims and symbol for danger. Unfortunately we use only a manual clearing method and so this minefield will take years to be completely cleared with this system.
The population who live around this field would like to use this land for cultivation and grazing activities .MAG is the only active humanitarian demining organisation in this area. All the hope of mine eradication is vested in MAG but the worrying thing is the pace of clearance due to lack of other rapid modern technological alternatives. Therefore I would like take this opportunity to appeal to any interested donors and in particular the Japanese Government to consider funding our organisation, so that we may be able to procure other modern techniques to improve our operations..
My dream is to see MAG grow and expand its activities all over the country .Surely this is only possible with an increased financial support. I would be more than pleased if one day MAG will go also to Huambo because I have a lot of confidence in this organisation. All the cleared land handed over is currently being used by the communities and no accidents or reports of any missed ordnance has come to our knowledge.
Mariano Halutenda
Deputy Team Leader
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