The Sunday Mail
DISABILITY ISSUES
Dr Christine Peta
GOVERNMENT inherited a landmine problem from the colonial regime.
The landmines were laid under the ground, along the borders, during the armed struggle in a bid to deter the inward and outward movement of liberation war fighters, mainly from Zambia and Mozambique.
The Rhodesian army laid most mines between 1976 and 1979.
A large number of the explosives did not go off, thus went on to injure and maim ordinary citizens, way after the war.
Nonetheless, Zimbabwe actively participated in the negotiation of the Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines (Ottawa Convention) that was opened for signing on December 3, 1997 and subsequently became a State Party in March 1999 following ratification of the treaty.
The support required by persons who acquire disabilities because of landmines and explosive remnants of war resulted in states recognising their collective responsibility to care for the victims by integrating assistance commitment into the Ottawa Convention.
This was the first time an international treaty banning a weapon required care and assistance for its victims.
The five pillars of the Ottawa Convention are clearance, mine risk reduction, victim assistance, advocacy and stockpile destruction.
In Zimbabwe, these pillars are implemented through collaborative efforts of the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare (which focuses on victim assistance and, in part, advocacy) and the Ministry of Defence, which focuses on technical demining activities.
The Zimbabwe Mine Action Centre (ZIMAC) was established within the Ministry of Defence as the focal point and coordination centre for all mine action in the country.
ZIMAC works closely with the Department of Disability Affairs in the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare with regard to provision of support to survivors of landmines and explosive remnants of war who acquired disabilities.
Some people may wonder why we are still talking about landmines and explosive remnants of war, when the struggle ended many years ago.
The reality is that persons who survive landmines and explosive remnants of war often acquire permanent disabilities, resulting in them being in need of long-term care, rehabilitation and social and economic support.
However, with the implementation of the Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines Convention in Zimbabwe, a significant decrease in the number of new victims has been observed.
The Zimbabwe National Mine Action Strategy states that by 2025, the country will be totally free of landmines and explosive remnants of war, in a context where women, girls, boys and men in affected areas can safely engage in sustainable livelihood activities.
Likewise, landmine and explosive remnants of war victims will be fully integrated into society.
Zimbabwe’s affected zones are primarily in rural areas, inhabited by poor subsistence communities, whose livelihoods depend on farming and livestock rearing.
According to the Zimbabwe Mine Action Strategy, as of May 2017, remaining contamination comprises five mined areas, totalling just over 66 square kilometres: Musengezi to Rwenya, Sango Border Post to Crooks Corner, Rusitu to Muzite Mission, Sheba Forest to Leacon Hill and Lusulu.
Government, in line with the 1997 Ottawa Convention and the 2006 United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which Zimbabwe also ratified, rolled out a programme that supports persons who acquired disabilities because of landmines and other explosives and their families in affected areas.
Under the Government’s landmine and explosive remnants of war victim assistance programme, the State provides medical care as an integral part of the national health care and social services systems.
Government also recognises that a victim of landmines and explosive remnants of war requires rehabilitation and reintegration into society and the economy. This is done in a context where victims also recover their mobility.
In that regard, the State provides artificial limbs (prostheses) and/or devices to support malfunctioning limbs (orthoses), as well as other orthopaedic items such as wheelchairs and crutches.
A child who steps on a landmine today may need up to 35 prostheses in his or her lifetime.
The psychological trauma and loss of self-esteem that landmine victims with disabilities experience can be eased through psycho-social support, community acceptance and employment, thus restoring a person’s feeling of productivity and dignity.
Research undertaken in Zimbabwe revealed that most survivors of landmines who have acquired disabilities say that their top priority is to become productive community members and contribute to supporting their families.
The National Disability Policy of Zimbabwe directs vocational training and the creation of employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for persons with disabilities, including those who acquired the conditions because of landmines and explosive remnants of war.
Persons who acquired disabilities because of landmines benefit from legislation and public policies that generally protect persons with disabilities.
We should all refrain from stigmatising persons who acquired disabilities because of landmines and explosive remnants of war, and promote their prospects of reintegration into both society and the economy.
*Dr Christine Peta is a disability, policy, international development and research expert who is the national director of Disability Affairs in Zimbabwe. She can be contacted on: [email protected]
