UCLA IS-287 Project by Karen Baxter

Landmines in Vietnam

Photographs of Hue, Vietnam & surrounding area by Howard Besser. August 1999.

Vietnam is seriously affected by mines and other military munitions left over from the 30-year-long wars of independence. Most mines were laid during the period of US intervention 1965-75.

Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF), which maintains a presence in the country, and has enquired into Vietnam's problem, reports that mines were laid particularly as the North Vietnamese advance began to eat into American-held territory south of the Ban Hai River.

There has never been a comprehensive nationwide survey of the problem, but the government has supplied VVAF and other agencies with data on casualties and mine types and number located. Much of the data in this report was compiled with the assistance of VVAF and Oxfam Hong Kong.

Casualties
An ICRC orthapaedic center in Ho Chi Minh City was established in 1988. It has the highest productivity of any such ICRC facility, producing 2,024 prostheses a year.

Officials in Quang Tri province report that 6 people a day are hospitalised for mine and UXO injuries; at 2,000 a year, that is the highest casualty rate in the country. In Quang Tri officials also supplied the below statistics, which they cautioned must be regarded as incomplete:

Year / Injuries / Deaths:

1985	20	21	1990	32	34
1986	149	150	1991	88	96
1987	21	25	1992	42	43
1988	26	27	1993	31	34
1989	25	28	1994	15	16

Type of Injuries Suffered by Mine Victims in Vietnam (Injury & %)

	Lost one arm	33.1
	Lost both arms	0.86
	Lost one leg	41.10
	Lost both legs	0.60
	Lost 1 leg & 1 arm	0.04
	Lost 1 eye	5.20
	Blinded	1.50
	Head/stomach injury	15.50
	Serious nerve disorder	1.60

Locations

VVAF reports that in 1993 the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs stated that AP mines were sown during the war in beach areas in Haiphong province, in Quangnam-Danang province, in Quang Tri province, and in central provinces south of the 17th parallel. There are big minefields along the borders with China and Laos. Quang Tri is especially affected by mine infestation.

Quang Tri Province

Like other areas in central Vietnam, this province was the site of fierce battles during the 1965-75 war. In the Gio Linh district of Quang Tri province land mines were used extensively to protect military posts.

Oxfam reports that in the small Gio Viet commune of 10 villages, an estimated two tonnes of bombs per person were dropped by the US, and the port facilities in the area were extensivly mined.

The local authorities are aware of a UXO and mine problem, but with virtually no resources at their disposal Oxfam reports they are trying to encourage other kinds of enterprise in such areas, to make people less dependent on the land or the scrap metal that may be obtained from abandoned ordnance.

In Gio Linh district an estimated 3-4,000 hectares of farmland lie fallow because of uncleared mines and UXO. In Trieu Phong district an estimated 2,500 hecatares lie fallow. Oxfam reports that the uncultivated areas of these two districts could support approximately 12,000 families.

About 60,000 people are reduced to conditions of economic marginalisation because of a conflict which occurred before many of them were born.

Farming families adapt to the presence of mines on their land by growing only enough crops to stave off hunger, instead of replanting entire fields. There are lower grain yields, a decrease in the fertility of the land, and deforestation (caused in part by chemical agents deployed during the war).

The cumultative effects on broader Vietnamese society are striking: decreased crop yields, undercultivation, soaring costs in healthcare, and pensions to subsidise those unable to work because of their injuries.

Number of Mines

It is reported that more than 58,000 leftover landmines and unexploded ordnance in the Quang Tri Province of Vietnam, pose severe danger every day.

Country Statistics

Existing mines:	total 3,500,000
Cleared mines:	total 58,747

Demining Capacity

Oxfam reports that systematic mine clearance is no longer carried out. There is a lack of technical clearance equipment to do the job. From 1975-85 the Vietnamese Army undertook clearance operations and trained locals to identify and mark mines and ordnance to be removed.

Mines found in Viet Nam and their origins

M 14 India
Model 15 Korea, Democratic People's Republic of
Model 15 Netherlands
POMZ-2 Russian Federation
M16A1 United States
M16A2 United States

Source:
Excerpted from the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) http://www.un.org/Depts/Landmine/
Multi-Country Study Reports
http://www.un.org/Depts/Landmine/country/vietnam.htm
Report Date: January 26, 1998

Additional Sources:
Jim Monan, Landmines and Underdevelopment, A Case Study of Quang Tri Province, Central Vietnam, Oxfam Hong Kong, 1995.

Robert and Williams, After the Guns Fall Silent: The Enduring Legacy of Landmines, Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, 1995.

Internet Resources

Government:

Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, ACephalin@
http://www.mines.gc.ca/

The Canadian International Demining Centre (CIDC)
http://eagle.uccb.ns.ca/demine/

European Commission Humanitarian Demining, ALandmines@
http://www.ei.jrc.it/landmines/

European Commission. Joint Research Centre. Support to Civilian Demining R&D
http://www.ei.jrc.it/landmines/jrc.html

U.S.. Department of Defense, AHumanitarian Demining@
http://www.demining.brtrc.com/

United Nations:

United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS)
http://www.un.org/Depts/Landmine/

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) AReliefWeb@
http://wwwnotes.reliefweb.int/

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs):

CARE International
http://www.care.org/info_center/land_mines/ngoland.html

The Center for Defense Information. ALand Mine Sites@
http://www.cdi.org/atp/atdblink.html

Landmine Monitor
http://www.icbl.org/lm/

Landmine Survivors Network (LSN)
http://www.landminesurvivors.org/

Mines Action Canada
http://www.minesactioncanada.com/

Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF)
http://www.vvaf.org/htdocs/landmine/freeworld.html

Campaigns to Ban Landmines:

German Initiative to Ban Landmines
http://www.landmine.de/

Human Rights Watch
http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/mines/

International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL)
http://www.icbl.org/

UCLA GSEIS IS-287 Student Project by Karen Baxter
February 5, 2000