SubscribeSchonstedt locators are being used in Tajikistan demining. Quakers are using new mine detection equipment to clear munitions left from the civil war of 10 years ago in Tajikistan.
Tajikistan, surrounded by snowcapped mountains, is still feeling the aftereffects of a civil war that killed more than 50,000 people a decade ago. Trenches and earthen fortifications scar the high ground overlooking the Rasht Valley, and unexploded cluster bombs are claiming lives - often those of children who pick up the softball-size munitions.
Thousands of miles away, in Woodstown, Salem County, Frank Lenik, a Quaker and former Peace Corps volunteer, knew of the plight of the people there and wanted to help. In his work as a surveyor, Lenik uses magnetic detectors similar to those utilized by United Nations contractors to locate and dispose of abandoned munitions. So, when he saw the manufacturer of the devices offer a deal, Lenik went to members of his Woodstown Quaker meeting to raise money to purchase some.
Humanitarian Demining
Today, three detectors - two bought by the Quakers for about $1,500 and a third donated as part of a deal with the manufacturer - are being used under U.N. auspices in Tajikistan. And Lenik, his fellow Quakers, and others are raising money to buy more.
Frank Lenik with a metal detector that will be used to hunt mines.
Schonstedt now kicks in an additional detector for every one purchased for donation at the list price of $1,015. The company and its customers have furnished 50 detectors to the U.N. demining operations.
The Quakers' three detectors were among 10 put to use in Tajikistan this year, the U.N. said. The others are being used in Laos and Somalia. Justin Brady, planning officer for the U.N. Mine Action Service, said he hoped to have 10 more detectors donated through Schonstedt by the end of the year.
The equipment has been used to clear 200,000 cluster munitions left in Lebanon after the 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, U.N. officials said.
Learn more about the Schonstedt Humanitarian Demining Initiative here.
By Edward Colimore, The Philadelphia Inquirer
