"I don't consider the personal threat or danger, I just see it as a new technical challenge"
A job less ordinary - clearing explosives from Gaza.
9 February 2009
Mark Buswell, Technical Director of the Mines Advisory Group, has been inside Gaza for two weeks. As part of DFID’s response to the Gaza humanitarian crisis, Mark is working alongside the UN’s Mine Action Service to help clear explosives and make life safe again for ordinary Gazans. He talks about his latest experiences:
Today
was very interesting with a number of technical challenges.
A number of large aircraft bombs, high explosive and white phosphorous projectiles have been gathered in an area inside Gaza City itself.
This pile of explosives created a big problem. Storing white phosphorous right next to 7500 kilograms of high explosive is definitely not a good idea. There’s a risk it could ignite, causing an explosion which could damage a city-centre area the size of the City of London (2.6 square kilometres).
If there was a pile of explosives that size in the UK, then you would have to evacuate everyone within the area - not an option in Gaza. It was clear something had to be done - and quickly - so early this morning, we got the go-ahead to secure the white phosphorous.
Medical teams and the fire service were on stand-by. The UN provided large water canisters and then, very carefully, we moved and separated the white phosphorous into the containers reducing the potential for it to ignite. The containers were then filled and covered with sand.
The next phase of this operation will be the removal and systematic destruction of the items in a mutually acceptable location away from the civilian community.
So far I’ve checked 37 out of the priority 40 schools for the threat of
explosives. I have also been checking the main infrastructure routes throughout
the Gaza Strip, as well as two medical clinics, a water treatment plant and an
industrial plant.
To be honest, we don’t know the true scale of the problem here and we won’t know that until a lot of the debris has been cleared.
I have worked in lots of different conflict areas around the world – Cambodia, Africa and I spent three and a half years in Iraq. When I arrive to start work in a new place, I don’t consider the personal threat or danger, I just see it as a new technical challenge. That’s my main focus."
Mines
Advisory Group
