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Dear Friends of Adopt-A-Minefield,
Here at Adopt-A-Minefield, our heart goes out to all who have been impacted by the Tsunami. The scale and scope of the relief effort is unprecedented, throwing a spotlight on the global network of UN agencies and field representatives that, in many ways, are best positioned to respond to the crisis.
As two of the world's heavily mined areas, the presence of landmines has further exacerbated the effects of the tsunami in Sri Lanka and in Aceh in Indonesia. As we saw in 2000 in Mozambique, flooding literally moves landmines from one area to another so that what were once clearly marked minefields no longer hold true and areas that were thought to be mine-free no longer are. Additionally, the floods in Sri Lanka have moved signs that warned people of the presence of landmines in affected areas. Fortunately, it is believed that mines will not prevent aid from getting to where it is needed as most of the mined areas in Sri Lanka are on higher ground and were not reached by the flood waters. However, it is clear that everyone must be extra cautious. Not much is known yet about how the floods have impacted mined areas in Indonesia but the situation is thought to be similar to that in Sri Lanka. Our partners at the United Nations are carefully monitoring the landmine situation in both Sri Lanka and Indonesia and are providing us with regular updates.
The current situation in Sri Lanka and Indonesia reminds us that the international community must not forget the landmine crisis which affects one-third of the world's nations. The sooner we rid the world the world of landmines, the sooner we have one fewer problem to confront. Yet yesterday, the UN issued a report stating that the landmine removal and victim assistance programs around the world have received only one-fifth of the funds needed this year, with Afghanistan likely to sustain the largest single shortfall of $49 million.
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