Ahmad Shah, a local resident of Godar, leads a visitor around his village, pointing out patches of land where minefields once existed. Godar is located in an area of Parwan province that suffered heavy fighting between the Taliban and the Northern Alliance in 1999. The clashes left lands contaminated with anti-personnel and anti-tank mines as well as unexploded ordinance (UXO), seriously hampering economic and agricultural activities. Continue reading
“One of the ways to strengthen our economy is to graze our animals, collect dairy from them and sell it to local markets, but only if that village has been cleared from mines and unexploded ordnance.”
Shir Agha, resident of Doshakh village
The primary source of income for Doshakh village is animal husbandry and the collection of firewood and bushes to sell and use in daily life. The village and surrounding areas, including grazing land, were contaminated with mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) during the Soviet occupation.