WARS

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WARS AND CONFLICTS

According to the report by World Health Organization, 25% of disabilities in some countries are a result of violence. There are many wars and conflict around the world. Today wars and conflicts are violent and bloody. People have invented many weapons that can kill and destroy. Until the World War II most of the people who got killed or heart in wars were soldiers. But that has changed today and many victims of the war are civilians. Unfortunately, many of them are children who found themselves in the war situations. They become victims of air raids and attacks. Even more become victims of landmines.

Landmines are explosives. They are buried in a ground close to surface. When a person steps of a mine or a car drives over a mine it will explode, United Nations says that there are 110 million landmines in more than 70 countries in the world. In 1997 in Ottawa many countries signed the Mine Ban Treaty.But many countries around the world not sign it. This includes China, USA and Russia. These three countries make the most mines. The landmine problem in the world is huge. United Nation reports that 90% of landmine victims are civilians. If they are not killed by the explosion, they lose limbs and become physically disabled. For example, United Nation reported that in country Cambodia 1 in 250 people are physically disabled because of landmines.

Cleaning up landmines is a difficult job because it is mostly done by people. It is also very expensive.According to the United Nation it would take over 30 billion dollars to clean up all the landmines around the world. Unfortunately, many countries that have landmines are in developing world. Their governments cannot afford to remove landmines. Today there are several international organization that are trying to raise funds for moving landmines and helping victims. Everyone can help. For example an organization called Adopt-A-Minefield allows groups of people to donate for cleaning mine fields. The money goes to clean mines in six countries.