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In Pictures
Gallery
The Curse of the Sands
In 1942 one of the largest tank battles of the second world war took place in the desert of el-Alamein in north Egypt
Published On 23 Mar 2010
23 Mar 2010
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curse of the sands - several pix
Wherever the armies of the Axis powers and the Allies clashed in the deserts of North Africa, they tried to limit each others mobility by laying minefields
With no natural barriers in the desert, Rommel ordered half a million mines to be laid at the coastal town of el-Alamein, and the British reportedly laid even more
Today, Egypt ranks as one of the most heavily mined countries in the world
Many mines remain buried in the desert and continue to claim victims
The area is home to Bedouin nomads and many local villagers - along with their children – are hurt and sometimes killed when they come across the landmines
Aseker was with her daughter grazing the cattle when a landmine exploded
In the hospital, her father asked the docters to save her food, but it was badly wounded
Eisa was tending his sheep when the mine exploded. He did not know there were landmines in the region
curse of the sands - several pix
When she woke up her leg was gone. She says it does not hurt. She can play but she has to walk slowly
Abd Allah was ploughing when the mine exploded. Before the accident he worked all the time but after the explosion his whole life changed and his dreams were destroyed
Salems accident happened in a place they call the Italian Gate, south of el-Sallom. The front tyre of the car had passed over a mine. Now he drives with one hand
During the war of 1942 Sultan was only ten years old. He remembers that they used to play with the landmines and used to throw them at each other
But after some of the mines exploded they were told not to go these areas
Of the victims, there are 639 survivors, three percent of them are children
Egypt is stepping up efforts to provide assistance to landmine victims and to clear unexploded ordnance
curse of the sands - several pix
curse of the sands - several pix
The current healthcare system does not cover the provision of prosthetic limbs. So now they provide 80 victims with new limbs and training
Abd el-Fattah has lost his leg while he was playing football
As part of the national demining project, he has been chosen by the Agouza Centre to get artificial limbs of the highest quality
The Egyptian government has plans to boost tourism and farming in the region. But first they have to continue clearing the estimated 17 million landmines hidden in the sand