The Curse of the Sands

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

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