An information campaign aimed at school children in the province of Herat was inaugurated on Tuesday in the Camp Arena, dedicated to the risks associated with the discovery of unexploded ordnance (UXO - Unexploded Ordance) and improvised (Improvised Explosive Device - IEDs).
The initiative will see Afghan soldiers and policemen of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), supported by the Italian military specialists of the Counter-Improvised Explosive Device (C-IED) cell, explain to children how to recognize, avoid and report these devices to the forces of safety, in order to avoid accidents. The ANSF soldiers have been instructed and trained by the Italian advisors of Train, Advise, Assist Command West (TAAC W).
The inaugural event was attended by the governor of the province of Herat, mr Asif Rahimi, together with the highest local civil and military authorities and a large representation of school leaders, who will contribute to the dissemination of the project in all public institutes in the province of Herat.
General Hedayat - commander of the 207th body of the Afghan army - in thanking General Massimo Biagini - commander of TAAC W - for the support provided, asked the Italian contingent to continue the training phase for the fight against improvised devices. The principle of "train the trainers" has in fact the purpose of creating new specialized skills and thus making the Afghan security forces more and more autonomous in the organization and development of courses, as well as in the production of adequate information material for children and teenagers. between 4 and 12 years, able to effectively represent the risks associated with the discovery of unexploded rockets, mines or improvised devices.
The information campaign will involve schools and villages in the entire western region with the aim of limiting - and in time eliminating - the risks deriving from the explosion of improvised and unexploded ordnance. A series of leaflets and posters distributed in schools and villages will illustrate to Afghan children how to keep away from these dangers, which represent one of the main causes of death and disability among the population: in the months of July and August alone, such incidents were about 200, of which about 20% involved children.
The prevention activity based on information campaigns is therefore essential for the protection of the population, as well as the training, by the Italian advisors, of qualified teams that can adequately carry out training and awareness activities, especially in the villages of the rural area. .
