On 8 December 2005, the General Assembly declared that 4 April of each year shall be observed as the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action.
"You have turned mines into vines by replacing the seeds of destruction with the seeds of life...and you have shown the world that even with modest beginnings, a partnership backed up by persistence can make a real difference." This statement was made by His Excellency Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary-General.
On this very day, Ednews interviewed Heidi Thomas Kuhn, Founder, and CEO of Roots of Peace, launching the organization in 1997 with a vision of turning Mines to Vines, which started with the statement of His Excellency Kofi Annan and did a lot of work in the field of mines.
Ednews presents the interview:
- Mrs. Heidi Kuhn, Roots of Peace has a clear mission: to rid the world of landmines by transforming toxic minefields into thriving farmland. You and your organization did so much work in this field. We would like to know your activities in this field. What methods do you use to implement all these?
- Yes, I'm happy to speak with you. Thank you for calling on Landmine Awareness Day. To begin with, as a mother and a grandmother, I stand for peace and I stand for peace through agriculture. Roost of Peace has 25 journeys. I have done all of these works already 25 years in my life. We have busy lives. We do not care about people all over the world. I have a good life in California. But it is important to give back and help others have a good life. If I were a mother, raising my children in a minefield I would do everything I could, these women have no voice. So, we must be their voices. And we must help together the world.
It came from my heart. It was born in the heart of one mother. Really it did not come from my mind, it came from my heart. We can do the most beautiful things to the Erath make grapes, and raise vines. We can do is to walk through the vineyard, smell the grapes and taste the fruits, all of these are beautiful acts of peace.
Today we work in Afghanistan and today I have over four hundred employees, and I managed eighty-five million dollars under contract in Afghanistan. We can do this even today.
- You have been in Karabakh. Have you seen the destroyed areas and buried mines in those areas, what do you think about it?
- We are proud to partner with the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action ( ANAMA) I have traveled to Karabakh to see the devastation that landmines have caused in some of the most beautiful vineyards in the world. And it is devastating to see that humanity, humankind, can do this to scorch the Earth that we share. It is just wrong. And Karabakh is a symbol to the world of turning mines to vines, replacing landmines with vineyards and orchards worldwide. And today, I think of Karabakh and the importance of continuing our work in Afghanistan, Romania, Afghanistan, Vietnam, in all over the world where landmines hurt children and farmers cannot farm their land. And it's very important today that we think of the farmers and the families around the world that live in minefields. Today, there are 60 million landmines in 60 countries, and they provide the cultivation of peace. So it's very important this year, as Ukraine has 30 % of its land is mined now, and 30 % of Ukraine has land mines.
One day I will return to Karabakh and do more for demining. Hopefully,Inshallah, one day we will see peace is possible, not just war. Children all over the world see that war is possible, but we have not seen peace.
- What steps should the government and non-governmental organizations in Azerbaijan take to quickly get rid of landmine problems?
- We need to raise awareness, number one. And today is a perfect day to do that. Being UN Landmine Awareness. And all of us should be working together today, tomorrow, and the next day to raise awareness of what has happened to the vineyards of Karabakh. Not the politics that made it happen. We know the politics that made war happen all over the world. But we need today to look at humanity. What can human beings do to prevent this horrible atrocity to happen in the beautiful land that a mood grew up in? And continue on this path. Who knows in the future what my land may look like? So we must work together with governments. We must raise lots of money to remove these landmines. We are able to raise lots of money for war. Now, we need to raise lots of money for peace. And to me, the very big thing is the removal of a single landmine and the plan of a single grave. It is an act. One land mine, one grave is an act of peace. And we need to start small and grow it. And we grow it from across all of Azerbaijan, across all of Armenia, across all of Ukraine, Afghanistan, Vietnam, and Angola. No judgment about who put them in, we just must get them out right now.
- What measures do you take to involve international organizations in this work?
-I think right now, your article as a journalist to even be talking about this is a start. You are taking a start by writing the article and sharing it widely on social media and tagging me. Today is Landmine Awareness Day, not just some day. You have photos of me in Azerbaijan, you have a video of me dominating landmines. But share that. It's time to stand for peace.
I am just one voice, just one mother, grandmother. But if we all can work together as humanity, I truly believe that we can see in my lifetime a world that is transformed from where it is today. I think we, as humanity, to look around and see 60 million landmines in 60 countries and be so blind not to do anything about it. It makes my heart cry for humanity. And I think we, together as journalists, covering the story of peace, not just of the war. We know what war looks like, but we need to tell stories of peace and acts of peace. Peace is not just something in words or two fingers in the air, waving peace signs. We have to do the hard work., to do peace. We have to be peaceful in our world.
Ulviyya Shahin
