It often seems that dangerous jobs are aimed at men, but eight Vietnamese women in the central province of Quang Tri dare to perform some of the world’s most risky work: clearing unexploded ordnance or UXOs. Some women are believed to be more careful than their male co-workers in this profession. “I have discovered and destroyed thousands of UXO items such as bombs, shells and mines in forest areas in Quang Tri province over the last 14 years,” said Tran Thi Thao, 39, Chief of Team No. 1 of the Quang Tri MAG Project. This is a non-profit project launched by the Mines Advisory Group (MAG), based in the UK, aimed at clearing landmines, UXOs and other remnants of conflict for the benefit of communities worldwide. The women include Tran Thi Thao, Tran Thi Ly Van, Duong Thi Hong, Tran Thi Hanh, Hoang Thi Hai Ly, Tran Thi Ly, Le Thi Bich Ngoc, and Nguyen Thi Bao Nhi. The oldest member of the team is 45 years old, while the youngest is 27. They are in charge of clearing trees, detecting UXOs, and digging up sites where UXOs are expected to be. Among them, Hoang Thi Hai Ly, 45, used to live in a minefield in Gio Linh, a former battleground in Quang Tri province. A few years ago, members of the MAG Quang Tri project unearthed hundreds of shrapnel bombs and M14 mines in Ly’s garden. Six shrapnel bombs were even discovered under her bed. Hoang Thi Hai Ly said she is hunting for death as she talks about her profession. “The women here work like men. Some women crossed a 3km long stream while holding heavy machines in their hands. Some women are willing to approach lethal weapons that some men don’t dare to,” Ta Quang Hung, a supervisor of the MAG Quang Tri project, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) Newspaper. About 800,000 tons of bombs, mines, and other explosive weapons were left over and buried in Vietnam after its resistance war against American invaders from 1954 to 1975, according latest figures. Vietnam might need as long as 300 years to clear all unexploded explosive weapons, collectively called unexploded ordnance (UXOs), left over from wartime, Pham Quang Xuan, deputy head of the Steering Committee for the National Action Program on Settling Consequences of UXOs, told an international conference for UXOs held in Vietnam this March. (Tuoitrenews.vn Oct 20)
