FSD Sri Lanka hits a major milestone in Anti Personnel landmine removal by surpassing 20,000 mines cleared in 2010.

“I feel that we saved 20,000 lives in this year alone through our dedication and hard work,” says Elias Emil Prasanna Albonse, the deminer of Mine Action Team 5, who found 20,000th mine in Periyathampanai village in Vavuniya District on December 17th. This area was heavily contaminated by landmines and FSD has safely facilitated the return of 283 families to this area since the end of the conflict in 2009. “I am proud to be the one who found the 20,000th mine” adds Elias who is sponsored by the Government of Norway and has been working for FSD since July 2009.

Marc Farineau, Operations Manager for FSD in Sri Lanka is justifiably proud of the achievement. “This would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of all our teams on the ground,” he says; “although this success has come at cost”: In 2010, two FSD staff were injured and one expatriate manager killed during routine operations. This achievement is dedicated to the memory of our colleague 'Momo' who fell on May 10th and is sorely missed by the entire FSD team.

FSD deploys 42 mine action teams in Sri Lanka with the focus in 2010 being the return of over 54,000 internally displaced people to their former communities. Manual and mechanical clearance, Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Survey, Mapping, and Community Liaison teams all worked together to achieve this goal in Mannar, Vavuniya and Mullaitivu Districts.

“We look forward to continuing our assistance to the Government of Sri Lanka in 2011 and working towards a time when landmines no longer impact the people and economy in Sri Lanka,” explains Nigel Robinson, Country Programme Manager for FSD in Sri Lanka. “This is an important milestone but it is the tens of thousands of Sri Lankans who have benefited from our hard work who represent the real success story: they now hold the keys to success for this rapidly developing country.”

During 2010, FSD operations were sponsored by the governments of Norway, Germany, Japan, Australia, Switzerland and USA ,as well as ECHO, making it a truly international achievement.