When you live in Casamance, Senegal, the threat of mines is everywhere. And Maïbata has experienced this danger first-hand.
When Maïbata was a child, she witnessed a horrific accident that would stick in her mind forever. The victim was a family friend, a prawn seller who came to the house every morning. One day, five minutes after he left, she heard an explosion. It was an anti-tank mine.
"I saw his lifeless body being carried away," she recalls. "Can you imagine? Someone you know is killed just minutes after talking to you?"
Sadly, this tragic accident was not an isolated case. In Casamance, landmines haunt the region and terrorise the population on a daily basis. But Maïbata is determined to stop that.
She has taken matters into her own hands by becoming a deminer.
Now, every day she painstakingly combs the land, searching for these deadly threats. "Everyone here has been affected by landmines. So, nobody asks me to stop doing this job. It's a source of pride for everyone that one of us is working to make Casamance safe." Maïbata explains.
Being a deminer is an extremely dangerous job and Maïbata and her team can never let their guard down, even for a second.
When she finds a device, Maïbata meticulously retraces her steps, closes off the area and calls her team leader. Her priority is to let everyone in the village know, so they can evacuate the area. Then, if the device can't be safely removed, Maïbata and her team destroy it with a controlled explosion.
Through her relentless dedication and tireless efforts, Maïbata and her team are looking forward to the day when Casamance will finally be declared mine free. "I know that sooner or later mine clearance in Casamance will come to an end. That's what everyone in Casamance is praying for because we can't go on living with these things!" she says.
"As a Senegalese and a Casamance woman, I'm really proud to be clearing this land and enabling people to return home."
Shockingly, it is estimated that more than 1,200,000 m² of land in Casamance is still contaminated by landmines. But Maïbata and her team cannot tackle the issue alone. With more deminers, we can clear these deadly mines much faster, making the land safe for locals. Please sign the petition to demand more funding for weapons clearance experts and give the people in Casamance a safer future.
