Landmines are one of those tragic and preventable global problems. As Mine Action puts it:
What would you do if you had to worry about landmines every time you went to the store, took a drive in the countryside or went to see your doctor? Thats the reality for millions of people in about 80 countries. With such large numbers of people affected by landmines in countries that may seem very far away, its sometimes easy to forget about the problem.
To help people in the U.S. better remember that reality, Mine Action has launched an amazing PSA campaign, which has raised quite a stir:
[The PSA]opens with a scene of idyllic suburban tranquility. A young family cheers on their daughter who has just scored a goal in her soccer match when she suddenly, violently explodes. Chaos consumes the scene while the mother of the victim shrieks hysterically and her father cradles her lifeless body. A simple graphic reads: "If there were landmines here, would you stand for landmines anywhere? Help the U.N. eradicate landmines everywhere."
It's a powerful PSA, one which ought to be seen by every American, and a completely worldchanging piece of media activism -- promoting the Adopt-a-Minefield program ("Clear a path to a safer world") and educating Americans about an issue which is often invisible to us, though 40-80 million landmines remain strewn across the planet.
Apparently, though, it's a little too powerful, as American TV stations are refusing to broadcast it saying it's too violent (apparently social comment on real-life issues is unacceptible violence, but fictional action film mass murder is just fine).
Meanwhile, though 141 governments have, the U.S. still has not signed the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. Every hour, an innocent person somewhere is killed or crippled by a landmine. One third are children.
(via BB)
