This municipality still faces the traces of the conflict, there are hidden mines threatening lives. Today, hope is reborn with the humanitarian demining that returns security to the region.
Soldiers belonging to the Engineer Command of the Humanitarian Demining Brigade and forming part of the Humanitarian Demining Battalion No. 7 are working hard in this territory. Under the command of Lieutenant Luis Alejandro Cantor, leader of humanitarian demining, more than 100 men are in different lanes of the municipality. In just eight months of operations, they have already managed to find and destroy 17 anti-personnel mines, marking a significant progress in the security of the area.
"With the information provided by the local authorities, it was possible to show that there are mass graves in these areas where the actors of the armed conflict, at some point, installed explosive devices to prevent these graves from being discovered. We have discovered and subsequently destroyed 17 anti-personnel mines. According to the risk analysis and the characterization of the devices, it was determined that they have an approximate damage range of up to 25 meters around," said Lieutenant Cantor.
Sandra Elena Arbeláez Mejía, secretary of the government of San Rafael, warns that there are still many pits and land with suspected mines and/or improvised explosive devices. In turn, she mentions: "San Rafael has 54 villages, three of which were vacated due to all the violence that there was, where anti-personnel mines were found by troops that are still in the territory today."
Fear is constantly latent in the communities, but hope is in the same way growing thanks to the work of these men and women who risk their lives to restore tranquility to the territory and its inhabitants.
One of them is Mr. José Flórez Ramírez, victim of an anti-personnel mine that took one of his lower limbs. Today, with prosthetics and determination, he continues to grow bananas on his terrain. "Nowadays many people can work better and walk without fear, without the risk that I had, because I don't wish even on an enemy what happened to me, it's a very hard thing. I congratulate you and God help you, keep going, because it's a great good element for the village; at least people can continue," he says.
The education component is in the same way key in this strategy. Lieutenant Tania Castañeda, another of the demining leaders, highlights the importance of Education on the Risk of Anti-Personnel Mines (ERM): "Our work is not only technical. It is essential that communities learn to identify and report danger signs. That's how we save more lives."
One of the great innovations at this stage of the process has been the implementation of drones. These operations involve carrying out aerial searches, finding suspicious areas, supporting non-technical studies and, above all, improving the safety of personnel on the ground. The drones were donated by the Japanese government as part of an international cooperation that reinforces the global commitment to peace and security.
Recently, a delegation of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), ICNET and demining experts from Cambodia, another country with a long history of mine contamination, visited the Agua Bonita village, in the municipality of San Rafael. There they learned first-hand about the work carried out by Colombian mine clearance specialists and how technology is helping to transform minefields into safe spaces for rural development.
The humanitarian demining in San Rafael is not just an operation; it is an act of reconciliation, reconstruction and hope. Little by little, with each mine destroyed, the land is returned to its true purpose: to cultivate life, not to sow fear.
Source: Press - Humanitarian Demining Brigade
