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Activity 2
Land-Mines: The Art of Modern Warfare and
The Horrors of Human Suffering

Adapted from a project of UN CyberSchoolBus entitled, "Schools De-mining Schools." The entire series can be found at: www.un.org.pubs/cyberschoolbus.

Grade Level

Secondary  

Introduction

The 1997 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the International Campaign to Ban Land-Mines.  This organization, located in Putney, Vermont, is headed by Jody Williams, a long-time activist.  Also, Diana, Princess of Wales, became a strong advocate of the banning of land-mines just prior to her untimely death.   The economic impact of such weapons on the well-being of the peoples and the welfare of developing nations has become a critical issue for the international community.  This impact has once again called upon governments worldwide to seriously consider the hideous nature of modern warfare and its devastation of civilian populations in acts of terrorism and genocide.  The mass deportations, the slaughter of ethnic populations and the destruction of the means of economic survival in Bosnia and its neighbors all demonstrate these new techniques of armed conflict.  Land-Mines are only one example of these techniques, but the sight of vastly increasing numbers of horror-stricken and maimed men, women and children in hospitals throughout the world is an urgent cry for control.

Teacher/Student Objective

Describing land-mines and their power to destroy lives or maim bodies fosters a humane conscience among students, and can encourage them to take an active role in banning the use of such mines.   This objective incorporates: the basic information concerning land-mines and the consequences of their use; the reasoning needed to determine an issue, examine its premises, order its pro and con arguments and reach tentative conclusions; and the ability to identify civically responsible actions which might be opposed to the implementation of land-mining during conflicts.

Gauging Student Understanding

The progress indicators cited reflect desirable end goals.  Teachers should be prepared to use a wide variety of observational, testing and authentic achievement evaluation measures in judging the progress of students.

Examining some factual and reportorial data concerning the nature, production, use and horror of land-mines, students are encouraged to derive testable hypotheses and pro/con generalizations concerning the extension of a device of war to civilian populations.  Given opportunities to act upon their knowledge the students will reveal the depth of their informed opinions and/or convictions.

Suggested Materials

• Copies of Handout 2A, Land-Mine Fact Sheet.
• Additional readings and use of computer generated information is both encouraged and advised to keep the data current.  Such sources will also provide personalized case studies (such as the efforts of Diana, Princess of Wales, at banning mines; or accounts of maimed children in various countries) which can be used for enhancement of the emotional impact of the issue-a very important part of rendering the issue real.

Initial Data for Consideration and/or Process

Handout 2A, Land-Mine Fact Sheet, is designed to generate student observations, comments and conclusions about the issue of land-mines.  Distribution of this data, and dividing the class into small groups to share data analysis, observations and tentative generalizations, based on the following discussion topics, would be profitable over the course of several days:

• Modern warfare has redefined battle sites and plans.
• Land-mines are instruments of immorality.
• Banning land-mines is a political decision.
• The financial costs of making land-mines are minimal.
• Producers of land-mines should be tried as war criminals.
• The use of land-mines is a human rights issue.
• Other related topics.

In a general classroom, or other venue, students discuss the effects of war on civilian populations (during and after a conflict) and realize that land-mines have a long-lasting devastating effect; the students could engage in a debate over the issue of technological vs. terrorist warfare.

In a report on a current event, such as a drive-by shooting or an innocent person caught in the crossfire between police and criminals, draw the analogy to land-mines as a major example of a weapon of war which harms or destroys innocent victims.

In an oral or written exposition of humanitarian efforts to spare civilian populations from the horrors of war, students might present the case for the prohibition of land-mines as an instrument of war.  Students will exchange their written efforts and weigh the effectiveness of the written word to convey the devastating nature of land-mine casualties.

In an interdisciplinary unit on land-mines, students are encouraged to create posters, advocacy placards and handbills which would stimulate the general population to an awareness of the critical nature of the banning of land-mines; they could test these efforts by organizing a display and marching in mock-protest through the school halls.  A before and after survey might be utilized to discover peers' increased awareness of the issue.

Other Possible Activities

Include materials on the land-mine issue in your school or community newspaper.

• Write letters to your elected officials, as well as to the United Nations representative from your country, urging them to support a ban on land-mine production, use, transfer and stockpiling.
• Ask your local radio or TV station if you can help to prepare a program on land-mines.
• Write to the CEOs of multinational companies, encouraging them to support the ban on land-mine production, use, transfer and stockpiling.
• In your school or your community, boycott products and services of companies and their subsidiaries who manufacture land-mines and other munitions.
• In your school or community, establish a "Land-Mine Awareness" week or display.  Ask your PTA or PA to sponsor a joint student/parent meeting.
• Conduct a Land-Mine Awareness panel discussion or debate. Collect funds through various school activities to donate to the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Clearance administered by the Department of Humanitarian Affairs at the United Nations.
• Using the Internet, go to the web page of the UN (http://www.un.org) and download all recent news articles on land-mines.
• Join with other schools across your state, across the nation, and internationally to create a "Students' Crusade for the Ban on Land-Mines."

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