Testimony from Aziz, EOD expert at HAMAP-Humanitaire

We bring you the testimony of Aziz, head of operations for HAMAP-Humanitaire's mine action project in North East Syria.

Aziz is an EOD expert, a trainer of trainers and a quality assurance and quality control inspector. He talks about his work there, his daily life in the field and the reasons he decided to become a deminer.

Can you introduce yourself?

My name is Sy Aziz. I am an EOD [Explosive Ordnance Disposal] expert, a trainer of trainers and a quality assurance and quality control inspector. I have been head of operations since December 2021 for HAMAP-Humanitaire's mine action project in NES [North East Syria].

What do you do out there?

The purpose of our work there is to give safe access to people living in conflict areas by delivering awareness sessions on the danger of mines and other explosive ordnance. We also have teams qualified in mine action who allow us to clear the explosive remnants of war we come across in the field, including in confined, hazardous and underwater environments.

What is life like out there?

In the field, life goes as it does on any mission carried out for the benefit of local people. Every morning the staff deploy to the field, supervised by EOD or EORE [Explosive Ordnance Risk Education] and NTS [Non-Technical Survey] experts, to carry out the tasks planned a week in advance. The afternoon is given over to reporting by the team supervisors, for passing on to the local and then the international head of operations. In the evening the mission's expatriate staff rest at the HAMAP Guest House, located right next to the organisation's office outside the city of Raqqa.

What are the different activities of the project?

• Raising people's awareness of the danger of mines, explosive remnants of war and improvised devices;
• Carrying out non-technical surveys in communities and villages that have seen armed clashes;
• Clearing contaminated land, confined and hazardous environments, and clearing watercourses contaminated by explosive ordnance;
• Providing continuous training for local staff.

Who makes up the team in the field?

A clearance team made up of:

• an expatriate EOD expert
• a deputy team leader
• four deminers
• a MEDIC [medical teams who always accompany the clearance teams: nurses and ambulance crew]

and an NTS/EORE team, a multi-skilled team made up of three teams of two staff each, along with equipment and logistical resources.

Why did you choose to go to Syria?

To help people take up their lives again in safety, by neutralising mines and every kind of explosive device that poses a direct threat to the local population. This lifts the socio-economic impact caused by heavy explosive contamination, particularly in North East Syria. Exchanging experience also matters enormously.

Why become a deminer?

I became a deminer in order to contribute, in my own way, to clearing areas contaminated by mines and other explosive ordnance, so that people living in conflict areas can safely use land that was once contaminated again and contribute to the socio-economic development of their own areas. Despite the constant risk that comes with the job, it takes courageous people to rid farming and grazing land of these devices, which claim many victims among the population.