Apart from studying maths and Vietnamese, children at Hong Trung primary school have taken extracurricular time to learn about unexploded ordnance (UXOs) and ways to stay away from the deadly stuff.
Nguyen Thi Thai Hoa, a teacher from the school in the central province of Quang Tri – one of the localities that have the largest UXO polluted area – told a programme themed “green message from Vietnam’s soil” on March 13 night at the Hanoi Opera House, in response to the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action (April 4).
Joining the talks, Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Coc, deputy head of Brigade 229 under the Engineering Corps, one of the key units in charge of UXO clearance, spoke of difficulties facing the forces as bombs and mines left over from wars in the country are diverse in types.
The plight of UXOs was emphasised by President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan, who reiterated that the country needs billions of USD to remove the amount of UXOs, which could take around 300 years.
The country also needs greater cooperation and support from foreign governments as well as international friends to speed up the clearance progress, Nhan said.
The National Steering Committee for Recovery over the Postwar Bomb and Landmine Impacts (also known as the Steering Committee 504) reported that about 800,000 tonnes of UXOs lingering across 6.6 million hectares, or 20.12 percent of the country’s land, are putting people in danger every day.
UXOs killed more than 40,000 people and injured 60,000 others nationwide.-VNA
Nguyen Thi Thai Hoa, a teacher from the school in the central province of Quang Tri – one of the localities that have the largest UXO polluted area – told a programme themed “green message from Vietnam’s soil” on March 13 night at the Hanoi Opera House, in response to the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action (April 4).
Joining the talks, Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Coc, deputy head of Brigade 229 under the Engineering Corps, one of the key units in charge of UXO clearance, spoke of difficulties facing the forces as bombs and mines left over from wars in the country are diverse in types.
The plight of UXOs was emphasised by President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan, who reiterated that the country needs billions of USD to remove the amount of UXOs, which could take around 300 years.
The country also needs greater cooperation and support from foreign governments as well as international friends to speed up the clearance progress, Nhan said.
The National Steering Committee for Recovery over the Postwar Bomb and Landmine Impacts (also known as the Steering Committee 504) reported that about 800,000 tonnes of UXOs lingering across 6.6 million hectares, or 20.12 percent of the country’s land, are putting people in danger every day.
UXOs killed more than 40,000 people and injured 60,000 others nationwide.-VNA
