All-female team of Yazidi deminers

Photo: Screenshot from Into the Fire.

In an area of Iraq destroyed by ISIS, Hana Khider leads an all-female team of Yazidi deminers in their attempts to clear the land of mines.

Their job involves painstakingly searching for booby traps in bombed out buildings and fields, where one wrong move means certain death. Even though the devastations caused by ISIS still are evident and the local people are suffering, they are trying to forget the past and remain hopeful.

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Hana works for the Mines Advisory Group, an organisation who are part of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.

"One wrong step will cost me my life."

The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, jointly with Jody Williams, for their efforts to ban and remove anti-personnel landmines.

There are currently 100 million anti-personnel mines buried in 60 countries for the purpose of maiming or killing soldiers at war. Many will be detonated by civilians instead. Each year, 25,000 people lose limbs in landmine explosions; many lose their lives as well. The ICBL was founded in 1991 with the aim of achieving a ban on landmines and persuading governments around the world to finance demining activities.

There are two main types of landmines: anti-tank mines and anti-personnel mines. The former are designed to disable tanks and other vehicles, and they only detonate under substantial pressure. The latter detonate at the lightest touch; although they are designed to disable soldiers, in the long term it is civilians who suffer the most.

The ICBL has focused its main efforts on banning anti-personnel mines. More and more countries and organizations are donating funds, and many are training both civilian and military demining experts.

The Nobel Prize, National Geographic Documentary Films and Academy Award-winning filmmaker Orlando von Einsiedel have collaborated on a 5-part short documentary series, celebrating the ongoing impact and influence of Nobel Peace Prize laureates around the world.

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