Survivor Corps - Survivor Corps News Stories

News Stories

Mine Blast in Israel
Feb 11, 2010

On February 6, 11-year-old Daniel Yuval from Tel Aviv was playing in the fresh snow in the Golan Heights when he stepped on landmine and lost his leg. His 12 year-old sister also sustained shrapnel injuries.

The incident has prompted many in Israel and around the world to ask not only whether the minefield was properly fenced, but why hundreds of thousands of mines are buried there in the first place.

Survivor Corps founder Jerry White also lost his leg to a landmine in the Golan Heights. Last year, on a trip to establish the Survivor Corps "Mine Free Israel" campaign, he returned to the site of the explosion for the first time.

"When I returned last year with a journalist and photographer, I told them that I believed one day this place would be mine free. The young reporter covering my story muttered, 'It can’t be done.' I countered firmly, 'Yes, it can be done!' I’ve seen it happen in Cambodia, in Vietnam, in Jordan, in Ethiopia and Afghanistan; all over the world, countries—no matter how poor—are cleaning up their minefields. One by one, this cruel and indiscriminate litter is being removed and land is being returned to its residents."

The goals of the Survivor Corps "Mine Free Israel" campaign are simple:
* Make land safe and accessible.
* Show that civil-military dialogue can enhance peace and security.
* Initiate cross-border cooperation to clear minefields.
* Promote a responsible legal policy regarding mines and other indiscriminate weapons.

On Monday, Dhyan Or, the Survivor Corps campaign coordinator in Israel, met with young Daniel in the hospital and called him a natural survivor leader.

"While taken in for a second operation on his leg, after Daniel bravely and accurately recounted the event at a press conference, his mother told me to stay in touch—her son said he would like to help solve the mine problem."

Next week, Jerry White will visit Daniel to provide peer support and a chance for him to get involved in creating a mine free Israel.

"The day I lost my leg in Israel, my life changed forever," Jerry White says. "Now, Daniel's life will be marked by this day in the snow in Golan. It's time for Israel, and for all of us, to make sure the next date we remember is the day we declare Israel 'Mine Free.' "

--
Your donations help Survivor Corps efforts to make Israel Mine Free. Please donate today.

Photo Credit: Channel 2 via The Jerusalem Post