When you were 13 years old; what were some of your favorite things to do? I’d imagine many of you enjoyed being outside, running around with your friends, with no fear of the responsibilities that come with being an adult.
This is Fadil Mustafa. Fadil and his family are refugees from Syria who escaped to Turkey from the advancing ISIS army. While crossed over into Turkey, Fadil stepped on a landmine, and at age 13 lost both of his legs as well as his brother.
Fadil being taken care of by his grandfather
There are almost two million Syrian refugees currently in Turkey, and almost 600,000 landmines between the borders of the two countries. Fadil and his family represent a huge population of refugees who are fleeing violence from Syria only to be faced with even more violence in the form of landmines and IED’s, but we have a solution.
Depiction of the main evacuation routes for refugees from Syria
In collaboration with Dr. Ken Rutherford, a Nobel Peace Prize winner for his dedication to landmine research, as well as MALÅ Geoscience, the largest manufacturer of GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) technology in the world, we have developed a plan to fly a drone equipped with GPR over these same refugee evacuation routes. Our drone will detect the location of these mines so that they can be disarmed in a safer and more cost and time efficient manner.
The cost of a human life cannot be quantified; drones can be replaced, humans cannot. Using drones to detect landmines is the safest and most efficient tactic. It’s time to utilize our advanced technology for the greater good, because 13 year old children like Fadil should never have to attempt to remember what it felt like to run around with their friends.
Authors: Hope Ucciardi & Patrick Murphy
Citation:
“Syrians Fleeing War Maimed by Landmines.” – Al Jazeera English. N.p., 5 Jan. 2015. Web. 29 Sept. 2015.