4th April, International Day of Mine Action Awareness
Today is the day to celebrate the incredible work done by mine clearance and EOD teams around the world.
Making the world a safer place for future generationsn.
Putin's invasion of Ukraine: The psychological impact
On Tuesday 30th January 2023, in The House of Commons Committee Room 10, REVIVE launched in conjunction with the All Party Parliamentary Group on Explosive Threats, our report into the psychological impact of Putin's attack on Ukraine. Supported by His Excellency Mr Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine's ambassador to the UK and generously funded by Institut Dr Föerster, GMBH.
Speaking at the event HE the Ambassador called it a 'significant' report, while a number of MPs and Peers commented on the 'importance' of the work.
REVIVE is especially grateful to our two young Ukrainian researchers for their amazing work: Marina Kedrova (Марина Кедрова) who Is a research psychologist and journalist. And Sergii Ugrium (Сергій Угрюм) who is a psychologist and psychoanalytical psychotherapist.
REVIVE is looking forward to working closely with the Ukranian Embassy on a forthcoming event.
Read our report here:
#
The Psychological Impact of Putin's Bombardment of Ukraine
Shortly after the invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin's Russian forces REVIVE's Chairman Prof Roger Mullin was sent an email by Ukrainian psychologist Marina Kedrova (Марина Кедрова) with an offer to collect data for us on the mental health implications of the conflict.
Marina and her colleague Sergii Ugrium (Сергій Угрюм) interviewed a number of people including women & children and the professionals striving to support those impacted by the conflict.
The results are stark, and more sobering because our researchers must have been subject to exactly the same concerns as those they were interviewing.
The work of these two amazing young people has now been used to produce REVIVE's report compiled by Prof Mullin to be published in the UK Parliament together with the All Party Parliamentary Group on Explosive Threats in late January 2022.
REVIVE owes a huge debt of gratitude to both Marina and Sergii. We would also like to thank the most generous support of Institut Dr. Foerster GmbH & Co. KG that will allow us to produce and present the report at the highest levels.
Conflict in Ukraine
Press Release: The Politics of Victim Assistance
The Department of Human Rights and Diplomacy at the University of Stirling, in partnership with the REVIVE Campaign are undertaking a 12 month research project into the Politics of Victim Assistance in Mine Action.
The project was prompted by an inquiry in 2019 by REVIVE staff on behalf of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Explosive Threats into the impact of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Through this inquiry it became clear that despite victim assistance being one of the five United Nations pillars of mine action, it was receiving far less funding and attention from donor nations than Clearance, Mine Risk Education or Stockpile Destruction.
Founding Director of REVIVE, Nigel Ellway says “Each of the five pillars of mine action are important in their own way, but why are the people whose lives have been shattered by explosive violence so often over-looked and forgotten?
“We hope that this research will produce some answers that we can use in our advocacy to the international community and Her Majesty’s Government.”
REVIVE’s Chairman, Prof Roger Mullin comments “I am delighted to have been able to negotiate this partnership project between the University and REVIVE. This is an excellent example of how an academic institution and global advocacy group can work together on a vital humanitarian issue. I am looking forward to working with our two students Zoe Clack and Ikenna Ugwu as they delve into this important subject.”
Course leader at Stirling University, Rowan Cruft added, “This project is undertaken as part of the MSc programme in Human Rights and Diplomacy at the University of Stirling run in partnership with the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). It will investigate what forms and levels of victim assistance are being delivered to victims of explosive violence in relevant countries.”
The REVIVE Campaign is an advocacy body with not for profit status.
Our mission is to promote at international government level the pressing need to reduce the level of explosive violence against innocent civilians, to push for effective policy, and encourage long-term support for victims.
Four countries are being used as case studies for the research: Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Uganda.
Notes for Editors
For more information on REVIVE contact
Nigel Ellway
=44 (0) 7586 329335
For more information on the University of Stirling contact
Sarah Manning
Communications Officer
+44 (0)1786 466 436
Gareth Collett writes from Yemen
Our friend and advocate Gen Garth Collett writes from Yemen.
Sept 19
As debates continue about Afghanistan and the news is full of images of negativity, I thought I'd show you the real impact of teaching children about the hazards of war.
Here are some photos of a little village in Yemen, which relies upon an agricultural economy. Peaceful and good people live here. Hard to think there are mines, but there are.
There aren't fancy classrooms or smart boards, but a furrow to sit on and a tall straw hat to keep you cool. You listen to some quite fantastic people deliver risk education. Thanks to them, these children and adults are being taught about hazards in a way that allows them to learn whilst having fun. The smiles on the faces of the children say it all. I've been really humbled to deliver this activity in areas that are often forgotten. And, I got a free hat - no wait a minute, there’s a price on it. Bugger, fleeced again but another fabulous memory!
Sept 15
Been a bit of a quiet time in Aden this time around, but a few points of note. On the anniversary of 9/11 the Port of Mocha was hit with three ballistic missiles, there is currently a wave of protest across Aden and Hadramawt governorates condemning the deterioration of basic services, 15 people were injured/killed in a single mine strike, and schools are suspended to protect students and staff. The Yemeni Rial is at an all-time low, with the obvious impact on food insecurity.
As a result, our activities are somewhat curtailed and the people of Yemen continue to suffer from the conflict. A group of eminent experts has pointed out that if countries continue to sell weapons to the warring parties then the situation will endure. Our country (the U.K.) is a huge party to that problem, reducing international funding to Yemen whilst raking in profit from arms sales. Sleep well Boris.
The REVIVE Team
The REVIVE Campaign has been immeasurably strengthened by two new volunteers bringing much needed specialist skills.
Beth Lee has joined us as our business and finance guru, and Isabelle Osborne as our on-line communications specialist.
They will be working with Nigel Ellway in our senior management team. Welcome both!
Jul 2021
Stirling University Partnership
REVIVE and COVID
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a disaster for us all – but even harder for those communities and individuals already suffering the effects of years of conflict or terror. We are delighted to have seen our partners at the Sir Bobby Charlton Foundation use their resources in Cambodia and the Middle East to suppl medical equipment and COVID packs to remote communities and refugee camps.
COVID also affected the work of REVIVE – with Parliament closed and travel severely restricted, all we could do was plan for the time to intensify our efforts – and that time is now.