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Jerry White, landmine survivor and co-founder of the Landmine Survivors Network, responds to
questions. (Because of the volume of questions, not all questions could be answered.)  1. Why did you choose to visit that particular area? Were there no guards or signs around, since there were landmines in the area? Could your accident have been avoided? From the students of Division 11 (Heaven 11) Mr. Baker's Class, Grade 6/7 Minnekhada Middle School Port Coquitlam, BC To Mr. Baker's class: I was hiking in Northern Israel in a heavily “touristed” area near Tel Azizyat because it was a beautiful place. We entered the mined area from the woods and not from the road, so there were no signs or fencing to keep us out. We had no idea that we were camping in or near a mine field. 2. Did you ask anyone about the hazards in the area and if that area was safe? Because I bet someone knew there were mines there. -Bryan Grandy Dear Bryan: Truly, people did know that there were mines there. When I talked with Israeli's after the fact, they told me that it was a notorious area, one of the most heavily mined in the country. It was a Syrian strong hold during the '67 war and as the Syrians retreated, they littered mines all over the area. My two American friends and I were not thinking about landmines, in fact when the explosion occurred, we thought we were under some sort of terrorist attack. It didn't dawn on us until they turned me over that we were in a mine field. 3. Which type of mine wounded you? STI1, Lycée de Montbrison, France Dear Lycée de Montbrison: We believe that the mine was a Soviet supplied anti-personnel landmine laid by Syrians in 1967. 4. Dear Mr Jerry White, Did any government or organisation feel responsible? How did the Israeli officials react? We, the students from Spittal/Carinthia/Austria, wish you only positive experiences in your future and much success for your activities. We're lucky to live in a country where the horrible problem of landmines is only something we hear about in the news. One of our colleagues is a refugee from Bosnia. There are fields of AP landmines in her former home village. That's why we are also very much involved emotionally. Dear students of Spittal: Thank you for your kind wishes. At first Israeli officials did not want to believe that the area where the landmine exploded was not sufficiently marked. I pointed out the insanity of my knowing that it was a mine field and still wanting to camp there, it was clear that nobody would do that. When they thought it over and realized my situation, being in an Israeli hospital with no insurance (because my injury was an act of war) they took it upon themselves to treat me as an Israeli citizen injured by an act of war or act of terrorism. In the end, the Israeli government took responsibility for the accident and guaranteed that all my artificial limbs would be paid for my entire life. 5. Dear Jerry White, Hi, my name is Ian and I am 12 years old. I am currently attending Lanier Middle School. I am in the 7th grade. I have a question for you. I was wondering: when you stepped on the landmine and you heard the explosion, can you explain the what was going through your mind at that moment? If you can respond I will be grateful. Sincerely, Ian Dear Ian: After the first explosion I really thought that I was seconds from death. I thought that another rocket or other explosive was going to go off at my feet. Then when we realized that it was a mine field and my friends decided to carry me out, we literally prayed every step of the way that we would get out alive. It was a terrifying experience. 6. What were your feelings just at the moment that you stepped on the landmine? Did you hear a click? How about just at the moment when it went off? Minnekhada Middle School Port Coquitlam, BC To the Students of the Minnekhada Middle School: I did not hear a click when I stepped on the mine. If you picture yourself walking across a field on a sunny day, that is what I was doing. Then everything exploded. 7. What kind of treatment did you receive? Was it effective? Daniel Peterman How long did it take for your wounds to heal? How long did it take you to learn to walk with your prosthesis? From the students of Division 11 (Heaven 11) Mr. Baker's Class, Grade 6/7 Minnekhada Middle School Port Coquitlam, BC To Daniel and the students of Minnekhada Middle School: I took a long time in the hospital for several reasons. In the early stages they had to clean up my leg and amputate the bone to get a clean cut- a Symes amputation. A Symes amputation is down to the heal. They also had to do a skin graft to close the gaping wounds in my right leg. Then they transferred me to another hospital while we waited for my leg to heal and I developed gangrene so they had to amputate again, this time seven inches below my knee. Two months after the accident I was fitted with a temporary prosthesis (artificial leg.) At the end of June I fell on my stump and opened up the wound so I had to be operated on again which set me back a lot. The whole thing took longer than it normally would, almost six months. 8. Mr. Jerry White, When you were in the hospital did you want to take revenge of the people that put the landmine there because of what happened to you? Ian Levy Dear Ian: After accidents a lot of people feel angry and ask “why me?” For some reason, I thought “why not me?” I was living in a hospital ward with people who had their eyes blown out or were badly burned. There was not a lot of time to feel sorry for myself when so many people were in worse condition around me. 9. Dear Mr. White, Has the accident changed your relationship with other people in general? Do you suffer from phobias? Do you suffer from any other after-effects than physical ones? Have you ever suffered from feelings of injustice, rebellion, revenge, suicide? STI1, Lycée de Montbrison, France Dear Lycée de Montbrison: When I came back to Brown University to finish school, some of my friends were worried that I might have changed, that the mine somehow effected my brain. As it turns out, I think I am just more myself. Sometimes trauma makes people more themselves instead of really changing them. I had all the best supports from and friends and medical treatment in Israel, too, so I did not suffer horrible effects. Early on I did have flashback and nightmares. I also remember the first few times I walked across the campus green at Brown and I thought that things could explode. Other than these effect early on, in the first two years, I have nothing that I think of as a phobia now. 10. Dear Mr. White, My name is Matthew Phelps and I'm twelve years old. I was wondering what was the worst aspect of being injured by a landmine, the physical disabilities and pain, or the mental pain? Dear Mathew: For me the physical pain was much harder to deal with than the mental pain. The pain was so intense that I didn't think I could take another second and then another second came. I had a horrible chronic pain to deal with physically. Now, since I have my right knee and a healthy left leg, I am able to do all the things I used to do, to play tennis, to hike, and to swim. There are some limitations, but very often they are what you put on yourself, not what your prosthesis is keeping you from doing. 11. Dear Jerry White, After you lost your leg, how did you feel when you saw your friends again? Hung Kew Middle School Melbourne, Australia Did your family or friends treat you differently after your accident? From the students of Division 11 (Heaven 11) Mr. Baker's Class, Grade 6/7 Minnekhada Middle School Port Coquitlam, BC JW: My family and friends were relieved to find that I was the same person so they did not treat me any differently. 12. Dear Jerry, What do you plan to do in the future and did what you wished for in your life, while you were in hospital, come true? from Karen Dear Karen: When I was in the hospital I wished to survive, to walk out of the hospital, to have a meaningful life, and to get married and have kids. Today I am married to a wonderful wife, we have four children, and I have a great job as director of Landmine Survivors Network. So yes, my dreams did come true. 13. Have you been back to Israel since? Do you still go camping? STI1, Lycée de Montbrison, France Would you ever go back there [to Israel]? From the students of Division 11 (Heaven 11) Mr. Baker's Class, Grade 6/7 Minnekhada Middle School Port Coquitlam, BC JW: I have been back to Israel several times since my accident to visit friends and do research. I don't plan to go camping there though. 14. Dear Jerry, How do you feel when you know that you are helping people who are in danger? from Tri Dear Tri: It is very gratifying to help people. I see myself as the luckiest survivor in the world having had all the great care to overcome this injury. I feel very strongly about helping others who are less fortunate and have no access to proper medical care or physical rehabilitation. So helping people in pain is very much at the core of what we are trying to do. 15. Hi my name is Noah Kaplan. I am in the seventh grade at Lanier Middle School in Houston, Texas. I would like to know if while you have worked with your help group, have you or do you ever plan to go around the world to visit and help other poor landmine victims or do you just stay within the US? Dear Noah: Landmine Survivors Network works internationally in landmine effected countries. We have an active office in Bosnia and Herzegovina and we are working with associates in other countries such as Afghanistan, Angola, Mozambique, and Cambodia to get active programs set up in those countries also. 16. Dear Jerry White, We are Thao and Gam from Year 9 ESL at Kew High School, Victoria, Australia. We would like to ask, from your experience, what support do victims of landmines need, and are there special programs available for children who are victims of landmines? JW: I think landmine victims need support from A to Z. From the moment of the accident they need emergency, physical and trauma care. After the condition stabilizes, they need psychological and social support from family, friends and communities because they need people to understand what they have been through. Stepping on a landmine and losing a limb or your vision is a traumatic experience. Then “assistive” devises like wheelchairs and crutches and artificial legs are needed. From there mine victims need a variety of services from financial support (either temporary or long term) to training to get a job, and legal protection so that they are not discriminated against and kept unemployed. Landmine survivors are like you and me, they want to lead productive lives with dignity, take care of their families, and contribute to society. 17. Hi, My name is Laura Ashley. I am in 7th grade at ELMS in the state of Connecticut in the U.S.A. I am in an Albert Schweitzer Club and we are discussing landmines. I would like to know why the people who know where the landmines are located are not speaking about them and their location. Also, are modern countries making any attempt to develop new ways to find and disarm those landmines already dispersed? Dear Laura: There are people in several countries trying to develop new technologies for demining. Right now it is a very long, hard, and dangerous job to remove the landmines that are in the ground. 18. What is the percentage of tourists maimed by landmines each year? Are you in contact with any of them? STI1, Lycée de Montbrison, France Dear Lycée de Montbrison: I don't know how many tourist have been injured or killed by landmines. I do know of an American woman who was injured in the 70's while working on a Kibbutz in Israel. Another couple on their honeymoon was killed in 1995 in the Sinai. The vast majority of landmine victims are not tourists, 80% of people injured or killed by landmines everyday are civilians going about their everyday tasks. The Landmine Survivors Network http://www.landminesurvivors.org 700 Thirteenth St, NW Washington, DC 20005 Phone:(202)661-3537 Fax:(202)661-3529 |
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