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French Ambassador visits TMAC to hand over Stock of Mine Risk Education Comic Books
11.06.2012
The Ambassador of France to Tajikistan, H.E. Henry Zipper de Fabiani, visited TMAC on Thursday June 8th, to officially celebrate the handover of a large Stock of the Comic Book “One Thousand and One Mines”, which will be distributed in schools throughout the country to help raise childrens’ awareness about the lethal mine/UXO hazard in their environment. The comic book, designed by the French author Loic Jombard, was recently translated into Tajik language, to help teachers and mine risk education volunteers in Tajikistan convey information about the dangers of landmines to the most vulnerable members of society, the children.
The handover ceremony was accompanied by short addresses by both the director of TMAC, Muhabbat Ibrohimov, as well as by the Ambassador of France. Representatives of the French NGOs Acted and Handicap International, as well as the French Military Military Attaché in Tajikistan, were also present in the reception, as their input into the realization of the project was essential.
The comic books will mostly be introduced to schools located in districts, in which the mine/UXO hazard has not yet been cleared up. They will help teachers to sensitize children about the dangers in their environment. As experience from other countries shows, children are happy readers of the short story. Hence, the books will positively impact the awareness of Tajik youth on the remnants of the country’s civil war and possibly bring down the number of mine/UXO related accidents.
“The contribution of the French government, together with ACTED and Handicap International, is extensive and important for the Mine Risk Education Activities within the Tajikistan Mine Action Programme”, acknowledged Muhabbat Ibrohimov, the TMAC director. “It helps protect our children from the lethal remnants of the recent civil war and is a cornerstone of the work of the Tajik Mine Action Programme.”
H.E. Amb Zipper de Fabiani, who served in the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an executive responsible for Mine Action before his deployment to Tajikistan, expressed his gratitude to all involved organizations in this project, which helps to mitigate the catastrophic effects of landmines in post-war states. “This work has already been translated into more than 50 languages, so it would be a pity if we had not translated it into Tajik”, added the Ambassador.
The Ambassador emphasized the importance of mine action within the engagement of France for Humanitarian Development, for example as a partner for the formation of officers for the Tajik Armed Forces or France’s vital support for the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and the efforts made to eliminate the international trade of landmines.
