[CPEO-MEF] MUNITIONS, GLOBAL: "The Solomon Islands Is Doing Little To Help Its People Deal With Deadly UXO"

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

The Solomon Islands Is Doing Little To Help Its People Deal With Deadly UXO
Citizens in the Pacific nation are growing frustrated with continued deaths and injuries. But government officials point to more pressing needs and political turmoil.


By Thomas Heaton
Honolulu Civil Beat (HI)
November 16, 2022

Isaiah Tengata frequently reminded his children to steer clear of the rusting bombshells littering their neighborhood atop a ridge on the outskirts of Honiara.

But after school on Jan. 25, 2021, his bright and spirited 11-year-old son Senri ignored his father’s warnings. Senri and his friends noticed what turned out to be a cache of 28 American 81mm mortars while playing in a boggy basin, 100 yards from the Tengata’s home. The dart-shaped World War II projectiles were apparently unearthed during the previous weeks’ rains.

Senri says his friends begged him to leave them alone. But he grabbed one. The muck-covered insides fell from a hole in the bomb that previously had been plugged by dirt. It was white phosphorus, akin to napalm, known for the horrific wounds it causes.

Before Senri could stop it, the putrid chemicals flowed over his hand and arms, smoking as they ate through layers of skin.

…

For the entire article, see
https://www.civilbeat.org/2022/11/the-solomon-islands-is-doing-little-to-help-its-people-deal-with-deadly-uxo/

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director
Center for Public Environmental Oversight
A project of the Pacific Studies Center
LSiegel@cpeo.org
P.O. Box 998, Mountain View, CA 94042
Voice/Fax: 650-961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org





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