No one knows how many mines were buried beneath South Sudan’s soil during 50 years of north-south civil war. However, at least one private company has hired deminers to clear land in the South since 2005’s peace deal. Today the largest portion of this work is called ‘humanitarian mine action’, largely funded by the United Nations. Contracts are open to both non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector, with at least four companies — Amour Group, Mecham, Ronco and The Development Initiative (TDI) — making money by freeing communities from fear. Together with the three-year-old government, humanitarian agencies have struggled to meet vast education and health needs, but the demining coordinated by the United Nations Mine Action Office (UNMAO) is held as a success. Some 10,000 km of roads — including key routes between towns — have been opened. More than 2,300 dangerous areas have been identified and 1,101 cleared.
