Cluster

Cluster

      Cluster is another of those words with several different interpretations, usually having a meaning of people or things gathering together but often associated as a slang term that's used when a group of things go wrong or meant in a derogatory sense sexually.  And this might be the extent of our defining of the word in the developed world; but in many other parts of the world, the word "cluster" takes on all of those definitions, including the subtext of shame and anger and degradation that can last for years if not a lifetime, for at this point we're talking about the other common association of the word, that of cluster bombs.  If you've ever viewed those stunning displays of aerial fireworks during holidays, each arching high in the sky as a streak of light which then explodes into hundreds of rivulets plummeting to earth, you'll have a good idea of a cluster mine; the main munition opens in the air and releases hundreds of mini soda-can like bombs, many of which can then land without exploding.  They then become mines of sorts, unexploded ordinance that can detonate when a foot steps on it or a child picks one up.  The primary manufacturing countries of these cluster bombs, the countries that have refused to sign any of the treaties or join any of the organizations working to end the use of such weapons include the U.S., Russia and China, as well as Israel, India, Switzerland and Brazil (all either manufacture or stockpile and sell cluster munitions); in total however, about 50% of the world's countries have refused to sign the treaty or attend the convention.  How can this be?  It's a question Laura Boushnak brought up in her recent TED talk, a person TED described as: ...a Kuwaiti-born Palestinian photographer whose work focuses on women, literacy and education reform in the Arab world (her blog makes for interesting and educational reading).  As a photographer who has worked in war-torn areas, her talk and photos present not only the description of the initial "collateral" damage of the injury but also the damage that occurs in later years, the physical and mental repercussions to those who end up living (if one could call it that) with the life afterward.

     Abstractly I now witness some of this in my mother, her multiple falls having created a fear in her that overrides her ability to otherwise walk (this is what the physical therapists working with her tell me).  But imagine if it wasn't simply a trip or a fall but a casual outing across a trail or a a field or a portion of your farm --perhaps areas that you had crossed dozens or hundreds of times-- a walk that happened to cause you to step on one of these random unexploded cluster bombs and blow off part of your leg.  Would you walk across that area again (assuming you survived the initial explosion)?  Probably not, but suppose that path or field was where all of your crops were located and that those crops needed harvesting and that those crops were your only means of making a living?  Would you go back out there?  Suppose your child wandered out there and you heard an explosion and now wondered if your child was still alive?  Unexploded cluster bombs are everywhere (I partially wrote about this in an earlier post on land mines).  Here's one excerpt from the business and technology defense publication National Defense: Cluster bombs have been used in at least 21 states by at least 13 different countries since World War II, the CRS (Congressional Research Service) study said.  Cluster munitions were used extensively in Southeast Asia by the United States in the 1960s and 1970s, and the International Committee of the Red Cross estimates that in Laos alone, 9 million to 27 million unexploded submunitions remained after the conflict, resulting in more than 10,000 civilian casualties to date.  Cluster munitions were used by the Soviets in Afghanistan, by the British in the Falklands, by the U.S.-led coalition in the Gulf War and by the warring factions in Yugoslavia, the study said.  In Kosovo and Yugoslavia in 1999, NATO forces dropped 1,765 cluster bombs containing approximately 295,000 submunitions...From 2001 through 2002, the United States dropped 1,228 cluster bombs containing 248,056 submunitions in Afghanistan before the U.S. government suspended use of cluster munitions in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2003...Variations of cluster munitions exist for use by every combat aircraft in the U.S. inventory, and in some cases constitute up to 50 percent of Army and Marine Corps artillery fire support, said a January 2011 Congressional Research Service report.  “U.S. forces simply can not fight by design or by doctrine without holding out at least the possibility of using cluster munitions.”  To witness both air-deployed and land-deployed cluster bombs is a frightening scenario, something difficult to watch, much less experience (the links will take you to both examples).

    To be fair, manufacturers are working on or have already developed new more sophisticated cluster bombs that will explode any unused leftovers should they not hit a target, thus leaving no unexploded portions in the ground.  But these newer bombs, such as those contracted by the U.S. government with companies such as Textron --also is the maker of Bell helicopters and Cessna airplanes-- aren't cheap (watch their video to see how "sophisticated" their newest cluster bomb works)...each of the newer bombs cost close to $500,000.  So yes, some of these newer bombs are "safer" but as a country or terrorist group looking to stretch one's resources, would you consider spending the money on this newer bomb or produce hundreds more of the older ones for the same cost?  For the farmers working their fields and the children playing in the sand, it doesn't matter; their leg or legs are gone or now damaged beyond use, their prosthesis (if they have one) generally crudely-made and ill-fitting and painful, their looks from others now turned into stares, their livelihoods now basically gone.  And still the bombs remain, buried and waiting to strike again, thousands of them....somewhere out there.

    People such as Laura Boushnak and groups such as the Cluster Munitions Coalition are attempting to provide both education and solutions about the problem...and they might just be making a difference simply by asking people to stop and consider where their funds or banks invest even gaining a mention in the publication National Defense.  Here's what the publication had to say: U.S. production of air-launched weapons that are widely used by the Air Force and foreign allies might be in jeopardy as a result of a global advocacy campaign that targets manufacturers of military hardware...As a result of steady efforts by antiwar groups, several munitions suppliers in the United States have seen their lines of credit and insurance coverage pulled back by major financial institutions.  Inter- national banks that have terminated commercial relationships with cluster munitions and landmine manufacturers include Credit Suisse, BNP, HSBC, Societe Generale and UBS, among others, according to a report by the antiwar group IKV Pax Christi, titled, “Worldwide Investments in Cluster Munitions: a Shared Responsibility.” ...One of the most forceful lobbying campaigns against banks that do business with weapon manufacturers has been by the Cluster Munition Coalition.  On its website, stopexplosiveinvestments.org, the alliance praised the November 2010 announcement by Credit Suisse that it would end investments in producers of landmines and cluster munitions. 

    For many, it is already too late, their lives as shown by photographer Boushnak now a struggle; but for others, it might prove to be a new beginning, a hopeful light that perhaps more of the world is being made aware of what has landed in their country, all from a war they had little say in.  And perhaps one less bomb might translate into a new life of promise, a life as it should have been, one lived without an additional fear of walking outside or plowing a field.  We take our parks, even our neighborhood school yards for granted.  No mines there, our children can run and play freely.  Wouldn't it be nice if everyone in the world could have the same feeling?