For more than a decade, the socio-economic growth of Iraq has been undermined by?conflict.?Explosive remnants of?war,?along with?mines and?improvise explosive devices,?have left many?areas?of the country off-limits. But life?for?Iraqis?has to?go on, and people?need to?return?home?and take steps to rebuild their lives?despite the?danger.?
To?help mitigate the risk, the?United?Nations?Mine Action Service?has redefined its risk education?programmes?in Iraq?to?ensure that they can reach the widest?possible?at-risk?population, even during the pandemic.
“Safe Steps”?is?an?Explosive?Ordnance?Risk?Education (EORE) campaign?developed to encourage behavioral change through risk awareness messaging. With 20 million active social media users in Iraq?-?almost half the population?-?the “Safe Steps” campaign is disseminated through Facebook,?short films, radio shows, and questionnaires, as well as?promoted?through?the social media channels of?key “influencers”?like?Mahdi Laith, Hisham Al-Thahabi?and Alaa Hussein.??
Sharing videos?through the internet?is an?invaluable?way for?the campaign?to document the testimony of?people who have had explosive ordnance accidents?who would otherwise have to travel?long?distances to have their voices heard. One “Safe Steps” video?documents a?man?named Moussa, who?describes?his?personal?experience?of?setting off an explosion when he was?a child. “I found a toy under?some rubble, and I tried to take it. My family advised me not to come close to strange objects. Unfortunately, I forgot everything during that second.”?Moussa?lost his left leg in the explosion, but he survived.?Moussa?tells his story and?asks children,?like his son,?to share his message,??to always?think twice and??remain vigilant. He?explains that though?he cannot turn back the clock, by saving others he is “correcting a mistake”. This public service announcement reached more than 80 thousand?people?in the first month??it was posted.?
Making authentic public service announcements,?with?real?people who tell their own stories is?highly effective. The entire campaign is based on this type of content and it has?helped?to?save lives?and raise?awareness about?these?dangers.??
