VIETNAM: FARMERS SCAVENGE MINES AND BOMBS TO SELL FOR SCRAP

Vietnamese/Nat Vietnam's farmers are still falling victim to the war that ended twenty years ago as thousands lose limbs from mines still scattered around the landscape. As well as stepping on mines in the fields, farmers are increasingly turning to scavenging mines and bombs to sell for scrap -- but at a dangerously high price that in some cases costs them their lives. Peace came to Vietnam twenty years ago -- but casualties from the war are still mounting. Every year a few people are killed and many injured by leftover bombs and shells lying across the landscape. But for the peasants of Quang Tri province these bombs are a precious resource that helps alleviate their poverty. This highland border town of Khe Sanh has recently enjoyed an economic boom. A new market has been built as Route 9 has become a trade link connecting Vietnam Laos and Thailand. The old U-S marine airstrip is now a quiet coffee plantation. But the memories of the past are never far away. All across Quang Tri Province, from Khe Sanh 40 miles (65 kilometers) to the sea, poor farmers search for the war's leftovers. With a thirty-dollar battery-powered metal detector, a farmer can make five dollars in a day by searching near former American bases. In a province where per capita income averages only 3 hundred-twenty dollars a year, the search for scrap is a necessity of life. Le Dan has been at it since the war ended 21 years ago. SOUNDBITE: (Vietnamese) "Farming doesn't earn you money every day, only at harvest time, which is every three or six months. With this job, I can make income for every day, so it's better that way. Crops take time to grow, so you might have to borrow money between harvests. If I go looking, I can get money to spend on daily things." SUPER CAPTION: Le Dan, Metal Scraphunter Thousands of tons of scrap are sold down Route 9 every year. Dealers pay 10 to 20 cents a kilo for good steel, but much more for copper, aluminum and live explosive. The scavengers cut bombs and shells apart looking for the valuable innards. They treat live warheads casually. SOUNDBITE: (Vietnamese) "Never get hurt. The bombs and bullets are all dead, the explosive inside is also dead. I've cut many of them open and never had a problem. There are special kinds that we don't know of, but the ones that we know, we all cut them apart. The ones that didn't explode, we cut them for aluminum and copper." SUPER CAPTION: Le Dan, Metal Scraphunter Identical twin brothers Huynh and Hoa were both injured in November 1994 as they watched a neighbour cutting a shell apart. The neighbour was killed by the blast. SOUNDBITE: (Vietnamese) "At about 1 o'clock I went to the path and saw a beggar. I followed him into the next house where he begged. I went in to watch, and then it exploded." SUPERCAPTION: Nguyen Duc Hoa, Bomb Victim The Vietnamese government can't provide the sophisticated plastic surgery Huynh needs, but fortunately the boys live in a close-knit community. They like to study maths in school and play football afterwards, and hope to become construction workers when they grow up. Economic progress may save Huynh, Hoa and children like them from the hunt for scrap. There are jobs that pay two or three dollars a day nowadays. But few expect change to come soon. SOUNDBITE: (Vietnamese) "When farming is busy or I have something else to do, I stay home. Otherwise I will go. There is always metal if you search. As long as I can find it, I'll keep going. This job is infinite. SUPER CAPTION: Le Dan, Metal Scraphunter For the people of Quang Tri, the Vietnam War remains both a boon and a curse. Their hope for the future is that it will soon be neither. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/404db1138a73549a260aee1717123add Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork