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21St Century Legacy

21st Century Legacy of Warfare

By: Ross Lake
March 18, 2009

There are slightly more than 14 million people who live in the states that make up the geographic location known as New England. In any of those states a small child may reside, waiting to play out on their lawn that was just covered in snow; free of any fear that a land mine may be lurking beneath the surface. But what if there were land mines in that area that prevented the typical life a person living in New England lives? Presently in the world there are 100 million land mines that lay dormant, waiting for an unknowing child to step on and set off one of these small explosive devices that could cause a scar, loss of a limb, or even worse, the loss of an innocent life. Even though land mines provide security to a war zone, these explosives are inhumane when left behind undetonated endangering the lives of residents of the past, the present and the future and leaving behind a wake of destruction upon the lives of both civilians and military personnel alike.
Even though land mines are small devices, they can cause major damage to the area where they have been left. Landmines were used throughout the 20th century. By 1975 most were left as a result of the bloody century's multiple wars. Organized packs of land mines are called minefields. Generally, mines are clustered together in long bands to create a barrier or wall to redirect or protect a certain area. Once a conflict is over, and the land mine is left behind, it can remain active for an unknown amount of time. A land mine left in the ground after a conflict is known as a persistent land mine. They can wreck havoc on small children who are un-suspecting and playing in an area that has land mines lying just below the surface. Back in New England, the once small children are older and raising a family on the grounds where they once played. Because land mines have the potential to remain active for so long, the next generation is in just as much...