If you don't want to get blown up....Stay out of a minefield!

I am bothered recently at the news regarding the death of three Afghan children. The children were killed by an Unexploded Ordinance in a field that has been known to be used for range practice. They are blaming us for the death, which is BS. For all of you that are interested here is the real story:

The children were killed because their fathers make them go collect scrap metal. What they do is gather around where we are conducting our range practice, which is usually in the middle of the desert, and they wait until we are done. The minute we leave it is like throwing a handful of change at a group of homeless people. The children go crazy trying to collect as much as they can. The fighting that goes on is hilarious, in most cases they just beat each other with their shoes.

In this case I imagine they were searching the area where the rounds were landing, which isn't wise, and the children were messing around with a unexploded shell. They should have known better because that country has been at war forever. Staying clear of landmines and UXO's should be as common knowledge as, for us, to look both ways before crossing the street.

The villagers know we conduct range practice in that area, and to stay out. They also know that we will dispose of UXO's for them. The Canadian Forces is very cautious when conducting these operations and actually cares about keeping the area safe. They were blown up because of poor parenting and for messing with something they should have known not to mess with. It is unfortunate but blaming us isn't going to help their country.