The Irony of It All: Scrap Metal Collectors

As Chi, Nhi, and I made our way north on Highway 1 at 7:30AM, last Friday morning, we passed numerous interesting characters traveling at a much slower pace than we were. It was a beautiful, cloudless morning, and the wind and sun felt good on my back as I hunkered behind Chi on his motorbike. We were heading up to Vinh Linh district to oversee the distribution of twelve calves to CPI beneficiaries. Chi and I were in front of Nhi, who followed behind us a good hundred feet. I felt my body lean into Chi’s, indicating that he was slowing down. I looked up from my fetal position and noticed that we were trailing 8-10 men, all riding bicycles on the side of the road. Chi raised the visor on his helmet and yelled to me that these men were scrap metal collectors. I noticed that each of them had strapped to their bicycles a shovel or two, a couple burlap bags, and a larger bag containing, as Chi told me, the metal detector.

For many poor people, landmines and UXO are a vital economic resource in spite of the danger they pose. The metal both inside and outside can be sold as scrap, providing a little cash for people unable to make a living any other way. The explosive content of mines and ordnance is sometimes used for fishing (think: blown up fish bits) or is sold at the market.

I remember the first time I heard about and saw pictures of people searching for scrap metal, unknowingly picking up the nice, shiny object, only to have their lives irreversibly altered a fraction of a second later.

That people continue to search for scrap metal, particularly UXO, knowing the potential for serious harm, even death, baffled me for a while. It indicates the lack of awareness in the common citizen and frustrates me to no end. These people knowingly put their own lives in danger, and often the lives of others, by tampering with UXO just to earn a few extra bucks.

Keep in mind, however, that you’re reading the blog of a safety fiend – I put on my helmet even going to the internet café, two minutes down the road…

Regardless, something has to be done about this. Mine and UXO awareness programs in place are clearly not achieving the desired affect. What keeps people coming back to scrap metal is the price – it can be lucrative, depending on the metal – and the threat of physical harm is simply not enough to deter people from this lethal part-time job. It makes me want to bang my head against the wall.

We had a new accident a couple weeks ago in a nearby scrap metal shop here in Dong Ha. A man was trying to pry off the aluminum of a small UXO. Luckily the UXO did not actually detonate, but the round top flew off, hitting a nearby worker in the head and causing both a concussion and brain damage. I visited the woman with Phuong at the Quang Tri general hospital, where she lay in a nearly comatose state. He brother-in-law was at the hospital to help Phuong and I better understand what had happened. The owner of the scrap metal shop had lied to the police when they came to investigate the accident, claiming that the woman was hit in the head by another piece, coming from a different object. You see, collecting and selling UXO metal is illegal in Viet Nam. The shop owner did not want to claim responsibility for the true nature of the accident and risk a huge fine, the closure of his shop, or worse yet, imprisonment. When we drove to his shop to see the site of the accident, he pleaded us for help in dealing with the police.

I don’t think so, buster.

Accidents like the one above are multiplied exponentially in provinces like Quang Tri and Quang Binh.

They also get much worse.

The following story provides a good illustration of the pressures that drive people to salvage from mines or ordnance. One man, we'll call him Sam, has been injured twice by mines while gathering scrap metal on the mountainside behind his home. The first accident happened when he triggered a V69 that tore a hole in his stomach. Two of his friends were killed in the accident. Two years later he lost three fingers and an eye while taking apart a blast mine.

Sam's children have also carried on the family legacy; they continue to collect unexploded ordnance. In 1995, his eldest son brought an 82mm mortar back to the house (why, oh why, would anyone do that) and attempted to remove the aluminium from the fuse. The mortar detonated and the explosion killed four of his siblings and wounded two others. Sam’s son and daughter still live with him - bearing the scars of the accident that killed their brothers and sisters. Removing the saleable scrap metal from UXO is extremely dangerous in itself; additionally the activity of gathering UXO leads people into mined areas.

Despite this devastation, people like Sam remain dependent on the income that scrap metal provides.

I pulled out my digital camera as Chi slowed down. I took two pictures of the men on their bikes, knowing full well that there was a good chance I could see them too at Quang Tri general in the very near future.

I sighed and we drove on.