CHARITY MANAGER SAYS I get a buzz out of clearing up unexploded bombs in a danger zone. But dealing with sexism is a minefield
If kids see an unusual item, they will often think it’s a toy
Mine-clearing boss on mission to end macho culture at work
Her nerves of steel and lightness of touch have helped explode the myth that only men can do one of the world’s most deadly jobs.
Mairi Cunningham has revealed how she leaves people dumbfounded when telling them that she clears mines from danger hotspots across the globe.
And the Dundee-born charity worker told how she gets a buzz out of taking on the macho culture within her role of helping to handle explosive devices.
She said: “I don’t want to paint a negative picture of the sector but it’s not been the easiest or smoothest of rides. Unfortunately, I’ve encountered chauvinist and sexist behaviour – quite a lot of it.
“It often surprises men in certain contexts, the questions I ask and the issues I raise. You can see them think, ‘How does she know that?’ It’s because I’m trained, I’ve been in a minefield, I’ve done disposal and I know what I’m talking about.
“It can be a challenge being a woman in management when you are dealing with local governments or military. I’ve never had anyone refuse to deal with me outright but you sometimes sense a rolling of the eyes.”
Mairi leads Scottish de-mining charity The HALO Trust’s team ridding Syria of deadly devices – and has also worked in trouble spots Cambodia, Somal i l and and the disputed Caucasus region of Abkhazia.
She added: “Working in the Caucasus was quite tough and an eye- opener in terms of old-fashioned attitudes. You just have to stick your elbows out a bit and persevere.”
Mairi worked for almost two years as HALO’s deputy programme manager in the Caucasus, dealing with the aftermath of a massive ammunition warehouse explosion in Abkhazia near the Russian border, which scattered an estimated 100,000 items of unexploded ordnance across 450 hectares.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has praised her bravery ahead of tomorrow’s International Women’s Day.
Mairi added: “In the Caucasus there can be machismo but women are playing a vital part in detecting and destroying nearly 100,000 items – 30 per cent of our team are female.
“Visiting the site every other day, I was almost immune to the sight of mortars, anti-aircraft bombs, projectiles, just littering the ground.
“It was a real eye-opener for me and the proximity to dangerous items was constant.
“Getting women on board and rising up into senior roles was great. We’re challenging the stereotypes of what women are capable of doing.
“These women then serve as a role model for women in their communities, their children, their friends’ children, so it has a ripple effect.
“I’ ll never forget one lady on the Abkhazia team whose motivation to work for HALO was because she’d lost two of her cousins in accidents following the 1992/93 conf lict. Children were playing and had picked up the wrong thing. It was quite touching to know she had this personal drive to do this work and she was quite inspirational because she was one of the pioneering women on that programme.
“In Syria, we have a mixed gender team and that has been crucial to gaining greater access to the communities. In a lot of these cultures, to speak to local women, you need women on the team.
“There is still the stereotype of the sort of person that should be doing our job but that is shifting.”
Mairi admits that people back home in Scotland are surprised to discover her dangerous job but says her parents didn’t attempt to deter her from taking up her role with HALO. She said: “My parents never tried to put me off and, because my brother’s military, they couldn’t treat me any differently. It’s never been an issue and, as a woman, there’s never been any limitations over what I want to do.
“My brother is in the Army and has done several tours in Afghanistan, so I thought, ‘ Well, it’s my turn to keep them on their toes’. I’m sure working with explosives in places like Syria can be a l it t le nerve-wracking for them but I’ve always been a traveller and do a lot more edgy pursuits like skiing and mountain sports, so they are used to the fact that I’m not someone who will sit at home and water my plants. “I think they respect the work I do and are proud but I think they maybe don’t want too much of the details of what I’ve seen or done. Some people back home can be very surprised when you tell them what you do. The world in Broughty Ferry is a long way away from mine clearance.”
Mairi joined HALO in 2018 and started her new role as programme manager for Syria in December. She’s overseeing her team of 80 staff from Amman, Jordan, and is awaiting international clearance to join her teams on the ground in the north-west of the country.
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office has invested £124million to help clear the equivalent of 28,500 football pitches of deadly explosive devices worldwide in the last three years through the Global Mine Action Programme. It funded HALO’s work in north-west Syria between October 2018 and March 2020, supporting five community teams. The Syria crisis has been the UK Government’s biggest humanitarian response, committing over £3.5billion of support.
Mairi said: “HALO has recorded over 3500 incidents involving explosive remnants of war accidents between 2016 and 2020, affecting 4427 victims, although this almost certainly under-represents the problem.
“We had one horrendous case where a shepherd lost all five of his children in one explosion. If kids see an unusual item, they often think it’s a toy and on this occasion it was an IED.
“The poverty in Syria is so great and the desperation means people sift through rubble to try to find things of value to sell to survive and that’s where they’ll disturb an undetonated device and are maimed or killed.
“HALO is not just about mine clearance but we’re doing a lot of work on risk education. We’re going into schools and communities to warn people what to do if they find something.”
Raab said: “Mairi is a shining example of the brave individuals who are working to remove the global scourge of landmines in some of the most dangerous parts of the world.
“International Women’s Day is an important opportunity to shine a light on the work she and many other female de-miners do.”
■ Phil Cardy
Locals want to sink £300,000 into buying a pub from £148million lo t ter y winner Adrian Bayford.
The Grade II-listed Rose and Crown is the last remaining boozer in the Essex village of Ashdon, population 893.
It has been shut since July, there is little sign of activity and villagers fear it may not reopen at all after lockdown.
Adrian – who scooped his EuroMillions prize in 2012 – has moved 430 miles away to Perthshire.
Ashdon parish council vice-chairman Philip Player said he would welcome a community bid for the pub.
He added: “We’d like to take it over as a village hub as we’re looking to try to replace the shop, which we lost a number of years ago. There’s no garage, no
POPULAR shop and now no pub. We are trying our best to bring the village back into life.”
Locals reckon the pub will sell for about £ 300,000. One said: “It was well-supported so it needs to reopen when lockdown is over.”
Parish chairman Mike Elsey said the pub will be discussed at the end of the month. He added: “It’s going on the market. That is all we know.”
Ex-postie Adrian, 49, won EuroMillions with his Scots wife Gillian, 48.
He refused to comment about the pub.