Juanes Announces The "Colombia sin Minas" (Colombia Without Mines) Concert

Press release
Source: Rogers and Cowan

In order to raise money for children victimized by antipersonnel mines in his native Colombia, Latin rock's leading social activist Juanes has organized the "Colombia sin Minas" ("Colombia Without Mines") benefit concert. Set to take place May 24th at the Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal City Walk in Los Angeles, the "Colombia sin Minas" concert will be a special night of all acoustic music with ALEJANDRO SANZ, ANA GABRIEL, CARLOS VIVES, JUAN LUIS GUERRA, LAURA PAUSINI, LUIS FONSI, RICARDO MONTANER and JUANES.

In the last 15 years 4,500 people in Colombia have died as a result of stepping on anti-personal mines and many of these victims have been children from the countryside. The explosions of these mines also permanently disable over 1000 additional people per year. With the number of annual victims increasing each of the last several years, the figures of those killed and wounded already in 2006 show the likelihood of the most devastating year yet.

The "Colombia sin Minas" concert of May 24 intends to denounce this abuse, advocate for the protection of the public from this danger and directly assist 500 disabled Colombian children that are in constant need of new prosthetics (legs, arms, hands) as they continue to grow. Since the start of his career, Juanes has been working to help the victims of anti-personal mines and to appeal to the conscience of those responsible to not use these types of weapons in the country's conflict, as they effect the lives of all Colombians. "Many people, including the media are not reporting on the seriousness of this problem in Colombia where an average of three people now die each day as a result of these deadly mines," explains Juanes. "I am very thankful to all the artists that have accepted my invitation for this event that will help many victims, especially the 500 hundred children that have been mutilated by the mines and are in need of prosthetics. By performing at this show, these artists will be able to permanently help the victims."

The "Colombia sin Minas" concert is being produced by Juanes' recently started Mi Sangre (My Blood) Foundation, with the support of the Observatorio de Minas Antipersonal (Antipersonnel Mine Observatory) office of the Vice-president of Colombia, UNICEF Colombia, Adopt-A-Minefield, and the United for Colombia foundation, for which Juanes works as an international Ambassador.

ALEJANDRO SANZ, ANA GABRIEL, CARLOS VIVES, JUAN LUIS GUERRA, LAURA PAUSINI, LUIS FONSI, RICARDO MONTANER and JUANES will all be performing in an acoustic format, accompanied only by acoustic guitars and piano in order to reduce the expenses of production and provide the largest percentage possible of money raised through ticket sales to the needs of children disabled by the antipersonnel mines. The cost of tickets for the concert range from $40 to $200 per person and can be purchased through Ticketmaster or at the Gibson Amphitheatre box-office starting at 1PM on Friday, March 31st.

In addition to money raised through ticket sales, The Wheel Chair Foundation has announced that they will deliver wheel chairs equaling double the value of funds raised at the concert in order to assist victims. The Rotary Club of Conejo Valley and the Rotary Club of Medellin, Colombia have also announced that they will match the sum collected from the concert with deliveries of prosthetics, wheels chairs and rehabilitation work.

The "Colombia sin Minas" concert is receiving sponsor support from the KLVE-FM radio station of Los Angeles, The Univision Television Network, The Colombia Coffee Federation, American Airlines, and Redbull. Additional sponsors may be forthcoming. Please see below for further information on landmines in Colombia.

Background on Antipersonnel Mines & Their Effect on Victims

Landmines are powerful and unforgiving artifacts. Unlike other weapons that rely on someone to fire and shoot, landmines are activated by the victims. In other words, they explode when they have been tampered with or when the victim detonates the tripwire. These devices are typically found on or just below the surface of the ground. Once planted, their effects are indiscriminate; they do not distinguish between soldiers and civilians. A young child may fall victim to a landmine explosion just as easily as a soldier in combat. Although all the injuries from war are horrible, the ones produced by landmines are especially severe. The detonation of an antipersonnel landmine creates a strong explosion, blowing apart one or both of the victims legs, while propelling soil, weeds, gravel, metal, fragments of plastic surrounding the landmine, pieces of shoes and broken bones toward the interior of the muscles and the lower body. In addition to the traumatic experience of amputating a body part, there still remains the serious danger of infection. Most civilian doctors have not seen injuries of this nature, therefore treating a landmine victim can be a challenge even for very skilled surgeons.

In general, if the victim is able to survive the disaster of a mine explosion, he or she will require multiple operations and a prolonged rehabilitation treatment. Unfortunately the majority of the accidents take place in remote areas with limited access to doctors, medical resources and places for rehabilitation. Furthermore, to transfer a victim immediately after the accident to a medical center is frequently a difficult task. In some places, it takes the victims between six and twenty-four hours to arrive to a hospital with the necessary equipment to be of assistance. Many do not survive this journey to the hospital.

If a victim does manage to survive, the amputees not only have to adapt to using their artificial prosthetics, but they also have to address the feeling of a loss of dignity and other psychological problems which may arise. Once rehabilitated, many find themselves without work and it is very likely that they suffer an intense anguish with little hope of changing their situation.

In addition to impacting the personal lives of the victims, landmines have immense repercussions at social and economic levels. The presence of mines on farmlands, pastures, and other zones that produce food make the land inaccessible to cultivate, therefore reducing the community's capacity to sustain itself. Roads and highways that are mined complicate the movement of persons and products, including that of medical and humanitarian assistance.

To create and place a mine may cost as little as one or two dollars, while removing a landmine is a long, dangerous and costly process. Landmines don't die - they have a useful life of close to half a century and affect the rights of present and future generations. In post-conflict situations, it is more frequent that the unfortunate victim is a civilian going about their day-to-day life.

More Information On Antipersonnel Mines in Colombia

- According to Landmine Monitor, in 2003 there was a victim per day, in 2004 two and in 2005 there were three daily victims. Already in 2006, 161 victims have been reported.

- Colombia was second in the world in landmine victims in 2004 (847), behind only Afghanistan (1,100) -- (Source: Landmine Impact Survey / Survey Action Center) and ahead of Cambodia (715) (Source: Landmine Monitor / International Campaign to Ban Landmines).

- The exponential increase in landmine victims in Colombia over the last 4 years is up 194%.
(2001: 288 victims / 2004: 847 victims)

-According to UNICEF, Over 50% of Colombia's civilian antipersonnel victims are children, 91% of victims are from rural areas, and 100% are under the poverty line

- Landmines are one of the weapons of choice of narco-terrorists.

- 120,000 landmines have been emplaced (mainly by FARC and ELN guerrillas) in last six years.

- Colombia is the only country in the Western Hemisphere where landmines are still being actively planted.

- Landmines have been found in 30 of Colombia's 32 states.

- More than 50% of the 1,094 counties in Colombia have mine fields.

- Landmines are often placed to protect coca plantations and guerrilla encampments, as well as a tool to prevent the Colombian army's pursuit of guerrillas following attacks on villages.

- Entire villages have been mined and destroyed by the narco-terrorists.

- Landmines affect the work of humanitarian organizations by limiting their access to rural communities.

- Landmines are the main cause of death and injuries of Colombian soldiers.

- The majority of landmine victims live in conditions of poverty.

- Colombia is a signatory of the Ottawa Convention Treaty to Ban Landmines. By March 2005, the Colombian military's landmine arsenal had been totally destroyed, as well as all equipment required for manufacturing landmines.

- Colombia is the only country in the world that has destroyed its landmine arsenal while in the midst of an armed conflict.

- The Colombian Armed Forces bear all costs for landmine destruction and de-mining tasks. There are only 254 experts to perform de-mining work.

-While antipersonnel mines cost roughly one dollar to manufacture, it costs an average of one thousand dollars for the removal and destruction of each device.

- Once emplaced, landmines can remain active for up to fifty years.

-1.6 million Colombians have been forced to abandon their homes due to the internal conflict (Source: Colombian Government), leaving agricultural work and fertile land behind.