Princess Astrid and Prince Leopold from Belgium visit the REI Foundation in Cartagena (photo, Jared Bloch)

Cartagena, Colombia (Geneva Lunch) - Princess Astrid of Belgium, a longtime advocate of mine survivors rights, has made a strong plea to other world leaders to fully support landmine survivors. Her appeal, in her role as head of the Belgian delegation, came at the Cartagena Summit on a Mine-Free World in Colombia, which has just ended.

The summit served as the second review of progress made by the Mine Ban Convention to ban the production, use and stockpiling of anti-personnel land mines. The Princess commended the efforts undertaken by the Colombian Government in support of the Summit, and also noted that “there still remains much to be done on behalf of survivors everywhere.”

The princess and her husband, Prince Leopold, joined other summit participants in visiting the Fundation REI, a Colombian rehabilitation centre that works closely with landmine survivors and others with disabilities.

The foundation provides several services: advocacy for the rights of the disabled, physical and psycho-social theraputic services, pre-vocational training and professional reintegration, and production of prosthetic devices for disabled individuals.

Several landmine survivors and patients at the clinic described for summit guests how Fundation REI has empowered them to recover their lives in the wake of their accidents.

Land mine survivor and patient at REI Clinic in Cartagena (photo, Jared Bloch)

A man named Carlos told the group, “We are still alive and we want to be productive citizens.” He specifically thanked Fundacion REI and the Red Cross, noting the crucial role played by these and other organizations that provide medical services and help patients with reintegration. “Some of us [land mine survivors] lose more, some of us less, but we are all alike,” Carlos added.

Another man named Luis Alberto, who lost an arm in a land mine accident, said, “Everything I knew changed suddenly. Your world changes completely.”

The account of Daniel, a foundation patient, was portrayed in a documentary video produced and screened by Belgian-based Handicap International, which works closely with REI in assisting landmine victims. “I was an independent man, able to take care of myself and my family prior to my accident. That has been the hardest part,” Daniel tells the audience.

Fundacion REI was founded in 1973 by Father Luis Enrique Ramirez and Alberto Samudio de la Ossa with the goal of providing functional rehabilitation activities for disabled individuals. The organization’s mission has since grown to include promoting social (re)integration. REI places strong emphasis on the role of the individual in the process, as well as the importance of engaging family members and the larger community in rehabilitation efforts.

Princess Astrid hearing land mine survivor testimony (photo, Jared Bloch)

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