THE DEMINING expert killed while on duty on Wednesday would put his life on the line for a
mere €400 a month, according to reports.
Femisberto Novele, 49, team leader of the Mine Action Centre Cyprus (MACC) from Mozambique, lost his life in a minefield near Yeri, some 10 kilometres south-east of Nicosia.
He was the group’s first fatality in five years of work on the island, although on May 2008 another member of the team lost the lower part of his leg when he stepped on an unmarked Turkish landmine in the buffer zone north of Athienou.
According to UNFICYP’S Blue Beret magazine, which interviewed Novele later that year, he and his colleagues made $600 a month (that’s €405) plus board and lodging.
The minimum wage in Cyprus stands at around €800.
In the same interview, it emerged that Felisberto was a family man with a wife and eight children between the ages of 22 and four years old at the time. With his salary he also had to take care of his widowed mother back home.
“I am proud to be a deminer because our efforts are to guarantee the new generations of
the future a safer world,” he told the Blue Beret. “What we need now is to rebuild schools and hospitals in this world, not lay down mines. The land cleared can give way for these institutions and that is why I am proud.”
He said he would feel great satisfaction if he heard that on the land he and his team had cleared in Cyprus a recreation centre, school or other community project was being developed for the benefit of the Cypriot people.
Blue Beret also quoted Mick Raine, former Project Manager with MACC, as explaining that finding work as a de-miner in Mozambique was now becoming harder.
“Because the problem with mines in Mozambique to a large extent has been resolved so there is now a surplus of de-miners. One way of utilising this skilled workforce
is foreign companies undertaking contracts to de-mine abroad, hiring them because if they were to seek experienced de-miners in Europe or the UK or Cyprus for example, it would be extremely difficult. But Mozambique has them.”
Simon Porter, current manager with MACC, could not confirm the salary reports, as he said de-miners are hired by sub-contractors Armor Group.
“However I would speculate that salaries are in line with EU law and practices,” he told the Mail.
It was not possible to confirm any salary details with Armor Group yesterday.
Meanwhile a board of inquiry would be looking into the circumstances of the accident, Porter said. The inquiry starts today and is expected to be completed by next week.
As such, Porter was not able to confirm initial reports that Novele died while handling an anti-tank mine.
“What I can say at this time was that he was killed instantly, as a result of a large explosion which caused the victim massive injuries,” Porter said.
The body of the deceased is to be repatriated to Mozambique at the earliest time convenient.
Novele was a highly experienced de-miner, having worked for 10 years before coming to Cyprus.
There are approximately 40 de-miners currently working on the island.
Nine people, including de-miners and civilians, have reportedly been injured by mines in the buffer zone last year
The MACC is a project of the United Nations Development Programme’s Partnership for the Future, funded by the EU. It has removed and destroyed more than 14,000 mines since 2004, with the support of UNFICYP.
A total of 57 minefields have been cleared to date, covering more than 6.5 million square metres of land.
The European Commission yesterday expressed its condolences for the death of Novele.
The European Union has been a major donor for landmine and ordnance clearance projects in Cyprus since 2004. So far, four phases of demining actions in Cyprus have been executed for an amount of €9.5 million. The fifth phase, €2.5 million, is currently under preparation.
