It's funny, it's sad and very dangerous...

[papaver]

This clip is not a joke.

It's a Belgian farmer who tries to explain to his Polish workers that there are still bombs on his field. And whenever he hits one with his tractor the Polish workers have to make a run for it.

The farmland was part of the battlefield (Ypres) during the Great War (1914-1918) and there are still thousands of mines and bombs on his land.

The language the farmer speaks is supposed to be English but ehum.... well... judge for yourselves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWD3GqLOTgk

[smilingcat]

ughhh!!! this is horrible.

Why doesn't he use a metal detector? even a cheap one used for detecting coins would be more than enough you would think.

Body language says it all. The workers have no clue what the boss is saying.

[papaver]

ughhh!!! this is horrible.

Why doesn't he use a metal detector? even a cheap one used for detecting coins would be more than enough you would think.

Body language says it all. The workers have no clue what the boss is saying.

That thing wouldn't stop beeping I'm afraid. There are still thousands of bombs out there. These farmers are used to the situation and know exactly how to act when they find one. It's a miracle that no one has been injured by such a bomb the last 20 years...

It would be easier to forbid the farmers to use their land... but it's their land, and it's their income.

But the clip had a positive effect on our government. They are now making brochures for foreign workers to inform them and tell them what to do. In Polish... :)

[Mr. Bloom]

Just out of curiousity, after decades of plowing, how are these things 'floating' to the surface again? Is there also erosion that exposing lower layers? If not, I simply don't understand how these things keep popping up?

[crazycanuck]

Mr Silver, good question & it's not just in Belgium where old armaments are uneathed. I am unsure how accurate the location maps detailing the armament sites were back then. (Even with newer conflicts...My father found this out in Bosnia back in the 90's :eek:..no lost limbs but certainly didn't help the PTSD)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1998/10/98/world_war_i/197406.stm

The Commonwealth Graves Commission might be able to help. They just unearthed & identified a large number of Australian soldiers and may just have had to deal with armaments. There are quite a few links on thier site that might lead you to the right info. www.cwgc.org

ponders..hmmm

[papaver]

Just out of curiousity, after decades of plowing, how are these things 'floating' to the surface again? Is there also erosion that exposing lower layers? If not, I simply don't understand how these things keep popping up?

Water. From the rain and groundwater. And frost... makes the soil expand and shrink.

I can imagine that it's even more dangerous in Bosnia. The bombs used in the 90's are far more advanced and probably more powerful. Ours are 90 years old...

[Grog]

Just out of curiousity, after decades of plowing, how are these things 'floating' to the surface again? Is there also erosion that exposing lower layers? If not, I simply don't understand how these things keep popping up?

Mines are a powerful gift of death that keeps on giving no matter how hard you try to remove them. You can make the place livable and usable again but it will never be totally clear. At least not in our lifetime... Still: hug a deminer when you meet one!

I don't know if you've ever heard of "stony fields" (I don't know how people call them in English). They're pieces of land that just turn up stones to the surface every year. I was lucky not to be born on one but a girlfriend of mine was, and every spring she and her siblings had to pick up the stones that surfaced. They put the stones away, but the next year new stones reappeared. Papaver said it well. Soil is a living thing...

[Skierchickie]

I don't know if you've ever heard of "stony fields" (I don't know how people call them in English). They're pieces of land that just turn up stones to the surface every year. I was lucky not to be born on one but a girlfriend of mine was, and every spring she and her siblings had to pick up the stones that surfaced. They put the stones away, but the next year new stones reappeared. Papaver said it well. Soil is a living thing...

Yep - I grew up on a farm. Every year we spent time with the rock picker (that is, picking up rocks and throwing them in the rock picker). I assumed it was like anywhere there were rocks.

[Tuckervill]

I live on the edge of the Ozarks and you would think I would have lots of flagstones and rocks in my yard, but not a one. What I do have, though is glass. I think I know the precise location of the burn pile in days past (my house is 113 years old), because I always find bits of glass there. But today I found a shard of ceramic with a cracked glaze on both sides. I often find pieces of milk glass, too.

Karen

[papaver]

Where I live, the people used to bury their rubbish (that's before the 1900's)... My previous house was built in 1721 and there was lots of glass and porcelain in the ground. Unfortunately we didn't find any ming vases in mint condition. :D

[crazycanuck]

Darn..no ming vases..*sigh* ;) But you do live in a cool area ya!