The Curse of the Sands

This is from Al Jazeera

Filmmakers: Cristina Bocchialini and Ayman El Gazwy

In an area 100 kilometer west of Alexandria in northern Egypt lies the famous region of el-Alamein – scene of a mighty battle between the UK and its allies fighting German and Italian forces for control of North Africa in 1942.

The battle marked a turning point in the war: Montgomery's Desert Rats and his allies broke through German lines, pushing Rommel's forces back to Tunisia, taking control of the Suez canal, and gaining access to the Middle Eastern oil fields.

With no natural barriers in the desert, Rommel ordered half a million mines to be laid around the coastal town, while the British reportedly put down even more.

Santo Pelliccia, an Italian WWII veteran says:"There was an engineers battalion under Major Dominioni. They knew where the mines were, and they came with us on patrol to cross the frontline. We walked in single file and stepped slowly, checking the ground. We had to identify the mines, especially the anti-personnel ones. If you step on an anti-tank mine nothing will happen, but not the other kind."

Gino Sermidi, another Italian veteran remembers: "I was on patrol with two men. We used a compass to avoid the enemy mines. Every now and then in the night we would occasionally hear a landmine explode and someone scream. On the way back to our camp, we used the same method to avoid the mines."
Abd el-Fattah lost his leg because a mine exploded while he was playing football

More than 65 years after the battle, the area remains riddled with debris from the hostilities – including an estimated 17 million landmines.

The area is home to Bedouin nomads and many local villagers and farmers – along with their children – are hurt and sometimes killed when they come across the bombs, tank shells and landmines abandoned in the shifting dunes. (...)

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