Pokemon Go is inspiring people around the world to get outside, get some fresh air, and explore their communities. This hasn’t always gone well, as oblivious players have wound up in jail, fallen off of cliffs, nearly been shot by a homeowner convinced they were burglars. Not to mention causing several car crashes. Still, they don’t have it as bad as Bosnian Pokemon trainers, who may find themselves dodging landmines.
The 120,000 landmines scattered across Bosnia and Herzegovina are a tragic problem left behind by the country’s civil war, and have killed hundreds since the war ended more than two decades ago. 2.4% of the country remains contaminated with landmines to this day. Part of the danger is that while some minefields are clearly marked and easy to avoid, others either haven’t been discovered yet or there may have been some mines that haven’t been swept from the area. So that makes walking into one just to capture yet another Pidgey a very bad idea.
In order to, you know, not die while playing a mobile game, Bosnian demining groups are urging players to keep an eye out for danger signs and to stick to the areas that they know are safe. If you’re a Pokemon Go player who wants to help, consider donating to a cause like the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, or write your Congressperson and ask them what the Department of Defense can do to help with humanitarian demining in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and around the world.
(Via BBC News)