2.1. Research Approach and Study Team
The study employed qualitative methodology to provide for a more in-depth picture of the situation of the deminers and their families and to provide for a better understanding of their perceptions and preferences. The following activities were undertaken:
The research team conducting the study consisted of an expatriate team leader who was responsible for ensuring the overall quality, planning and implementation of the study and for preparing the final report. Three male research officers took a leading role in conducting the interviews in the field with the support of two female research assistants who had been recruited on an internship basis with NPA. The female researchers were essential when it came to conducting interviews with the wives of the deminers, many of whom were initially afraid or shy to talk. Some degree of trust was developed between the female researchers and the wives, particularly when time was taken to prepare food together.
2.2. Target Groups and Target Areas for Research
The fieldwork was conducted from 31st January until 22nd February 2006. The study focused on four of the CMAC Demining Units (DU): DU 1 in Banteay Meanchey province, DU 2 in Battambang, DU 3 in Pailin and DU 4 in Preah Vihear. Up until recently CMAC had 6 demining units responsible for operations in 9 provinces, although at the beginning of the year DU 5 in Pursat was closed and the operations merged with DU 2 in Battambang. The choice of demining units for study was decided on in agreement with CMAC based on the extent of operations, the number of different teams working under each DU and to allow for some contrast between relatively remote operations such as in Preah Vihear, with the more accessible operations along the border areas of Battambang, Pailin and Banteay Meanchey.
The study focused on a cross-section of CMAC field staff working in different teams so as to get an understanding of the differences and similarities of issues and problems right across CMAC. The following teams were covered by the study:
Interviews were conducted with the wives of the deminers who were staying at the demining camps with their husbands. There were no cases of husbands staying with their wives if the wives were the CMAC employee. Community members were also interviewed to gain their perceptions on the demining operations and their relationship with CMAC.
CMAC also requested that the study team provide some comparison with the operations of different organisations working in humanitarian mine action. To this end interviews were conducted with staff from HALO Trust and MAG, and copies of their policies, staff procedures and contracts were obtained. NPA staff and QAsia staff who have taken on monitoring and auditing roles at CMAC demining units were also interviewed to gain their perspective on the situation and also how things had either improved or deteriorated based on their ongoing observations.
2.3. Strengths and Constraints
The time constraints meant that the team were unable to follow a complete cycle for a demining task. This would have involved seeing arrival in an area, implementation of a task and departure and would have contributed to a clearer understanding of the lives of the deminers and the dynamics between the teams and the communities in which they are working. As we were only able to interview local people in communities where CMAC was currently working, the answers were perhaps influenced by the presence of CMAC staff in the villages. From interviews with deminers and with middle management it seems that conflicts tended to arise after departure from an area, so this would have been a valuable time to interview local people.
The mixed team, the triangulation of the data from the different teams, the HQ and the DUs, and from the methods of interviewing, observation and comparing with secondary data comprise the strengths of the research process. The methods were strongly qualitative meaning that the perspectives from the field are reflected in more depth.
Due to the sensitivity of some of the question areas, particularly those asking information and feedback on management issues, the team guaranteed the confidentiality of the respondents. In order to keep this confidentiality, the team numbers and the names of the respondents are not used in this report.
- Literature reviews
- A total of 146 semi-structured interviews were conducted with the following respondents:
- CMAC management staff (directorate and department heads) at headquarter (HQ) level in Phnom Penh (11 people were interviewed at the CMAC headquarters)
- CMAC middle-management at provincial demining unit (DU) level (6 people were interviewed at each demining unit, a total of 24 people)
- Deminers, their families and the local communities (111 respondents in total)
- Observations of the living conditions and work of deminers in four provinces. In the remote demining locations in Preah Vihear province the team stayed overnight at the platoon camps with the deminers and their families. This contributed to a clearer understanding of the everyday activities of the deminers and their customary living conditions. Time constraints for the study did mean that it was more a case of swift-observation rather than in-depth study, and there was a lack of time to visit all of the provinces where CMAC works. It is possible that there are some differences in conditions depending upon deployment.
- Interviews with other mine action organisations and stakeholders – MAG, HALO Trust, QAsia, and NPA. This helped to gain their perspective on demining operations in Cambodia, information on their own operations and human resource management and to provide some comparison with the CMAC policies.
- Presentation of main findings to CMAC management at HQ. Feedback from the management has been taken into consideration in this final report.
The research team conducting the study consisted of an expatriate team leader who was responsible for ensuring the overall quality, planning and implementation of the study and for preparing the final report. Three male research officers took a leading role in conducting the interviews in the field with the support of two female research assistants who had been recruited on an internship basis with NPA. The female researchers were essential when it came to conducting interviews with the wives of the deminers, many of whom were initially afraid or shy to talk. Some degree of trust was developed between the female researchers and the wives, particularly when time was taken to prepare food together.
2.2. Target Groups and Target Areas for Research
The fieldwork was conducted from 31st January until 22nd February 2006. The study focused on four of the CMAC Demining Units (DU): DU 1 in Banteay Meanchey province, DU 2 in Battambang, DU 3 in Pailin and DU 4 in Preah Vihear. Up until recently CMAC had 6 demining units responsible for operations in 9 provinces, although at the beginning of the year DU 5 in Pursat was closed and the operations merged with DU 2 in Battambang. The choice of demining units for study was decided on in agreement with CMAC based on the extent of operations, the number of different teams working under each DU and to allow for some contrast between relatively remote operations such as in Preah Vihear, with the more accessible operations along the border areas of Battambang, Pailin and Banteay Meanchey.
The study focused on a cross-section of CMAC field staff working in different teams so as to get an understanding of the differences and similarities of issues and problems right across CMAC. The following teams were covered by the study:
- Mobile Platoons
- Brush Cutters
- Community Mine Clearance
- Mine Detection Dogs (MDD) including:
- Short Leash dog teams (SLD)
- Long Leash dog teams (LLD)
- Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD)
- Technical Survey Teams (TST)
- Technical Survey Clearance (TSC)
- Community Based Deminers (CBD)
Interviews were conducted with the wives of the deminers who were staying at the demining camps with their husbands. There were no cases of husbands staying with their wives if the wives were the CMAC employee. Community members were also interviewed to gain their perceptions on the demining operations and their relationship with CMAC.
CMAC also requested that the study team provide some comparison with the operations of different organisations working in humanitarian mine action. To this end interviews were conducted with staff from HALO Trust and MAG, and copies of their policies, staff procedures and contracts were obtained. NPA staff and QAsia staff who have taken on monitoring and auditing roles at CMAC demining units were also interviewed to gain their perspective on the situation and also how things had either improved or deteriorated based on their ongoing observations.
2.3. Strengths and Constraints
The time constraints meant that the team were unable to follow a complete cycle for a demining task. This would have involved seeing arrival in an area, implementation of a task and departure and would have contributed to a clearer understanding of the lives of the deminers and the dynamics between the teams and the communities in which they are working. As we were only able to interview local people in communities where CMAC was currently working, the answers were perhaps influenced by the presence of CMAC staff in the villages. From interviews with deminers and with middle management it seems that conflicts tended to arise after departure from an area, so this would have been a valuable time to interview local people.
The mixed team, the triangulation of the data from the different teams, the HQ and the DUs, and from the methods of interviewing, observation and comparing with secondary data comprise the strengths of the research process. The methods were strongly qualitative meaning that the perspectives from the field are reflected in more depth.
Due to the sensitivity of some of the question areas, particularly those asking information and feedback on management issues, the team guaranteed the confidentiality of the respondents. In order to keep this confidentiality, the team numbers and the names of the respondents are not used in this report.