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Bari, located on Italy’s east coast, is a
polluted industrial town, which lacks any of the charms of its southern
neighbours. In August the thermometer easily climbs to more than 40 degrees
Celsius. The old run-down factory of Technovar can be found in the town’s
industrial zone, and for passers by it is easy to forget it ever existed.
Trees and greenery now cover the facade of the factory building, hiding the
large letters that spell out it’s name. There are no indicators of what this
old factory used to produce would it not be for the 100 metre tall tower
behind the factory. It was from this tower that the scatterable landmines
Technovar produced would be tested to see if they would endure a drop from a
plane or helicopter without detonating. Mr. Fontana walks slowly along the overgrown
fence surrounding the factory. Although only 20 per cent of the factory’s
production used to be landmines and related components, it was the third
biggest producer of landmines in Italy.
Before Italy signed (1997) and ratified (1999) the Mine Ban Treaty it
was the third biggest landmine producing nation in the world after China and
Russia. In
1993 Mr. Fontana decided to end the production of landmines which he argues
was out of a personal conviction. It was also around this time that the
International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) started putting pressure on governments and
landmine producers to stop the production and export of the weapon. His
family has strong roots in Italy and he therefore decided not to go abroad to
Singapore where production still continues. In later years as the campaign has been
widely recognised and most
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governments worldwide have
signed the Mine Ban Treaty it has become increasingly difficult for landmine
producers to sell their weapons. Many governments have simply scrapped
landmines from their defense budgets. Mr. Fontana argues: “History is like a
river. You can’t go against the current. The public opinion has changed. Why,
when so many are against you, do you want to go against so many?”
True to his entrepreneurial background he is not
a man who sits back with his hands in his lap regretting his past, and has
now changed sides joining forces with ICBL and InterSOS, an Italian-backed
de-mining company. His knowledge and expertise of the devices he once
produced is much needed in recognising landmines and therefore determines the
technical approach the de-miners adapt to remove them. “The Ottawa Treaty stopped
the evolution of landmines into more deadly devices. Electronic mines were ready to be
introduced to the market at very low prices. The [de-mining] techniques that
we have now would have been completely useless against this new kind of
landmines.” He continues: “If we can clear mines faster and faster year after
year it is because there are no new landmines under the ground. That is the
main goal of the Ottawa Treaty.” Despite the Ottawa Treaty
being one of the main causes for his company going bankrupt and loosing him
his livelihood, he
today believes the
treaty is the only way forward: “The Ottawa Treaty
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was a milestone, because imagine what it would be like
without this treaty. Before [the treaty] I continued my study of new
landmines, mines that were completely anti magnetic, so they were impossible
to detect. Mines invisible to radar detection, intelligent mines that can
remain dormant for years and wake up for a certain amount of time. The Ottawa
Treaty stopped any development of new landmines and that was the most
important thing.” It is difficult to picture Mr. Fontana as a landmine
producer. He has a kind round face and when the conversation strays from the
subject of landmines he has a great sense of humour, explaining the history
of Bari, the town his family have lived in for generations. But as he
explains the industry of landmines, it becomes clear how his past haunts him:
“I regret having made landmines in the past, but it’s not sufficient. You
must build up otherwise the simple regret is useless. I think it was a
hellish landscape. That’s the reason why I crossed the sea”. As
we leave the factory in his car Mr. Fontana likens his role as a landmine
producer to that of a wheel in a gear box. He explains that a car needs all
it’s gears to function properly, however by removing just one gear the car
will not run well. As a landmine
producer he decided to remove himself from the equation, thus contributing in
his own way to solve the landmine problem. |