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When explosive weapons are used in populated areas their effects tend to be indiscriminate, with a staggering proportion of death and injuries inflicted on civilians. Such use frequently causes high levels of immediate and long-term harm to individuals and communities. This series deals with the long-term and knock on effects, also referred to as reverberating effects, from bombing and shelling in towns, cities and other populated areas.

A city which is subjected to bombing and shelling faces a high likelihood of  being turned to rubble. But it also ruins the fabric of the city, ruining lives and livelihoods, negatively impacting the community at large, and often even after fighting has stopped. In this episode, INEW gathers experts who speak about the impact of explosive weapons on critical infrastructure including homes, hospitals and schools, as well as electricity and water systems, and the knock-on effects this has on the provision of essential services such as healthcare. It also explores the impact that explosive weapons have on the environment. 

Drawing on testimonies from survivors in Nagorno-Karabakh and cases such as that of the Hodeidah Port in Yemen, this episode aims to highlight the impact of damage and destruction to critical infrastructure, including the  reverberating knock-on effects and how they impact peoples’ lives. 

Also available on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, Audible and Amazon Music.

Contributors:

• Jeannie Lynn Sowers, Professor and Chair of the Political Science Department at the University of New Hampshire
• Erika Weinthal, Professor of Environmental Policy, Duke University
• Aurelien Buffler, Humanitarian Affairs Officer, UNOCHA
• Ségolène Adam, Global Humanitarian Policy Chief, UNICEF
• Interviews with survivors by Amnesty International
• Laura Boillot, Coordinator of INEW
• Uldduz Sohrabi of Article 36, writer and narrator