Saving lives with only a pair of pliers

Fakhir Berwari disarmed thousands of mines in northern Iraq from 2003 until an explosive device killed him in November 2014. His life and death were captured by his own camer. The amateur and professional footage has been turned into an award winning documentary “The Deminer”.

Source: Supplied by Hogir Hirori

Fakhir Berwari first defused land mines as a soldier alongside the American-led coalition, after the invasion of Iraq in 2003. He risked death for years in and around Mosul to save others’ lives. Surviving near-misses and the loss of his right leg to a mine in 2008, wearing a prosthetic limb, Berwari returned as a colonel with the Peshmerga forces neutralizing booby traps left by a retreating ISIS.

It is unknown that exactly how many mines or booby traps the colonel successfully disarmed is unknown, but it is believed to be in the thousands. However, in November 2014 Berwari paid the ultimate price when he was killed in an explosion while clearing a mine-riddled house.

We spoke to his close friend and the director of “The Deminer” documentary Hogir Hirori about Fakhir Berwari’s journey. “The Deminer” will be shown at the Sydney Film Festival in June.

Source: Supplied by Hogir Hirori