Elsa Buchanan

🇫🇷 🇬🇧 photojournalist working with @Masam_ENG in Yemen #humanrights #migration #security #warfare 🌍 Trustee @DatumFoundation

[Masam Landmine Clearance Project - Yemen @Masam_ENG]

Based on years of clearance work, Project Masam issues a warning: indications of potential #Houthi mobilisation even without imminent #fighting - can signal new minefields in civilian areas, posing immediate risks to civilian communities across key areas of #Yemen.
Read: https://t.co/mlLRHC4o0T #MineAction

[Masam Landmine Clearance Project - Yemen @Masam_ENG]

A civilian from Al Durayhimi #Yemen said mobilisation itself became a #warning sign for residents, based on past experience. He described #landmines being laid openly in front of civilians, forming mine “belts” that cut families off from homes and farmland. "They planted the mines in front of us. We were told not to go back." He later lost his leg to a mine.

#MineAction

[Masam Landmine Clearance Project - Yemen @Masam_ENG]

A professional with #demining experience from Houthi-controlled Al Durayhimi, Hudaydah, exclusively told us mine-laying intensified during #Houthi mobilisation, even when movements appeared aimed at regrouping or testing responses. “Every time tensions rose,” he said, “the planting of #landmines was intensified.”

#MineAction #Yemen

[Elsa Buchanan @ElsaABuchanan]

After speaking with civilians and deminers from #Houthi-controlled #Yemen, one thing stayed with me: mobilisation itself has become a warning sign. Past movements were followed by #landmines and #IEDs in civilian spaces. Hearing similar signals again is worrying right now.

[Masam Landmine Clearance Project - Yemen @Masam_ENG]

Exclusive investigation: Unverified reports of #Houthi mobilisation across parts of #Yemen are prompting concern, based on patterns documented during earlier phases of the #conflict. The reason? Fears of new minefields in civilian areas.
Read our report: https://t.co/ZtN4Wooevs

[Elsa Buchanan @ElsaABuchanan]

Honoured to be selected as an Editors’ Pick for @LifeFramer's November Cities photo competition. The image was recognised for its "powerful composition" and its ability to reveal the scale of loss, endurance, and everyday life amid #conflict. #DocumentaryPhotography #Yemen

[Elsa Buchanan @ElsaABuchanan]

#Landmines in #Yemen have poisoned soil, cut off farmland, and disrupted fragile ecosystems. As part of my work with @Masam_ENG, I look at how explosive contamination is reshaping the #environment, and the long, complex effort to restore it.
Read here: https://t.co/jNriKcZVyl

[Elsa Buchanan @ElsaABuchanan]

Having seen these effects first-hand in #Yemen, I can say the environmental toll of landmines is profound (poisoned soil, abandoned fields, and ecosystems that may take generations to recover).
An underreported cost of #war.

#Environment #UnderreportedStories #landmines

[Masam Landmine Clearance Project - Yemen @Masam_ENG]

Long after #fighting stops, explosives and mines leak toxic chemicals into soil and groundwater. These poisons seep into crops, contaminate drinking #water, and disrupt fragile ecosystems, leaving invisible wounds that persist for generations.

Read more: https://t.co/NUR4Q59ykK

#EnvironmentInWar #WarAndEnvironment

[Masam Landmine Clearance Project - Yemen @Masam_ENG]

Long after #fighting stops, explosives and mines leak toxic chemicals into soil and groundwater. These poisons seep into crops, contaminate drinking #water, and disrupt fragile ecosystems, leaving invisible wounds that persist for generations.

Read more: https://t.co/NUR4Q59ykK

#EnvironmentInWar #WarAndEnvironment

[Elsa Buchanan @ElsaABuchanan]

Working alongside @Masam_ENG across Yemen for the past (almost) five years, I’ve seen how awareness builds trust. Children, parents, and grandparents are learning, teaching, and protecting one another - this quiet, steady progress deserves recognition.

#Yemen #MINEACTION

[Masam Landmine Clearance Project - Yemen @Masam_ENG]

Years of explosive ordnance risk education #EORE are rebuilding trust across #Yemen. In a country long divided and wary, more and more civilians are now reporting and handing over explosive #war remnants instead of hiding or selling them in a powerful sign of growing confidence and lasting safety.

https://t.co/UZOfQx5m5i #MineAction

[Elsa Buchanan @ElsaABuchanan]

I’ve just entered The #IndependentPhotographer @indep_photo competition with three images from #Yemen: The Vendor of Summer, Alaa and his Pigeon and The Face Painter.
Stories of resilience, colour, and quiet endurance.

You can see my portfolio here:
📸 https://t.co/gqFtY5FtVP

[Masam Landmine Clearance Project - Yemen @Masam_ENG]

Stay informed. Stay connected. Follow Project Masam on @Medium for updates on our work in #Yemen, insights into the challenges of #landmine clearance, and stories from the resilient communities we serve.

🔗 https://t.co/tQlB4s69cB

#MineAction

[Elsa Buchanan @ElsaABuchanan]

Really enjoyed being a guest speaker at @cityjournalism today, talking about #photojournalism and the realities of working in the field. Some brilliant questions and thoughtful discussions about my work for @Masam_ENG (and career so far!).

#VisualStorytelling #Journalism

[Elsa Buchanan @ElsaABuchanan]

On #WorldPressFreedomDay, a reminder: #journalists need protection and access - especially in #conflict zones where silence kills. In #Yemen, I saw how silence let atrocities go unseen.
We must defend those who risk everything to tell the truth. @Masam_ENG

[Masam Landmine Clearance Project - Yemen @Masam_ENG]

“In #Yemen, where landmines still claim lives daily, #journalists risk their own to expose the truth. Their stories bring global attention to a hidden #war. Protecting them is vital to protecting humanity.” – Ousama Algosaibi @AlgosaibiOusamai, Project Masam MD.

#Yemen #MineAction #WorldPressFreedomDay

[Masam Landmine Clearance Project - Yemen @Masam_ENG]

On #WorldPressFreedomDay, Project Masam honours the brave #journalists working in #conflict zones -including #Yemen, where #landmines threaten lives and telling the truth can cost your own. Their courage keeps the world informed about landmine-affected communities.
Read more: https://t.co/muzgryeQyT

#MineAction

[Masam Landmine Clearance Project - Yemen @Masam_ENG]

With a total charge of 37 kilogramme, each super-charged #IED blast would result in disfigurement of the human body, and be fatal to humans located within 15 metres from the device.

Read more ➡️ https://t.co/18MEMeTLEl #MineAction #SaveLives

[Masam Landmine Clearance Project - Yemen @Masam_ENG]

The six high-explosive blast IEDs found in Habeqwa village (Taiz region) are typical of standardised #IEDs being mass-produced, employed and concealed under floor tiles in schools and houses by #Houthi forces (#AnsarAllah) on the west coast of #Yemen.

#MineAction

[Masam Landmine Clearance Project - Yemen @Masam_ENG]

Project Masam has cleared six powerful 40kg+ improvised explosive devices #IEDs left behind by #Houthis militias after civilians in #Yemen’s Taiz region this month discovered and reported the presence of large #bombs in an agricultural area, averting a major tragedy.

#MineAction

[Elsa Buchanan @ElsaABuchanan]

Silencing #Journalists silences our rights.

#PressFreedom #EndImpunity #ProtectJournalists

[Masam Landmine Clearance Project - Yemen @Masam_ENG]

Project Masam supports the #rights of #journalists and works alongside them as we continue to raise awareness of the devastating effects #landmines have on #civilians.

#PressFreedom #EndImpunity

[Masam Landmine Clearance Project - Yemen @Masam_ENG]

#Journalism has become one of the most dangerous professions in #Yemen, with the country being ranked as the 3rd most dangerous for #journalists in the world. #Yemeni journalists have been detained, killed, and targeted for reporting on the #landmine contamination and #humanitarian crisis that impacts the country.

[Masam Landmine Clearance Project - Yemen @Masam_ENG]

On November 2, the @UN commemorated the International Day to End Impunity for #Crimes Against #Journalists. The safety of journalists is fundamental and legally protected by international #humanitarian law, especially in #conflict zones.