A BID to raise awareness of violence caused by explosives has become a fully-fledged campaigning organisation after its launch at Westminster earlier this year.
The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Explosive Threats established Revive in February to highlight its inquiry into helping victims of explosive violence.
It has now set up the Revive Campaign as a not-for-profit organisation to undertake research, fundraising and activity management.
Revive – which stands for Reduce Explosive Violence, Increase Victim Empowerment – will work in partnership with leading UK charities, including Action on Armed Violence, Emergency UK and the International Refugee Trust, aiming to highlight the individuals and organisations providing help and support to victims of explosive violence.
Roger Mullin, former SNP MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath and former chairman of the APPG is Revive Campaign’s first chairman.
Speaking at the launch in the House of Lords yesterday, he said: “In my time as the chairman of the APPG on Explosive Weapons in the previous Parliament, I saw for myself the horrific impact of explosive violence.
“At the Erbil trauma hospital in Kurdistan, run by medical charity Emergency UK, I met not just the victims, but also the incredible medical staff who were doing their utmost to look after people whose lives had been shattered. Revive will ensure that their work gets the recognition it deserves.”
Mullin was the first parliamentarian to enter the city of Mosul in northern Iraq during the battle between the Iraqi forces and Daesh in early 2017. When hostilities had ceased, around a million improvised explosive devices were left behind.
He added: “It brings home the huge challenge of trying to make people safe in the aftermath of conflict.”
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