Worldwide Family Activity Report - Special Issue on Former Yugoslavia
FAR002s - GP
August 1994 by The Family, Zurich, Switzerland
The Family
Making a Difference!
HEALING HEARTS IN THE WAR-TORN FORMER YUGOSLAVIA
Part 2
As our report continues, eight members from The Family are presently in Croatia, bordering the Bosnia-Herzegovina war zone, where they are engaged in relief work among the Bosnian refugees and provide personal counselling for Croatian and U.N. soldiers. Their story, as told by Joseph Eastman in excerpts from his daily log, continues here:
Present conditions in Bosnia
"Ours is a thankless job," Ray, a Canadian peacekeeper, lamented. "They ask us to help keep the peace, then tie our hands and keep on fighting."
"We wouldn't even be here if we hadn't been invited by the three warring factions," Ray told us. "The U.N. cannot send in troops unless agreed upon by all sides involve--in this case the Serbs, Croats and Muslims."
Being Bosnian doesn't mean anything in itself, since the population is made up of all three warring ethnic groups. Geographically it's "Bosnia-Herzegovina," but politically it belongs to whoever holds any given area along the road. The same goes for cities within the country--they are Croatian, Serbian or Muslim, not Bosnian.
According to Ray, there is sniper fire again in Sarajevo--every day, all day long--and it's gotten worse since weapons have become abundantly available. The city is divided, but in each sector there are pockets of resistance, and gangland warfare continues. Sometimes the objective is simply to take over and plunder another ethnic group's apartment block. Civilians have lined the streets with over-turned trams, buses or automobiles to shield themselves from sniper fire. Between some buildings they've hung carpets so that snipers have a harder time seeing their targets.
* * * *
Don is another U.N. officer. He often flies into Sarajevo on one of the two daily flights from Ancona, Italy. He told us that the Sarajevo airport is surrounded by all three factions, and all three fire on the UNHCR (U.N. High Commission for Refugees) flights when they take off and land. The U.N. has built mounds along the runways to help shield the planes, and everyone wears bulletproof vests and helmets when they board or disembark.
Don also confirmed that the civilian militias have started getting more arms. "In areas where you used to see four out of 10 civilians armed with rifles or worn-out WW2 weapons," he said, "there are now eight armed with the latest automatic machine guns. As more arms become available, tensions will mount. I can almost sense `bad news' in the air," he said. "It means more war."
We had noticed that the U.N. vehicles that come from Bosnia-Herzegovina seldom have mirrors, plastic covers on the lights, antennas or anything else that protrudes from the vehicle. When we asked Don about this, he explained that anything that can be removed is ripped off by civilians as they drive slowly through towns. Sometimes even bumpers are ripped off of vans and jeeps. People make shovels out of them. Everyone is so destitute that any intact vehicle doesn't stay that way for more than a few hours unless everything is welded to the body--including the lug nuts on the wheels!
According to Don, Sarajevo is devastated and Mostar even more so. The Muslim part of Mostar is levelled and the rest of the city is composed of rubble and empty shells. People are camped out everywhere. Mass graves for thousands of war dead in both Sarajevo and Mostar are creating very serious health problems.
Our change of plans
We had originally planned to just pass through Croatia on our way to Bosnia-Herzegovina. But after seeing the great need here in Croatia where there is relative "peace," we feel we can be more effective here than dodging shells in Bosnia.
There is also the problem of association. If we were to befriend or help people in one section of a city in Bosnia-Herzegovina, everyone else would suspect that we were taking sides. According to U.N. soldiers we have talked with, the minute you take sides--or people think you do--you gain deadly enemies. Even the simple matter of finding a place to stay for the night or park could be misconstrued as taking sides, and that could be fatal.
Meanwhile there are so many opportunities here in Croatia to help tens of thousands of Bosnian refugees--and in relatively "safe" conditions--that we have concluded this is the best place for us to work, at least for the time being.
The need here in Croatia is overwhelming and the people are so responsive to even the smallest expression of love, compassion, understanding and the Lord's answers that virtually anything we put our hands to is worthwhile and appreciated.
* * * *
We are presently dividing our time and energies between four groups: the soldiers (both U.N. and Croatian), civilians and soldiers at the nearby rehabilitation centre (most of whom have been severely injured or maimed), Bosnian refugees, and their children.
We try to make every activity--regardless of who we are with--a meaningful and memorable experience for them. The need is so vast, we are spread so thin, and our time with each individual is so short that we must make every minute count.
The U.N. and the Red Cross run enormous operations, of course, and we have sometimes felt very small indeed by comparison. We were encouraged the other day by a U.N. official who appealed to us for help saying, "You have a talent to reach people and communicate with them. This is what is really needed at this point in time. You can do something that we can't do."
Our growing work with refugee children
The Muslim refugees' greatest need is for help with their youngest children--pre-schoolers up to the age of six. Many parents suffer from severe depression or other mental and emotional problems, or they are in a sort of motivational limbo, just waiting for the war to end so they can return home and make a new start of their lives. Others try to make a little money on the side, hoping to rise above the harsh conditions at the camps. Either way, it is the young children who suffer the most.
Their older brothers and sisters attend school and get some supervision, but the little ones are being sorely neglected. Unattended and unchallenged, they play on the beach all day long with rocks and knives and get into mischief. A few days ago a little girl from one of the camps drowned, while swimming unsupervised.
Referring to the "keep-busy" type of activities that most relief organisations provide for the refugee children, the head of one such organisation confided, "That's all fine and well, but to be honest we've been doing this for years and it's almost a waste of time! What they really need is someone to encourage and take a personal interest in each of them, spend time with them and help them to get over the psychological and emotional problems they've developed during this upheaval in their lives. This is the real need, and this is something that you from The Family have shown you do quite well."
The Red Cross supervisor for refugee camps in this area was moved to the verge of tears when we offered to help with this specific need. "Thank you for coming," she said. "Please do whatever you can to help these poor children!"
We then went together to meet the children. Making friends was not too difficult, as some of the children already knew us from our campsite on the beach. Those children spread the news that we were going to organise regular activities, and before we knew it 30 eager children sat at our feet, waiting to hear more. We spent the afternoon getting to know one another, reading stories, giving an art class, playing ball games and swimming at the beach. The children loved it!
Upon meeting one mother several days later, she said, "So you're the people!"
"What do you mean?" Sara asked.
"My daughter is crazy about you!" the mother explained. "She looks through the window all day long, waiting for you to come. Then when you leave, she's so sad. All she talks about is you and the things she's done with you and the other children. She even talks about you in her sleep."
Another mother commented, "You have no idea what a great help you have already been! I've never met anyone who loves and understands children as much as you from The Family do. We're all amazed at how much the children love you and want to be with you.--Certainly that is because they feel your love."
"We are all very thankful for your help because we have so many problems ourselves that we can't care for them properly," one woman confessed.
"When our children are with you we have peace and don't worry about them. We need you here!" said yet another mother.
We are amazed at how very sweet, well-behaved and respectful these children are when they are with us. They love us and want to spend all their time with us, and we have fallen in love with them too!
They sit in rapt attention whenever we show them videos from The Family's Treasure Attic and Kiddie Viddie series. We use these videos to supplement our programmes in which we teach the children moral values, manners, etc. Again, the parents are astonished at the change they see in their children.
Our work with the children has also led to many opportunities to counsel and assist their parents.
* * * *
One very concerned and mature 12-year-old boy told us, "Thank you so much for taking care of our younger brothers and sisters. I wish I could be like you!" We hope to enlist the help of this boy and others like him to help care for the little ones after school, when we can't be there. The older ones just need to be inspired and taught how to rise to the challenge. We need their help!
Late news flash!
Reinforcements have arrived! With the addition of Ruth, Paul, and Peter--all under 21 years old--there are now 11 of us here. With their help, we have been able to expand our work at the refugee camps! We now devote most of our mornings to the refugee children. From 9:00 a.m. till noon, five days a week, we work with the kids in three collective centres in the area.
(To be continued.)
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family