HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1994-10-26, Page 7THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 1994. PAGE 7.
Board of Health
grant story clarified
Bringing smiles to children’s faces
Jayne Marquis of Blyth, left and John White of St. Thomas are joined by their interpreter
during the Light The Way visit to Croatia. Ms Marquis says the children's faces lit up when
they saw the gifts brought to them from Canada.
Visit to Croatia brings hope Ken Pennington’s
By Janice Becker
For more than 700 children and
approximately 400 adults half a
world away, a short note or a small
donation from the residents of
Blyth have helped to bring smiles
to faces and return a little hope to
dashed spirits.
Jayne Marquis returned from
Croatia recently after spending two
weeks in the war-ravaged region, as
part of the Light the Way program.
The mission was to bring a little
hope back into the lives of Bosnian
refugees who had fled their
country, their homes and their
families to lives in communities
along the Adriatic Sea in Croatia.
"Although these people have a
decent place to live, clothes to wear
Local man travels to
Bosnia as peacekeeper
Peaceful effort
Corp. Kevin McDougall,
formerly of Blyth, will be
leaving soon on a six-month
tour as a peacekeeper in
Bosnia.
By Janice Becker
For many residents of the area,
the conflict in the country which
was once Yugoslavia, may be just
another far off war seen on the
nightly news, but for Corporal
Kevin McDougall it will soon be an
experience which filled six months
of his life.
Corp. McDougall has been a
member of the Canadian Armed
Forces for 11 years, serving with
the Royal Canadian Dragoons
Armed Regiment out of CFB Pette-
wawa. On Oct. 28, he will join 800
other Canadians on a UN peace
keeping mission, Op. Cavalier, in
Viscoko, Bosnia, his first such tour.
Viscoko is located very near the
20 km. exclusion zone set up by the
UN around Sarajevo so the locale is
"relatively calm," says Corp.
McDougall, "but there is always
the possibility of a flare up."
and are reasonably safe from the
ongoing conflict, they have lost
their dignity. They have lost
everything. With no home, no
money and no job, they see no way
out. They feel as though the rest of
the world has forgotten them," she
says.
"The greatest feeling was to see
the sparkle in the children's eyes
when they were given the smallest
gift. One mother told me it was the
first time her child had smiled in
three years, since they first arrived
in Croatia."
"Even the adults craved attention.
Though they had very little to give,
they would always invite us in for
coffee and cake. They needed some
positive feedback. They needed
As part of the transportation
corps, Corp. McDougall says much
of his preparatory training, which
began in mid July, dealt with the
upgrading of all members for driv
ing different types of vehicles and
refamiliarizing themselves with
personnel weapons.
"Peacekeeping training is entirely
different from the type we normally
receive. We must learn peacekeep
ing methods and participate in
exercises which are geared to the
situation we will face in Bosnia,"
he says.
"I don't expect to be confronted
with very many one-on-one conflict
resolution situations, but if the case
arises, we are trained to deal with
the situation while a trained liaison
officer is sought to handle the
issue."
The training also included a his
tory lesson on the long running
feud between the ethnic groups in
the country.
"Battles have been going on in
the region since before 30 B.C. and
it was the leadership of Tito, during
the early part of this century, which
brought the regions together to
form Yugoslavia. With his death,
the presidency rotated amongst the
provinces and that is where the
conflicts began again," says Corp.
McDougall.
"For some lime, there were at
least four groups fighting each
other, the Bosnian Serbs, Croats,
Muslims and the pillagers who just
stole and destroyed. The Croats and
Muslims have now formed a type
of federation."
"This is an experience one can
never be really prepared for," says
Corp. McDougall, "it is one where
you must deal with the situations as
they arise. Seeing their life will be
the experience."
Corp. Kevin McDougall is the
son of Thelma Johnston and Gor
don McDougall, both of Blyth.
someone to believe in tnem, says
Ms Marquis.
"I heard many heart-wrenching
stories while I was there. One
soldier told how he had to clean up
a hospital after a massacre of his
own people. Families would hide in
basements for days, afraid to get
food or go to the washroom
because those that left didn't always
return."
"The people of Blyth should
know that every contribution to the
mission was very worthwhile. It
meant a great deal to the people of
Croatia," says Ms Marquis.
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A typographical error in last
week's story on the Board of
Health accepting a grant to promote
anit-smoking in the county changed
the meaning of a sentence.
The sentence should have read
"But even at county council where
councillors have no power to over
turn Board of Health decisions,
there were more questions."
We regret the error and apologize
for any confusion it may have
caused.
four Message Comes Across
D.J. Service
"Music for all
occasions”
Call
(519) 887-6069
Graduation
Jim Howson is proud to
announce that his wife,
Esther C. Howson grad
uated on May 7, 1994 with a
Master of Arts degree In
Education, from Central
Michigan University. She is
also a graduate of the
University of Western
Ontario and the Owen
Sound General & Marine
Hospital School of Nursing.
Esther is presently teaching
for Conestoga College in
the Practical Nursing
Program, Wingham Campus
and has established her
own Mediation Service.