To: dwlima who wrote (32772 ) 4/24/1999 2:52:00 PM From: JeanD Respond to of 122087
A link for those who want to volunteer to help settling refugees ... refugees.org DW, I had this bookmarked a few years ago, and still had it. It is from 1995, but it tells a bit about the Serbs ... amber.ucsf.edu It pales in dramatic comparison to what the Serb army has inflicted upon others, but the Serbs suffered too at the hands of Croatian soldiers at the beginning of the Bosnian war. It got virtually no attention (as did most of what happened in Bosnia). My grandmother was in a retirement home in Illinois back in 1995, and the kitchen staff were all Serbs who had been brought over by a local church group. I spoke to a mother (my age) who said that her husband, father, father-in-law and brother had all been killed during a 10 day period. She had three young children. Their deaths, amongst countless others, were documented on the internet. It saddens me to think that her children, while having to deal with the stories of how their family members died, will also have to deal with the shame of being a Serb. They were not involved in any aggressions against anyone. While this is about centuries old conflicts, it is incorrect to assume all Serbs hate muslims. I simply do not believe this is true. There are stories of soldiers who went through villages, forcing Serbs to kill their Muslim neighbors. There were those who refused, and they themselves were shot. Others risked their lives to warn or hide their Muslim neighbors. There are countless stories of inter-marriages, and villagers that were living amongst each other in absolute peace. All of this information is there for those who want to find it. I am ethnically part German. I would cringe if anyone called me a Nazi because of my ethnic background. It is Milosovic and his army that are committing these atrocities. I resist against stereotyping people based on religion or race. It is inaccurate and unfair. Look at the dramatically different views we can all have on issues within our own families. Hope no one misinterprets this as a pro-Serb stance. It certainly is not. The people I met in Illinois looked as traumatized as the people Anthony is seeing now. There are no winners here. We contacted the relief number on the link above in Philadelphia, and they indicated they were looking for people to help with English assistance and job placement skills. If anyone out there has background in those areas, please contact the closest organization to you. All the best, Jean