NV woma ret ris. Friday, June 18, 1993 — North Shore News ~ 2 Red Cross worker Lyn Orstad caught in Sarajevo crossfire during May visit IN THE air, 15 minutes from a landing in Sarajevo, the captain of the American cargo plane entered the cabin and advised the pas- sengers to don flak jackets and helmets. The big plane provided an easy target in the civil war playing itself . out in the city below. By Anna Marie D’Angelo News Reporter North Vancouver resident Lyn Orstad, Red Cross emergency ser- vices coordinator for B.C. and Yukon, sat among the passengers on this flight three weeks ago. One long warning sound, said the captain, meant the plane was hit and going down on land. One. long and six short meant the plane was hit and going down in water. “That’s when ! looked at him and said, ‘And when is the bar service?’ '’ said Orstad, 39. The captain laughed. He said it was good to see people with a sense of humor ‘‘going in on this thing.” Orstad and Linda Allaine, the Ottawa-based head of the Red Cross International Services, were in Bosnia-Herzegovina May 25 to June {, They were in Sarajevo for a day. Orstad had just spent 3% months assisting refugees in the relative safety of | Montenegro Republic in the former Yugoslavia. Last year she assisted in ‘emergency hurricane relief - in Florida. “Sarajevo was like walking into hell in comparison,"’ said Orstad, The two Canadians were in Bosnia-Herzegovina to gather in- formation for a needs assessment report on victimized women and children for the external affairs department in Ottawa, The Red Cross workers manag- ed to visit three of 28 refugee cen- tres in Sarajevo. They had planed to visit 10 of the centres. A heavy hail of bullets and ‘artillery changed the plan. ‘ “We were in Sarajevo at the height of. the fighting,’ said Orstad. “The United Nations (UN) had held us back a day because they weren’t sure if it was safe. : NORTH VANCOUVER resident Lyn Orstad works as a Red for the B.C. and Yukon Division. Besides recently going to months this year in the Montenegro Republic in former Yugoslavia. “Then when they sent us in: all hell broke loose after a couple hours,’’ she said. Bosnian armed forces shelled Serbian forces in an attempt to disrupt supply lines. The Serbs returned fire in Sarajevo, said Orstad. Orstad suppressed fear for her own life and focused on being aware of what was happening around her. She describes her response as a ‘‘coping phase.” Orstad wore a heavy metal flak jacket and UN helmet the entire time in Sarajevo. Orstad and Allaine, both unarmed, travelled to refugee cen- tres in an armored vehicle. The local driver doubled as a translator. A UN worker also rode with them. “We certainly had bullets overhead, A couple of times we had to duck and run for the car,’’ she said. ' “We did see a couple of people fall, Whether or not they were hit by sniper fire, I don’t know,” said Orstad. She said the armored car could not stop because of the danger. “It was frustrating because we didn’t know what happened to those people,’’ she said. Three suspects sought in video store robbery THREE SUSPECTS are being sought by North Vancouver RCMP fol- lowing an assault and armed robbery at a Deep Cove video store on Sun- day, June 6. Two suspects entered Parkgate Video, 116-1151 Mount Seymour Parkway, at 10 p.m. The lone clerk in the store was ordered to turn off the lights and open the till. A suspect then punched him in the face. The suspects emptied the till and handcuffed the clerk to a display rack. The clerk was punched in the face again and one of the suspects produced a_ black handgun. A third suspect was seen waiting in the parking lot in a metallic blue 1988 Mustang LX with wire hubcaps. A partial view of the licence plate identified the letters “NVL.” The first suspect is described as male, possibly Oriental, 18 to 25 years old with big lips and a chubby face. He was wearing black-frame glasses and a white fMeece jacket. The second suspect who entered the store is described as a 5°8’? (173 cm) male, 16 to 18 years old, with brown eyes. He was wearing a black knit ski mask. The Ssuspect in the car is described as a 16- to 18-ycar- old male, possibly East Indian, with black hair and acne scars on his face. Anyone with information relating to this case is asked to contact Const. Peter Lea at 983-7417, HUNGARY CROATIA Aatinio Sea Red Cross emergency services coordinator Cross E Bosnia- NEWS photo Mike Wakefield mergency Services Ccordinator Herzegovina, Orstad spent 312 ROMANIA Lyn Orstad of North Vancouver : was in Bosnia-Herzegovina May 25 to June | Orstad said at one point the UN person assigned to take care of her party told them they had to leave a refugee centre immediate- ly. NEWS Graphic Joan Pederaon “This sounds very surreal, but we were dropped off at the Holi- day Inn in Sarajevo — half of which had been bombed out,’ said Orstad, ‘ She said her adjoining hotel toom had been blown out and there were bullet holes in her hotel-room window. Orstad placed a mattress against the window and slept on the floor. ‘*We basically spent the night in a hotel while mortars and shelling were happening around us,"’ said Orstad. Orstad said media reports of the fighting in Sarajevo are accurate but sanitized. . She saw dead bodies on the streets. Most buildings are blackened from fire and explo- sion. Vast makeshift’ graveyards are commonplace in the city. Orstad saw members of the three warring cthnic groups —~— Muslim, Croat and Serb — seem- ingly co-habitating peacefully at one of the refugee centres. She spoke to one woman in her early 80s whose entire family, in- cluding grandchildren, died after a direct hit to their homes during the ethnic war. Other women had seen their families killed. Most women had no idea where there husbands were, said Orstad. She said Muslim women who were sexually assaulted were hesi- tant about talking. “Tdis seen as a great shame. If you think of what it’s like in the West, even women here with rea- sonable support don't often talk about being raped. You can imag- ine whit it's like in their society,’’ said Orstad. . Orstad said children in refugee centres who appeared to be four years old, were actually seven and eight years old. ‘““What we were secing were children almost all the same size,"” she said. “They were just not growing at the rate they should because of the lack of nutrition,”’ said Orstad. Refugees asked for medicine, shoes and underwear. Sarajevo residents are trapped in the city. “It is sort of a sinking feeling when you are getting out, know- ing those people aren't,’’ she said. Funding to the International Red Cross for the former. Yugoslavia, may be sent to the Canadian Red Cross, 400 — 4710 Kingsway, Burnaby, V5H 4M2 or: the Pacific Region Red Cross of- fice, 4750 Oak St., Vancouver, V6H 2N9. Rescuers brace for busy summer Hikers urged to learn mountain trails to avoid trouble THE COORDINATOR of the North and West Vancouver Emergency Program has ing two rescue operations mountains. In an attempt to head off what rescue officials say could be 4a busy summer for focal rescue teams, Ross Peterson is urging hikers to familiarize themselves with local mountain trails. His warning came after North Shore Search and Rescue Team members were deployed to the Grouse Mountain area twice last weekend to rescue hikers. {8 Automotive 8 Classified Ads. & Crossword Cana issue da warning to hikers follow- Jast weekend on North Shore By Surj Rattan News Reporter Peterson said that on Saturday night two hikers from Quebec were attempting to find Hanes Creek on Grouse Mountain, but got lost and wound up on nearby Goat Mountain. One of the hikers, 19-year-old ga Home & Garden Mailbox 8 Paul St, Pierre Trevor Lautens fi What's Going On Kwantlen College student Marc Antoine, dropped his backpack and, in an attempt to retrieve it, fell about 250 feet (76 m) down a steep embankment and became stranded, His companion managed to notify rescue officials. But Peterson said search teams had a hard time finding the loca- tion of the stranded hiker because of dwindling light and because the hiker’s companion did not know the area well. A Labrador helicopter called in See Mountains page 8 Weather . Saturday, sunny. Highs 21°C, lows 13°C dian Publications Maii Sates Product Agreement Number 0087238