6 - Friday, December 13, 1985 -

North Shore News

Editorial Page

News Viewpoint

Pave paradise?

orth Vancouver District council is in the midst of a classic ecological battle

park.

-—— paving paradise to put up an RV

At stake is Maplewood mud flats, 130 hectares of Jand and water which is home to dozens of species of resident and migratory

. birds. Proposed is a 263-stall temporary rec-

_ reational vehicle campground for Expo.

_ Situated along the side of the flats, the

: “park”? will not directly harm the bird sanc- tuary, but naturalists are concerned that all-

_ terrain vehicles and dogs will do irreparable

damage to the area,

West Vancouver council recently had a similar proposal for an RV park at Cypress - Provincial Park. Although concerned about ‘the environment, West Vancouver council ‘ also was worried about policing the area and controlling possible forest fire dangers that the ‘‘park”’ might cause. Despite the provin- - cial government’s blessing, West Van council stuck to ifs guns and clearly sounded its op- -. position about the project. Victoria backed down and the RV park proposal! is just a bad memory for Mayor Derrick Humphreys and company.

North Vancouver

District council can

learn 2 valuable fesson from its West Van- couver counterparts. Temporary economic gain resulting from the World’s Fair has to

be balanced by

long-term consequences

. resulting from wanton destruction of our

+ environment.

‘District council must realize that Expo is

- not forever.

Do as we say

E

ederal Tax auditor Neil Fraser lost his appeal Tuesday to get his job back after he was let go in 1982 for criticizing the

government’s policy on compulsory metrica-

‘tion. The’ Sugreme Court judges ruled that —

‘-Fraser dnd other public servants ‘‘must exer- cise caution when it comes.to. making criticisms -of-the government.” If oniy the government would exercise as much caution when making

"its policies.

‘THE VONCE OF HORTH AND WEST VANCOUVER

BUNDAY ¢ WEDNESDAY +» FRIDAY

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North Shore News, founded in 1969 as an independent suburban Newspaper and qualified under Schedule UWI, Part Ill, Paragraph Ill of the Excise Tax Act, is published each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press Lid. and distributed to every door on the North Shore Second Class Mail Registration Number 3885. Entire contents © 1985 North Shore Free Press Ltd. All rights reserved.

Member of the B.C. Press Council 56,245 (average, Wednesday

Friday & Sunday)

980-0511 &

986-1337 fi 986-1337

Marcel York i isa West Van- couver resident, who was born and raised in Czechoslovakia. The following is an excerpt Jrom an article he wrote when he was asked to recall his memories of Christmas in his homeland. But in rernember- ing childhood Christmases, York found that Christmas for him, was indeed a time to

, Jorget — until he came to

Cenada.

MY EARLIEST memory of a’ different kind of Christmas starts in 1943 in Trencin, a city of about 28,000 people jocated on the tiver Vah in the white Kar-

‘pats in Slovakia

- It was then: occupied by

the Germans who had form- ed three large garrisons and an air base.

-Day and night the city

_ Streets were ‘full of trucks, ‘troops. and_tanks,. their movement ‘making a: cons- tant rumbling sound. Uniformed people were everywhere.

The Germans were runn- ing all the local industries and since the work force contained few local people (since most men were away, fighting with the partisans), the work was done by Ger- mans and prisoners of war from Russia, Poland: and France.

In the winter of 1944, the cold weather started early and persisted with no relief. It seems to me that all bad years bring hard, cold winters, seemingly to add to the discomfort.

The house I lived in I recall was attractive and sit- uated in an acre of land ad- jacent to the city park. Our garden, once kept in beautiful and immaculate condition was no longer so, and the gate now had two

mat bt

German soldiers on guard.

The occupants had also’ changed. By this time my fa- ther had been in a German concentration camp for one year and my mother had just been sent to one. My older brother, after tonsils removed, -was taken by nuns to stay with relatives who lived in a village in the hills.

I lived in the basement of our house- /

There were a féw mat- tresses on the floor and some blankets — all of which was arranged. by the Putzflek (batman) of the Cofonel who occupied ‘the‘ house in ex- change for my doing some of his important duties, such as cleaning the bocts, sweep- ing the driveway and any other work he didn't want to

do.

Each day usually started with the sirens wailing and the sky full of silver dots — American Liberator aircraft flying in many directions, very often dropping their cargo of bombs on the near- by city of Dubnica where there were gun factories and huge arms and ammunition factories. ; ’ From my house one could see, across a little plaza, the railway station. Once a day usually in the morning, a train with red cross signs would arrive and discharge hundreds of wounded soldiers on stretchers — so many that the plaza would be filled with them.

The men were screaming and roaring with pain and many did not survive. There were very few nurses who could help very little excest a few words of comfort that help was coming.

The morning of Christmas Eve saw about a thousand ‘Russian prisoners of war transported into town by the Germans. They stood in huge formations, each man carrying a bundle of a few rags.

having his.

* civilians

They looked ‘dreadful, like skeletons covered with flesh, unshaven with large staring eyes. Many of them were

covered with dirty bandages . “over their wounds:

When they moved out heading west of the «city, many had to be dragged by their comrades. | -

When they had gone and the city streets had quietened down, a few people were

running: here and there sear-. ching for wood and food for’

the coming evening. The sirens were silent and it looked as if this day would be a quiet one.

Suddenly four trucks car- rying SS troops arrived and started to harshly direct all the people in the streets to the main square. Another group of SS men dragged four barefoot creatures from another truck. Three were and one was a French soldier as far as } could tell from the rags they were wearing.

They were taken to the fit- tle park in the centre of the

_Square where stood a Linden “tree — the national symbol

of the Slavik people. The SS

‘Men were preparing ropes - with which

they shortly hanged the four men, and put signs on their chests say- ing ‘Partisan’.

‘I noticed one of those hanged was my ex-neighbor,

\whose son was my friend.

All four died bravely shouting out words of hatred

against fascism.

When it was’ becoming dark and people were put- ting black-outs in the win- dows I went to visit the Piarists, hoping for a wash

and maybe some food before .

I helped to serve midnight mass.

With terrifying suddenness the roar of aircraft crashed in upon us as they roared at low level down the street, dropping bombs, the detonaiions moving the air.

again -

_aircraft flew iy as low,

‘first floors of the: bui

- one blast after anothe

then an ‘enormou tion which, in spli made the city as bright..as daylight. The bombs hit't refinery by the river. and sent flames sky high.

There. followed’ attack” after attack on: the streets leaving burning carts ”:and~

wounded people - endlessly =. -

screaming in agony. After.10° minutes of bombing | they

had hit the railway station, . the big prison building and

the city administration

headquarters including» the

large front gates.

Many prisoners escaped and ran away, some ending up shot by guards, thus join- ing their comrades killed by the bombs.

Later, after the chaos had ended and the situation had calmed down, | gut up from my shelter and, jumping over dead bodies and avoiding burning debris on the streets, went to the church, : ;

The church was ‘full, on this cold, unfriendly, yet ho- ly. night, and people sang carols arid prayed that this present hell on earth they were living in would come to an end.

It should not make anyone wonder at how I prefer to enjoy my Christmas here in the peaceful democracy of Canada. Those Christmases I want to forget and never want to live through again — believe me.