[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 31 (Thursday, February 16, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E366-E367]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                            FRIENDS OF BOSNIA

                                 ______


                           HON. JOHN W. OLVER

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 15, 1995
  Mr. OLVER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call the attention of my 
colleagues to the efforts of the people of western Massachusetts to 
alleviate the suffering of the Bosnian people, who are the victims of a 
vicious war waged by the last Communist regime in Europe, while the 
United Nations, European Community, an even the United States 
Government has stood idly by and engaged in a disgraceful policy of 
appeasement.
  I am very proud to be a part of this community which is reaching out 
to the people of Bosnia in every way which it can. Friends of Bosnia is 
a local group which has been active 
[[Page E367]] in trying to make people aware of what has happened, to 
call for greater international action to prevent genocide in Bosnia, 
and to provide concrete help to the people in Bosnia who have been 
forced from their homes, or as in Sarajevo, have lived in constant fear 
of death at the hands of Serbian artillery and sniper fire.
  Friends of Bonsia has collected 9 tons of food, clothes, and medical 
supplies which, working with the Scottish humanitarian group Edinburgh 
Direct aid, they are attempting to deliver to Sarajevo and Bihac. These 
cities, as my colleagues may recall, are two of the so-called safe 
havens which the UN and the international community have promised--and 
failed miserably--to protect.
  This trip is anything but a vacation or a junket. Edinburgh Direct 
Aid supplies its volunteers with flack jackets and helmets and has 
suffered sniper fire during a past trip out of Sarajevo. During the 
time this group has been crossing the countryside of this bitterly 
divided area, there has remained the possibility that Serbian troops 
would not allow them entry into the ``safe havens.'' In spite of the 
danger and the uncertainties, Sharon Webb and Glenn Ruga, cofounders of 
Friends of Bonsia, are traveling with the caravan in an effort to get 
the supplies to the people who need it the most.
  Mr. Speaker, Edinburgh Direct Aid is today preparing to enter 
Sarajevo to distribute food and supplies. The 9 tons of food, clothes, 
and medical supplies from western Massachusetts will be used to meet a 
small part of the deep need for relief supplies in the safe havens. I 
am proud of the support from Friends of Bosnia. These efforts remind us 
of the best America has to offer, as well as the continuing suffering 
of the people of Bonsia. In contrast to the disgraceful dithering and 
appeasement of the international community, the efforts of the people 
of western Massachusetts give me a small measure of hope that we can 
learn from the past, and better our future.


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