Galway nurse determined Bosnia will not be forgotten

Kosovo, East Timor, Chechyna..

Kosovo, East Timor, Chechyna . . . who still thinks of Bosnia? War reporting, by its very nature, can be fickle and fast-moving, and the public memory of suffering elsewhere can be very short.

However, a Galway nurse is determined that the people she has worked with will not be forgotten, long after their situation is no longer daily "news".

Patricia Curran has just returned from one of her many trips to the former Yugoslavia, as chairwoman of the Galway branch of Refugee Trust. After her first induction into voluntary work abroad, as a nurse in Mostar, she recently established links in Sarajevo.

On this particular visit, however, her work involved a "business" merger, the twinning of two media organs in her two "home" cities. No money changed hands, shares were not affected, there were no rumblings among employees. The publications will not miss an issue, and will draw on each other's expertise.

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Already, copies of the Galway Echo are being heard by readers of the Sarajevan counterpart in that capital; "heard" because both feature on cassette tape as regular bulletins for the visually impaired.

When she first put it to them, members of the Galway Lions Club jumped at the idea, and set to work on a special issue for Christmas.

Being a multi-denominational city, with a large Muslim population, the Christmas doesn't have quite the same significance there. "However, it is marked, and it is a time when people thank the fact that they are still alive, after a four-year virtual imprisonment," Ms Curran said.

Mr Firket Zuko, head of the Blind Association in Sarajevo, was also enthusiastic. His association works with the Refugee Trust, and has set up a computerised office with equipment tailored to visual impairment.

About 400 people are linked to the association. Many bear-war injuries; others are affected by congenital eye conditions.

As part of the initiative, Ms Curran also brought out 200 Walkmans for use by the association. She secured them from Philips Electrical Ireland Ltd. "It means such a lot to the recipients, but at the same time these are a proud, educated people who hate to be so dependent," she said. The donor agencies still maintain a strong presence in Sarajevo, and it will be some time before the economy recovers.

Having been given the "war tour" of the city by her contacts, she can only imagine the suffering and the depth of the psychological scars people bear. "At the same time, I am so enriched by it myself, and by people's attitudes," she said.

"There is more good will in a hell hole out there than you'll find back here in this Ireland of ours right now."