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Relief for Somalia is pushing Red Cross Society to the limit BY BARB JOY Oakville Beaver Staff However, the financial drain cannot compare to lives lost in the line of duty. Since 1991, 14 international Red Cross workers have died with the latest casuâ€" alty occurring last month. ing to save lives in warâ€"torn Somalia is the most extensive JA role the International Red Cross has undertaken in 125 years, according to one of its executives. John Mulvihill, Commissioner of the Ontario Division of the Canadian Red Cross Society, told members of the Oakvilleâ€"Trafalgar Rotary Club meeting at the Holiday Inn, last week, that aid to Somalia is taking a third of the organiâ€" zation‘s international budget. Apart from $11 million it received from the Canadian government through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and donations by the Canadian public, the Society hopes to raise $250 million through a recentlyâ€" launched campaign. Combining slides with an oral preâ€" sentation, Mulvihill gave a vivid porâ€" trayal of a country and its people ravâ€" aged by inner turmoil. People huddle in hovels made of twigs, cardboard, paper or whatever else they can find to keep away a stinging sun. Or they scurry to border refugee camps where they find comparative security and enough food to sustain them, thanks to Red Cross volunteers. In October, Mulvihill spent four days in Somalia on a factâ€"finding misâ€" sion to determine how effective Red Cross measures were in bringing aid to the starving people of the devastated country. It was a dangerous mission because no United Nations peaceâ€"keepâ€" ing forces were there at that time and the commissioner had to hire armed serâ€" MAURIA CLINIC OF ELECTROLYSIS Oakville Waterfront MAUREEN SCOTT an sppontment §45â€"8100 Eyebrows arched and shaped Hairline permanently contoured Facial hair removed Bikini line shaped Arms, Chest Backhair removed Expires Feb. 26/93 329 Lakeshore Rd. E. Suite 102 Over 14 years of Combined Experience (Value $21) Valid one coupon per new customer RACHEL MAILLE vice guards for protection "Somali warlords had divvied up the city of Mogadishu â€" which doesn‘t have one building undamaged â€" into different sections," he explained. "You went from one section to another at the risk of your life." Mulvihill said the Red Cross operâ€" ates three hospitals in Somalia with daily caseloads of 30 ailing civilians and warring tribe members injured in battle. Disease is so rampant that it overtaxes available medical supplies and personnel, pinpointing a real need for more resources, he said. Many Somalis die. Since 1991, when the overthrow of the government led to warring warlords scrapping among themselves for control of the country, 350,000 people have died, said Mulvihill. Red Cross workers told him they had buried 110 people one morning when he was there, down from the 300 they had buried each morning a couple of months earlier. The Red Cross (which in Muslim countries is known as The Red Crescent) also manages feeding kitchens, of which there are about 1,000 in the country, said the commisâ€" sioner. Somalis leave their hovels in _â€"_ Handâ€"tied Coil Springs [Â¥ Builtâ€"in Leg Construction Joints, Double Dowelled Corner Blocks Solid Pine Sleigh Bed * matching bedroom pieces avail. "Just _ imagine _ Ganada if it had no . government, police or . military and % %/%e E BLISHED 1977 with no internal or external trade." 4205 Fairview St., Burlington 634â€"5298 Mon.â€"Wed. 1000am-530pm Thurs-Frl 1000am-900pm ......... Family Owned Operated Since 1977 John Mulvihill . 6â€"frame styles. Loveseat, chairs ottoman avail. Full selection of Country and Traditional. Custom upholstery, wing chairs, sofas, loveseats, etc Bedroom includes: I A 4 Windsor headboard, dresser, Windsor mirror 1 night table. (Chest footboard avail.) _ _ droves, trek to the feeding station and sit for hours in the sun, patiently waitâ€" ing for a plate of rice and some drinkâ€" ing water from Red Cross reserves. One feeding kitchen shown in a slide attracted over 7,000 people, Mulvihill said. The International Red Cross also initiated a $1.5â€"million veterinarian care program. It has been vaccinating the sheep, goats and camels owned by the nomadic Somalis. The animals conâ€" stitute the country‘s economic base. It reasoned that healthy animals would provide a major cornerblock when peace came to the country. "The Red Cross has done a terrific job to date," he concluded. "It has had a major impact on Somalia." The Red Cross also operates refugee camps along the Kenyan border, harborâ€" ing about 7,000 people who find securiâ€" ty there since no fighting is allowed within them, said Mulvihill. Here, teachers who have fled the country teach refugee children and water is supâ€" plied from Red Cross water reserves. He hesitated to pinpoint any politiâ€" cal solutions to the tragedy of Somalia except to say that solutions would have to come from within the country, not imposed from without. The job of the Red Cross, with its 3,500 Somali Red Crescent volunteers aided by internaâ€" tional Red Cross volunteers from 152 countries, is to bring as much relief as possible, in any way it can, to the starvâ€" ing population. This means exploring all avenues â€" boats, planes and so on â€" by which aid can be brought into the country, he said. Mulvihill said he was often asked how Somalia came to such a pass. "Just imagine Canada if it had no government, police or military and with no internal or external trade," he said. "We‘d be in tough shape, too." Fairview St. (beside Harvey‘s) P e on % BRI P Q 1992 was our best year ever! And we‘re celebrating with this great deal! 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