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Aiding Refugees in Croatia & Bosnia Michael Baker , South Wales Branch In a society where sections of the public can perceive the police service quite negatively, it is interesting to see how many individual officers go out of their way to help their fellow man. Take for example the efforts of two officers from South Wales who decided to help the refugees in war torn Bosnia, this is their story.

“Are you the Sergeant looking for items for the refugees in Yugoslavia? I think I can help you with clothing.” She showed him a large room filled with clothing and said that it was old stock due for disposal. They were in possession of thousands of pounds worth of Benetton clothing. With a full lorry they set off, as part of the largest convoy of relief aid ever to leave the UK. Two days later, they arrived in Rijeka, the capital of Croatia. On the way, they saw the devastation the war had created and the instruments of war abandoned in fields. They took a day to relax, then began the work of distributing the aid. Their first call was to a refugee camp near Karlovac. Here they found hundreds of refugees with nothing but the clothes they stood in. The clothes donated by Benetton were taken into a storage facility, and a short time later the word was out. Refugees were entering the store by one door dressed in drab clothes then leaving by another door dressed in bright Benetton clothes and laughing. On board the lorry there were several boxes of medical equipment, which was taken to a maternity hospital on Pedisika Street in Sisak. They learned that this hospital had not only been bombed but had been looted by Serbian soldiers. It was here they met Dr Jasna Gobic, who was the

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I n 1993, the war in the former Yugoslavia was heating up and atrocities were reported every day. Having seen news reports about how badly refugees were being treated, Sergeant Mike Baker and Constable Sid Johns (now deceased) wanted to do something about it. They decided to link in with Rotary International who were also looking for a way to help. After meeting with representatives of Rotary, Mike and Sid decided they would travel under the Rotary umbrella, which would give their efforts an air of

only doctor giving maternity treatment in an area half the size of Wales. The officers made ten trips to the area over the next two years, and would keep Jasna supplied with medical material of all kinds, including a foetal monitor donated by Hewlett Packard. Having done their bit for the refugees, Sgt Baker and Pc Johns returned to normal duties.

authority. Their efforts reached the Superintendent of the local Division and he allowed the basement at Cardiff Central Police Station to be used as a storage area for items donated. The logistics of the trip had to be addressed as they would have to travel across Europe through France, Germany, Austria, Slovenia and on to Croatia. A 7.5 tonne lorry was provided by a large trade outlet in the city, who said, “You’re taking the lorry to a war zone. If it gets shot to pieces leave it there, it’s insured.” So that was the transport arranged, but now they needed to fuel it. Burmah Oil were very supportive and said they would give enough fuel to get the job done, but they would have to make their way to Belgium and meet up with a man called Eric Daehnens, who ran a small garage and petrol station near Ghent. Now they needed to collect some aid items to take. There was a fantastic response from people and shops in the area, so much so that when Sgt Baker was on patrol in the city area, he was stopped by the manager of a Benetton branch, who asked:

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POLICE WORLD Vol 64 No. 1, 2019

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