She hates the war, loves the troops

Published 2:00 pm Thursday, March 20, 2003

When Silvia Germek says she plans to support the troops in Iraq, she has more than moral support in mind.

Germek, who moved to the island from Boulder, Colo., last year with her three children, wants to collect and ship supplies to the soldiers living in primitive camp conditions while they await orders.

Among those waiting is her son, Richard McCoo.

“Like many locals, I’m very much opposed to this war,” Germek said. “I have a son who is a pre-med student and Marines reservist who was activated and is en route to Kuwait at the moment.

“My beliefs and principles are challenged, but I see my anti-war protests and support of troops who are really our children as not conflicting… I see them very much as victims in this as much as the Iraqi people will be, and they all deserve our support.”

McCoo will be stationed with the largest encampment, the 50,000 United States troops at Camp Coyote on the Iraq-Kuwait border. The soldiers are housed in tents in 120-degree heat, and receive only basic food, she said.

Without store access, items ranging from sunscreen to the baby wipes that are the stand-in for showers are in short supply.

Military families report getting requests for everything from American magazines and newspapers, to CD players, disposable cameras, canned ravioli, tampons and duct tape.

“People are still busy protesting, but as the imminent reality of war sets in, many may feel compelled to get involved with hands-on help,” Germek said. “It would be perfect to launch this locally.”

Germek discovered that organizing a donations drive was an antidote for her own anxiety during the Balkan conflict of the 1990s.

Born in the former Yugoslavia and trained as a linguist in international arbitration, Germek found it “seemed like a natural thing to do when the need arose.”

Germek grew up in Germany, and lived in Europe until coming to the States in 1979.

“I was one of those ethnicities always being pushed out of Yugoslavia,” she said. “I said ‘Hey, it’s my old country being blown up.’”

Germek started what she thought would be a localized drive in the Texas town where she lived.

But an appeal in the community newspaper raised more than $200,000 for supplies, which she delivered to Bosnia in person.

“A non-profit offered to fly the stuff in,” Germek said. “I flew in on the second shipment of 200 boxes. Within two weeks of making the appeal, I was on a plane with the Croatian ambassador and Sen. (Joseph) Biden’s staff.”

Germek formed a non-profit humanitarian foundation, Croatia Relief Center, which, over five years of war, sent millions of dollars in supplies to Bosnia and Croatia.

In late 1992, she was contacted by the civilian branch of the United Nations to help place civilian war victims in U.S. hospitals.

“I approached local (Texas) hospitals,” Germek said. “I literally chased doctors down the hallways. They all said ‘yes.’”

Relief work

Germek worked with the State Department through Andrews Air Force base to bring the first group of refugees – including two children – to the United States for surgery.

“I was basically only an individual,” Germek said. “I worked with the non-profits. I went to churches and said ‘these people are coming and they will need a place to stay, they will need food.’ I was the free agent who wheeled and dealed.”

In 1994, Germek and her three children – then ages 3, 5 and 12 – moved to Bosnia, where she ran a relief organization and distributed funds to the refugee population.

The direct distribution made an end-run around corrupt bank officials who were diverting the supplies, she says.

Leaving her children with a “refugee grandma” in a mountain village well outside the combat zone, Germek delivered goods with mortar shells whistling over her supply truck.

She witnessed homes under fire, and visited hospitals in Croatia and Sarajevo so full of casualties that patients were crammed two to a bed or left on the floor waiting treatment from staff with virtually no medical supplies left.

She penetrated areas the UN deemed too dangerous, contacting local militia and convincing them to escort her past mines and snipers.

Germek says that it is her experience of the Balkan conflict that drives her both to oppose war in Iraq and to lend a hand to the troops who may fight.

“It is those memories of the tremendous civilian suffering I witnessed in Bosnia and Croatia, along with concerns for safety of our troops now, which make me question the push for military attack,” Germek said. “Doing something constructive to support the kids is therapy I very much need at this time – to not sit around helplessly and watch the madness.

“It’s therapy many other local people will find helpful, too, I think.”

——

Silvia Germek is looking for help supporting United States troops in the Middle East with goods to make their service more comfortable.

Individual donations are sought, and Bainbridge businesses, churches, and school classrooms are invited to set up donation boxes to collect supplies for US troops and to help defray shipping charges. For more information, or to make a donation, call 842-4782 or email sgermek@qwest.net.