Bermuda's efforts on behalf of Bosnian/Croatian refugees is being given world-wide coverage in The Medjugorje Star, a monthly newsletter that is distributed on every continent.

The next issue will carry an article based on RG Magazine's account of David Skinner's trip to Bosnia last Easter.

It describes how the Royal Gazette photographer spent his annual vacation following one of Bermuda's containers to its destination, "to see how the aid donated by Bermudians got to the refugees.'' Now, as the people of Bosnia brace themselves for what they expect to be the worst winter of the war so far, Bermuda is again stepping in to help.

Mrs. Lucy Willitts, speaking on behalf of the Medjugorge Peace Plan Group and St. Patrick's Church, says that they will be sending off the seventh container next month, so that it will arrive in Bosnia in time for Christmas.

The container will, once again, be placed outside Lindo's Market in Devonshire, beginning Tuesday, November 1.

Mr. Skinner emphasises that, as a result of his trip to Bosnia, he can confirm that Bermuda's containers do -- unlike some others -- reach their intended destination.

"Local people should know that the church people who arrange for the distribution of this aid are completely trustworthy and they do see that it gets to the people who need it most.'' Commenting on Bermuda's efforts, Mr. Skinner says that even when he was in Bosnia in April, a doctor at the hospital he visited in Mostar was expressing concern about dwindling supplies from the outside world.

"He said that the war had been waging for so long it was no longer a `hot' news item, so people were tending to forget the terrible suffering still going on. He made the point that if their hospital was so short of basic supplies, such as bandages, then the food situation was obviously just as bad.'' Mr. Skinner says that what makes this particular war so different from others is that it is not a war of army against army, but of armies against innocent women and children.

"I visited this huge hospital in Mostar where the top three floors were children's wards and you couldn't help feeling that when the Serbs aimed their bombs at that section, they knew exactly what they were doing. Hospitals, schools and churches are always the first targets because they know that's the way to hit at the morale of the people.'' Noting that the Serbian army dresses in black and marches on a flag of skull and crossbones, he compares them to modern-day pirates who pillage and kill just for the sake of it.

"They don't take prisoners. If it's a Croatian village, they bomb it, take the younger women to their rape centres and just kill the other women and children. If it's a Moslem village, they just shoot until no one is left standing.'' Admitting that he has been deeply, and permanently, affected by his visit to Bosnia, the father of two small daughters says the idea of following one of the containers to Bosnia came as he watched a particularly harrowing item on TV about a four-year old girl whose shrapnel-filled leg had to be amputated without any anaesthetic.

"It was bitterly cold at night, even in April, when I was there,'' recalls Mr. Skinner. "I know that these people have no heating or cooking oil. For instance, one woman I met there told me that before the war she had quite a good collection of artwork. Last winter, she had to burn it to keep her children warm.'' Says Mrs. Willitts, "We shall be `open for business' from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

and shall be there until the container is filled. This time, we are collecting food only,'' she stresses, adding, "although, I did get an offer of 600 pairs of socks and I said `yes' to that because it's very important to try and keep Bosnians facing worst winter of war The urgent need, however, is for non-perishable food, preferably easily accessible (tin-openers are now a difficult-to-obtain luxury in that area), with flip-top cans or items such as ham and corned beef with key-openers.

"But,'' says Mrs. Willitts, "I think they would find a way to open any can -- even if they have to bang it against a rock!'' Once again, Bermuda's wholesalers and retailers are responding very generously to this year's appeal.

Mrs. Willitts says she would like to point out that just because the situation in Bosnia is not -- at the moment, at least -- headline news, this does not mean that the plight of the people there is any less desperate.

"Quite the reverse,'' she comments, "this is shaping up to be the worst winter of all. The war has now been going on for three years and much of the infrastructure of the country has broken down. The great fear of people in Sarajevo and the surrounding areas is that, once again, the rest of the world is forgetting their terrible plight. Food is very, very scarce.'' Mrs. Willitts also has strong words for those who shrug off the situation in the former Yugoslavia, on the grounds that "there are wars everywhere''. This full-fledged war aimed at the innocent, however, shows no sign of resolution, she says.

"Serbs are still attacking medical supply convoys. We cannot just leave these people to struggle through another winter with no food.'' Mrs. Willitts says that some people have asked why she has not arranged help for Rwanda and other places of conflict.

"We did investigate sending a container there, but it is far more expensive -- partly because we don't have the contacts we have in (the former) Yugoslavia,'' she says. "We were told a container would have to go through Uganda and they were demanding a $25,000 bond. Consequently, our prayer group and parishioners decided to raise money on our own and we raised $2,500 which we have sent to a diocesan collection for Rwanda.'' Mrs. Willitts also expresses concern about Haiti.

"When I was with Mother Teresa's nuns in Calcutta (which is known as the armpit of the world) two years ago, they told me that they had found conditions there to be even worse than Calcutta. So I wrote to Food for the Poor, based in Florida and they replied that the embargo slapped on Haiti by the US made transportation of supplies virtually impossible. We have sent them money, however.'' Finally, Mrs. Willitts says that due to some criticism last year that Bermuda should be helping Bermudians, her group turned all the supplies of food and clothing left over to local families in need.

"Only 10 families showed up, and they were mostly Jamaicans. Bermudians are very proud and it takes a lot for them to openly admit that they are in need.

Eventually, we gave it all to the Salvation Army,'' she says.

The Medjugorje Peace Plan Group and St. Patrick's will be holding a fund-raiser on Sunday, October 30, to help cover costs of shipping the container. "Donations would be very welcome,'' says Mrs. Willitts.

There is an urgent need for volunteers to help with the collection and sorting of food at the container. Telephone 292-6185 if you can help out in any way.

The container will be at Lindo's from Tuesday, November 1, until it has been filled.

Photos by David Skinner BOMBED OUT -- Looking toward the Moslem side of the front line at Mostar (above) and volunteer workers load trucks with much-needed relief supplies sent from places like Bermuda (below).

PLANNING -- American and British volunteer aid workers look over a map to plot out the safest routes to get relief supplies to where they're needed most.

CASUALTIES OF WAR -- A mother sits with her eight-month-old daughter, who lost her legs in a mortar attack (above), and a bombed-out children's ward at Mostar's hospital where eight children and two nurses died (below).

MOSTAR's dreaded `sniper alley' (above), and barricades along the front line (below) at the end of the deadly street.

GAZETTE photographer David Skinner