{"id":781,"date":"1996-03-30T08:12:14","date_gmt":"1996-03-30T08:12:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vicferguson.com\/?p=781"},"modified":"2012-07-14T05:22:26","modified_gmt":"2012-07-14T05:22:26","slug":"my-hq-arrc-families-bulletin-article-highlighting-the-plight-of-bosnian-children-please-read-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vicferguson.com\/?p=781","title":{"rendered":"My HQ ARRC Families Bulletin article highlighting the plight of Bosnian children. Please read on…"},"content":{"rendered":"

FRIENDSHIP EASES HURMIJA\u2019S PAINFUL BURDEN<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

by WO2(SQMS) Vic Ferguson AGC (SPS)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

When I first met Hurmija Mujic in the Kosevo hospital in Sarajevo, she was sitting in her wheelchair, her face deadened with a combination of grief, loss and boredom.<\/p>\n

Since that day in November 1995 I have forged an unusual bond with Hurmija and her family and have dedicated all of my spare time to helping her and other child victims of the war.\u00a0 I have also recruited the help of many other soldiers and their families who have listened to my plea for help.<\/p>\n

Hurmija was injured during the atrocities in Srebrenica, she avoided death – but she has good reason to envy the dead.\u00a0 Since October 1994 when a piece of shrapnel severed her spinal cord she has been paralysed from the waist down.\u00a0 She was evacuated to Sarajevo in November 1994.<\/p>\n

Unable to control her bladder, she sat in soiled bedclothes in Sarajevo\u2019s underfunded hospital for 18 months, missing her father and her two eldest brothers who were defending Srebrenica when it fell.\u00a0 They are almost certainly lying in mass graves, victims of the massacre which took place there last July.<\/p>\n

She had a completely lifeless expression, spoke only in monosyllables and never once looked me in the eye when I tried to talk to her.\u00a0 The room stank.\u00a0 That night I cried myself to sleep.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Since our depressing first meeting I have visited the hospital almost every night in an attempt to brighten up this sad little girl\u2019s life.\u00a0 On occasion, Hurmija has seemed almost to forget her burden and we have had great fun; sadly these events are few and far between and only last for a short while.<\/p>\n

By the end of December 1995 I had been handed more than DM 4,000 by individual officers and soldiers who had heard Hurmija\u2019s story and felt that they wanted to help.\u00a0 These donations were completely unsolicited.\u00a0 In January 1996 Petty Officer Phil Ball persuaded me that I should seek the support of the National press to publicise an appeal for funds to help Hurmija.\u00a0 On the 15th January the Sun Newspaper in the UK first published an appeal.\u00a0 This led to many offers of help and donations of cash, the fund raising had begun in earnest.\u00a0 The Sun article was followed up by many other articles and TV\/radio broadcasts in the international media. \u00a0By spreading the story of the child victims of the Balkans war an increased public awareness was achieved and more offers of help came flooding in together with \u00a0more donations.\u00a0 I realise that there are many people in need of help at home but in life I feel that you must help wherever you can.<\/p>\n

By mid-February Child Advocacy International, a UK-based charity, had been successful in securing a place for Hurmija in the Robert Jones & Agnes Hunt Spinal Unit in Oswestry.\u00a0 The next three weeks were full of problems to be solved.\u00a0 Transport, hotels, flights, visas specialist medical equipment and interpreters \u00a0to name but a few.<\/p>\n

Professor David Southall, a senior paediatrician from Keele University, and founder of Child Advocacy International, flew out to Bosnia personally to assist in the evacuation.\u00a0 To add to our difficulties, we were to take three more sick children and some family members from Tuzla, Mostar and Sarajevo to hospitals in Oswestry, Birmingham, London and Liverpool.\u00a0 Each child suffering from serious but differing illnesses such as heart disease, intractable epilepsy and paralysis with ages ranging from 16 months to 14 years.\u00a0 In all, we moved 17 Bosnian and Croatian nationals during the evacuation.<\/p>\n

The trip took four days of travelling, a real worry because Adnan, a 16 month old boy, was so frail we were concerned that he would not survive the trip.\u00a0 We left the Kosevo hospital in Sarajevo on Sunday 17 March 1996, just two months after the fund-raising began in earnest.\u00a0 A great achievement that would not have been possible but for the outstanding generosity of the British public.<\/p>\n

Our arrival at London Heathrow airport was covered by the international press.\u00a0 This assisted further in raising public awareness of the plight of so many helpless children in Bosnia; the innocent victims of this senseless war.\u00a0 After meeting Mr Tony Williamson, the Chairman of Lions Clubs International and talking to him about our struggle to raise funds at the airport the \u2018Lions\u2019 decided to donate a further \u00a3 25,000.\u00a0 This money will be used to evacuate a further two children, Muhamed Kovac, a 10 year old boy from Gorazde suffering from heart disease and Lejla Valjevcic, an 11 year old girl from Sarajevo who has a tracheostomy tube fitted in her throat that needs urgent attention after failed treatment \u00a0here in Sarajevo has resulted twice in respiratory arrests.\u00a0 She would die without treatment.<\/p>\n

The fund-raising and hospital visits will continue, as long as duty permits.\u00a0 This work is so important and rewarding that it is almost like a drug; you get hooked!\u00a0 My thanks go to everyone who has contributed in any way to this appeal, we would have been unable to assist these desperate children without your generosity.<\/p>\n

Anyone reading this article who feels that they can help in any way should contact:<\/p>\n

WO2(SQMS) Vic Ferguson<\/p>\n

Coalition Press Information Centre Sarajevo<\/p>\n

Holiday Inn<\/p>\n

British Forces Post Office 543<\/p>\n

Tel:\u00a0 (00387) 71 417617<\/p>\n

Fax:\u00a0 (00387) 71 417600<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Donations can be direct to:<\/p>\n

TSB England & Wales<\/p>\n

58 Station Road<\/p>\n

Crossgates<\/p>\n

LEEDS\u00a0 LS15 7YJ<\/p>\n

Account title:\u00a0 V A FERGUSON \u2018 HOPE FOR HURMIJA\u2019 APPEAL<\/p>\n

Bank Sort Code:\u00a0 771407<\/p>\n

Account Number:\u00a0 19180060<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FRIENDSHIP EASES HURMIJA\u2019S PAINFUL BURDEN\u00a0 by WO2(SQMS) Vic Ferguson AGC (SPS) When I first met Hurmija Mujic in the Kosevo hospital in Sarajevo, she was sitting in her wheelchair, her face deadened with a combination of grief, loss and boredom. Since that day in November 1995 I have forged an unusual bond with Hurmija and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vicferguson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vicferguson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vicferguson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vicferguson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vicferguson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=781"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/vicferguson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":784,"href":"https:\/\/vicferguson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781\/revisions\/784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vicferguson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vicferguson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vicferguson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}