European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 20, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 6 a a the stars and stripes. Sunday january 20,1991 Mac. Assistance Center jumps into action to help ease jitters by Effie bati1en Niernberg Bureau Furtis i Germany the caller on the hot line was scared. She said that if her husband were killed in the persian Gulf War she know what shed do. A a in a scared too. And i done to know either a said sue Evans a Counselor who took the Call at the family assistance Center at William o. Darby Cavern in a Firth. A a a a a a a a a a -. A Quot a for her and for tens of thousands of military families in Europe the warfare in the Gulf is a personal and immediate torment. Seven out of 10 soldiers in the Nairn Borg area Are in the War zone. Even families not directly affected by the deployment of a Soldier have had to Cope with the Impact on their jobs and services. A Firnberg was one of the first military communities to organize its people in a centralized round the clock information Center to offer help. In the converted recreation Center Counselor answer the hot line and people from the finance housing transportation and personnel offices Are available to ease the bureaucratic burdens. Also on hand Are people from army Community service chaplains and More Counselor. The Center is a lightning Rod for people with questions rumours or fears. Most of. Them have logistical or administrative. Questions. They need help untangling paperwork or have hit a Stone Wall in the Maze of military regulations Quot. About a third of the people who come in Are upset a a concerned cons Ferna Tion a one Center official called it. And about one or two out of 10 Are in extreme crisis. These Are people who say they a just can to handle it a Evans explained. She said tension Levels increased sharply in the Days before the War started. Afterwards she began receiving Calls at her Home a about one every 45 minutes. Those who work at the Center share Many of the concerns of those who Call or come in. Evans husband of 21 years is a maintenance technician for the 1st army . He is a Vietnam Veteran and also saw action during the invasion of Grenada in 1983. But a this is different a she said pulling a 1960s peace Symbol from her purse. A a it a what he wore in Vietnam. I found it in my jewelry Box a Evans said she a carrying it with her while her husband is gone and while she Waits to hear whether her son who is in Basic training in the states will also be sent to the persian Gulf. A i done to understand War. I done to understand what it does to Peoples lives a she said thinking about her husband. A i had in my mind that he was a peacekeeper not a warrior.�?�. She supports her husband she said but the War made her sad. Jim Simmons a fellow Counselor said the number of Calls on the Center s hot line increased by 30 percent last week. Many of the callers still were asking for routine things �?o1 need a ladder a one said. But Sim Nons has sensed a More urgent undertone in such Calls. Many he said were really saying a please help me. In a scared. And i need to a in extreme stress people need some thing to focus on and it could be the most insignificant thing a Simmons said. A there is a Community wide fear of the unknown. Personal anxiety and Community anxiety build together in a sympathetic word can make All the difference said staff sgt. Joy Cortes who helps at the family assistance Center. She works for the 55th personnel service co and had aided a woman with an question about an identification card for her a a Quot a the woman whose husband is in saudis amps Effie Bathena i Don t understand War. 1 Don t understand what it does to people s lives. I had in my mind that my husband was a peacekeeper not a Warrior sue Evans Arabia had put her three children on a plane to the states last weekend to live with her sister in Colorado. Her 8-year-old son needed an id card so he would be covered for medical care there. A she made the decision on her own. It was a last minute thing a Cortes said. The woman told Cortes she was afraid to have the children Fly after Jan. 15 because of the possibility of terrorism Cortes said her heart goes out to people making decisions like that on their own. A i think everybody is walking on eggshells a the personnel sergeant said a and done to know where to a a they re scared a she said admitting that she a scared too. Her husband is a reservist and has volunteered for persian Gulf duty. He repairs tanks and aircraft. When he goes she will he left with two Small children and is expecting a third in a few months a a there Are no men left in my Stair Well a other than her husband Cortes said. Her neighbors borrow her husband a can you help me with this or that a or a a in a afraid to go to the dumpster a they Tell him. Cortes said her understanding of the stresses makes it easier for her to help the people who Contact the Center. A a we try to bring them up if they re Down a she said. A we. Try to leave them better than when they came in.�?�. Editors note similar information centers Are in almost every Community where soldiers have deployed to the persian Gulf. They can be reached by calling the local desert storm hot line number or the Usa eur helpful mine. Call that by dealing the local ets prefix or civilian Access number and then 111. From saudi Arabia stranded . Civilians by Ron Jensen Middle East Bureau Dhahran saudi Arabia a military flights will be made available to . Citizens stranded in Eastern saudi Arabia by the closure of commercial airports. The offer comes a Day after a . Rocket destroyed an incoming iraqi missile Over Dhahran a coastal City 200 Miles South of the kuwaiti Border. A it is a response to a demand and a demand that cannot be met by commercial nights a said a Western source familiar with the program announced saturday. The american population in the Eastern province is estimated at 6,000 to 7,000. Commercial flights were halted in the Wake of operation desert storm which kicked off with air raids in Iraq and Kuwait Early thursday and has continued non Stop. The military nights for civilians will leave from an air base in Eastern saudi Arabia. The military will guarantee a night out of danger but warns that the destination May be outside the United states. The traveler will be responsible for his or her own transportation from that Point to the final destination. The . Embassy in Bahrain also said saturday it was preparing a military Airlift for americans wishing to Nee the Gulf Region. Bahrain an Island nation off the saudi coast also is about 200 Miles South of Kuwait. About 600 americans arc in Bahrain. In the weeks immediately following the aug. 2 iraqi invasion of Kuwait the commercial airlines were unable to handle the exodus so military flights were opened to americans then. A a we re doing the same thing now As in August a the source said. So far 350 people have placed their names on a waiting list. Women and children will have priority. The flights will become available when the . Military has decided it is Safe to transport civilians. However the source said people should make their intentions known now to the consulate general a office to get on the list. Americans who want to take advantage of the flights must possess a . Passport and the required saudi arabian exit visa. The Cost May be about 50 percent More than commercial fares and although payment is not Advance travellers must sign a promissory note agreeing to reimburse the state department within 60 Days. Travellers will be allowed one piece of Check in Luggage and one piece of carry on hot line installed in . Los Angeles a a woman who has two sons serving in operation desert storm has set up a hot line for Spanish speakers with loved ones in the persian Gulf. Bertha Sanchez and other volunteers at support for latino military families talk callers through their fears provide contacts or help visitors write their relatives and friends deployed in the Middle East. A the hot line currently has just one Telephone. An additional 23 donated by the Telephone company await installation. The hot line already has fielded hundreds of Calls from hispanics seeking help and has organized support groups for parents. The military runs support centers for relatives of service members but cultural and language barriers can cause problems. Hot line volunteers said Many relatives who Only speak Spanish wont use them
