European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 25, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Continued from Page 17 wire jut from the Muddy Earth like the skeletal ribs of an enormous dead animal. Of Alpha is Little More than a memory on the scarred Fulda Hills. The future of the Post is being debated by the germans. Rasdorf mayor Berthold Jost wants it converted to a museum to remind visitors of the Folly of the cold War Quot it was the frictional Point Between nato and the Warsaw pact a Jost said. Quot this is where they would have clashed and we should remember those who stood on the West Side of that Fence and held the enemy at Jost who has been mayor for 19 years said the people of Rasdorf will always have an Affinity for americans. It was the americans he said that held the soviet War machine at Bay for 40 years protecting his town of 1,750 people. He sees a museum As More than a memorial to the soldiers. It would also help spark the town s lagging Economy. But because of the expense a museum May never be established at Alpha said fut a county commissioner Fritz Kramer. The Cost of subsidizing the refugees and trying to maintain a stable Economy leaves Little room for options. Works the army sergeant likes the idea of a museum but noted that using the Post As a refugee Center also is appropriate. Quot i think if they can use it to ease someone s suffering they should Quot he said. Quot that s a lot of real estate to turn into a  regardless of what happens to the Post the loss of the Border will continue to have an effect on the people of the Border towns. Quot i miss the americans so much Quot said Gisela Budenz who runs a Small restaurant in Rasdorf the Little building with a comfortable tearoom atmosphere and Small bar was a stopping Point for busloads of american soldiers touring the Border and the people who worked the fences. She remembers the rumble of personnel carriers and tanks moving through the Rasdorf streets on the Way to and from the outpost. And she remembers the Day the tanks were  after the Border fell Quot she said Quot the streets were flooded with cars from the East. The americans slipped out quietly one Day so quietly we did t know the tanks were gone until they told us. They said they did t want to Hurt the town with an open display of leaving. We were very close the americans and the  she used to deliver cookies to the soldiers at the outpost. Now she does t go near it. Instead she concentrates on keeping her business running. To do that she has opened a bakery in Ceiba and she Hopes the americans come Back Quot these Are difficult times Quot she said. Quot we Dorf t know what will happen next. We need the americans Here to keep things Safe Quot. Sas aim deified a the sign says Quot property of the Der. Sas Dava Catoy director Jorgen Bickel tells a Man there s no available space. About 50 families from Eastern Europe and Turkey arc in one room apartments at the former army installation. Sas Dave cd of observation Post new Home to outcasts the Border Fence was once a dangerous no Man s land. Now hikers Cross at Wijus amps Jim do Moi Sas Jim dwt Elm Many Travis were left at the Border. Little of the fencing remains. Most of the signs and emblems have been taken Sas Jim Dert Elm As souvenirs. Sas Jim Der Creim american soldiers left some Graffiti. By Mark k1nkade staff writer. Sabira Bulic wants to go Back Home but there is nothing left for her Back in Bosnia and Herzegovina. So the 29-year-old Mother of three shrugs her shoulders in resignation and pulls slowly on a cigarette As she sits in a one room apartment that once was the living quarters for . Soldiers on duty at observation Post Alpha near Ceiba Germany. Close by the children play in the room that serves As bedroom living room and Kitchen for the family. As she spoke about her spacious two bedroom Home in Bihac Bosnia she looks both frightened and sad Quot How can we make this comfortable Quot she asked through an interpreter. Quot with three children no this is not  observation Post Alpha was once a Symbol for the cold War. Now it symbolizes another conflict a Between those who have and those who Don t. When the War in Bosnia destroyed their Home the Ulics joined a growing procession of refugees flooding Germany like the others the Ulics came to Germany looking for a Home and work. The German government subsidizes Asylum seekers with a monthly subsistence payment of 1,500 do about $950 for a family with children medical care temporary housing and free schooling for children. The financial Cost of supporting the refugees is Steep Fulda official Fritz Kramer said his local government spends 2 million Marks $1.27 million a month subsidizing the refugees. That will increase by 25 percent in 1993, he said. Ultimately refugees try to obtain work permits but the process can take a year or More. In the interim refugees Are housed in temporary facilities like observation Post Alpha a fac elites once used by american 61s dec buy Rasdorf mayor Berthold Jost wants a museum built. Forces and turned Back to the German government Kramer  Bulic family shares the building with refugees from Bosnia Morocco Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. For most observation Post Alpha is just one of several stops on their journey. Quot we went to Hoe Helm first for three months Quot Bulic said. Quot i wanted to move to Offenbach or Frankfurt but they sent us  the bathroom is communal and All cooking is done in the rooms on hot plates. Jorgen Bicker the facility manager said Basic furniture like cupboards refrigerators Beds and hot plates Are provided. Occupants scavenge other items in nearby Rasdorf Weimer and Fulda. Single men share a Large room each has a bed and a storage wardrobe hut the occupants must to vigilant or they can lose their spot Bickel said through an interpreter that those who leave for More than a Day Are probably working As cheap a and illegal a labourers for germans in the nearby towns. Even though Many of the refugees including Amin Bulic Sas Davo Casoy Sabira Bulic with son Amin wishes she could return to Bosnia. Who was a Mason before he fled Bosnia have professional skills they can t work legally in Germany without a work permit. Often when a refugee is gone for More than one Day Bickel said he or she does t notify the management of the facility. Consequently the bed space is turned Over to new refugees. For those who have a place to stay the next step is finding an apartment. The Ulics have looked without Success in Rasdorf and Hon feed. Now they must expand their search but transportation is available Only in the form of a school bus that takes the children to take Rasdorf and Fulda. Many of the refugees have scavenged bicycles to get around a. Some landlords according to Bickel Are taking advantage of the refugees. Because the German government subsidizes living expenses landlords raise the rents drive to observation Post Alpha and offer the quarters to the refugees. Many of the refugees Are simply worn Down by the process. Quot we would go Hack Home if the fighting would Stop Quot Sabira Bulicz said. Quot a is not Good Here. We Are not Happy. We want our Home  monday january 25, 1993 the stars and stripes 19