European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 03, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                I Page 10 the stars and stripes world wednesday february 3,1993 marines head Home with mixed feelings it George Esi Erthe associated press Mogadishu Somalia it was a bittersweet Light Home with a Jumble of memories and feelings that needed to be sorted out. As 473 . Marines headed Home monday they left Somalia with mixed emotions. Sure it was time to go. The brass said they were no longer  who would care for the somalis whom they we resent to help the soldiers who replaced them they hoped. For some what they saw was a cultural Shock just a piercing As any Bullet. The marines who departed monday were not the combat troops that breathe excitement and adventure but the behind the scenes logisticians engineers heavy equipment operators truck Drivers and electricians. They arc rarely in the headlines. Just the same their commander said they were visible to the somalis. Most were Happy to be going Home. But there was no backs lapping. No High fives. Their Joy was subdued. Afew wanted to stay. All of them like Lance Cpl. William Case 20, a heavy equipment operator from St. Martinville la.,Learned More than they could in a semester at any school. They saw the effects of famine disease civil War and lawlessness that struck Down an estimated 350,000 so Malis last year. I Learned a lot said Case who worked on improving the roads. It showed me a lot about a country like this. I just wish we could help them out a lot More get them Back on their feet. It s pretty sad to Sec people living like this. But we got to go i guess. The army s taking Over. I Hope they do the same thing we did. We helped them out As much As we  Case was so moved by the dirt poor somalis that he gave them some of his rations and water in violation of orders. I tried As much As i could he said. It. Col. Gary Holmquist 44, commander of the 1st combat engr in 1st Marine div said his marines cleared hundreds of mines and built roads during 7 a weeks in Somalia. There arc plenty of mines in the country especially along the Border said Holmquist of Benin Dpi Minn. But the main service routes for the coalition forces and what they re using have been cleared out and the roads have been  just How much Good had his marines done i be seen dramatic changes in the country the Way the people respond the Way the markets have opened up and the Way gunfire has diminished Holmquist said. A being an Engineer unit we re Here and it s very Visi ble that we can do things to help. When you push Bulldozer Down the Road and make the Road better or you get rid of some bad ordnance the people realize right away that we re doing some Good. I think we be had significant Impact. We be done quite a  Holmquist said he was leaving 115 of his marines in Somalia for a month or so. But it s time for us to go he said. I m excited right now said pfc. Todd Boodt 19, an electrician from Kalamazoo Mich. We re All looking Forward to going Back. It was a learning experience. This is my first time out in the Field. It was a great sex  America s going to be pleasant said sgt. Gregory Terry 29, of Orlando Fla. But i d like to stay As Long As i can until the Job is done. I Don t think it s quite done yet. They re still having these warlords fighting. I think we can stick around until we get them All arrested and put away. Then these people can Start living nor Mal  . Marine Jeff Johnson of Trinity Texas who sprained his ankle while playing volleyball moves slowly toward the customs Hall at Mogadishu Airport monday. Canada studies refugee status in sex Bias cases by the new York times Toronto Canada will consider granting refugee status to women who arc persecuted because of their sex. In connection with what is seen Here Asa landmark change in Canada s immigration rules the government said last wee that it had Given permission for a saudi woman to remain in Canada after she said she would be in grave danger if she returned to saudi Arabia because of her views on the status of women there. The woman told immigration official that she had tried to go without a veil in saudi Arabia to travel alone and to pursue University education in a Field of her Choice but was threatened with punish ment if she persisted her attorney said. The woman s name has not been published. Her attorney asked that she not be identified because of fears of reprisal against her parents in saudi Arabia. A spokesman for the saudi embassy in Ottawa said he did not think it was dangerous for the woman to live in saudi Arabia adding that not All saudi women Wear veils. The woman did not respond to a re quest for an interview. But she told the Canadian press that she was excited an Happy and relieved at the decision. The immigration and refugee Board had turned Down her first request for Asylum and she has been hiding in Montreal for 21 months. The changes in refugee standards announced by Bernard Valcourt the min ister for education and immigration were also welcomed by feminists and human rights groups which have sought such action for years. Canada May be leading the world i finally realizing that women suffer violations on the basis of their sex and that the Well founded fear of those violation constitutes grounds for Asylum said Dorothy q. Thomas director of the women s rights project of human rights watch in Washington. Janice Stein a political science professor and specialist on the Middle Bast atthe University of Toronto said the implications were  if taken literally the decision could mean that any woman who leaves saudi Arabia is a potential refugee she said. De Broadbent president of the inter National Center for human rights and democratic development in Montreal called Canada s action a Clear move in the right direction adding there is no turning Back on the principle that our refugee policy must recognize the full Equality of men and  kazakh president seeks closer ties in nato visit Brussels Belgium a Kazakhstan president Nur Sultan a. Naz Abayev met monday with the nato Al lies the first head of state of a Central asian Republic to visit the Western Mili tary Alliance. Quite recently this would have been unimaginable said Nazar Bayev whose nation was formerly part of the soviet Union it is Clear evidence of the pro found changes that have taken place inthe  he said in a speech to the 16-Nationnorth Atlantic treaty organization that Kazakhstan wanted to strengthen peace and stability in Asia through a special conference of nations in the Region. He expressed concern about Domina Tion by a single military political Alliance. It has the potential to create the pc req i Sites for some states to dictate to others he said. He called for closer economic ties among the former soviet republics. It is no secret that the roots of Al conflicts and wars lie in economics and truly preventive diplomacy must be aimed primarily at eliminating the eco nomic causes of conflict and War he said. He also said the Central asian republics were not Basing their ties with other countries on religion. But they were developing relations with Muslim countries. This is vital to muslims in our Region from the Point of View of spiritual Contact. And in terms of potential advantages accruing from links with the Rich coun tries in the islamic world he said. Kazakhs make up about 40 percent of the Republic s population and Are mostly Muslim ethnic russians make up about37 percent and there Are ukrainian and German minorities. Kazakhstan belongs to the Alliance North Atlantic cooperation Council which was set up More than a year ago touring the group s former adversaries in Eastern Europe closer. As part of that Nazar Bayev asked Fornato s help in training officers for the country s new armed forces and said hews interested in efforts to convert de sense industries to civilian uses. Cracks found in nuke sub Ori Ocean floor off Norway Moscow a russian naval experts have found two cracks in the Hull of a soviet nuclear submarine sit Ting on the Ocean floor off Norway s coast but insist it is not leaking Radia Tion a news Agency reported monday. The Navy also believes the submarine Koms molets can be safeguarded from radiation leaks without a costly risky operation to retrieve it said Val Entin Yashenko head of the depart ment for submarine use. The submarine is resting in about4,900 feet of water in the Barents sea. It caught fire and Sank about 310miles North of Norway in 1989, killing 42 of the 69 sailors aboard. Since then norwegian officials and activists have labelled the sunken ves Sel As a potential threat to the environment and the country s important fishing Industry. Norwegian experts said the think the reactor and two nuclear Ippe torpedoes aboard contain 28 pounds of deadly plutonium. Russian scientists and military experts travelled to the area last week to examine the submarine and Waters around it. They planned to Check for changes in the Hull which could help determine what to do with the submarine. The experts were members of a Spe Cial panel set up to identify and Dis pose of soviet nuclear and chemical weapons lost or dumped at sea. The Koms molets is their top priority. The itar Tass news Agency did not say when Yashenko s remarks were made. It quoted him As saying that there Are two cracks in the Hull of the sub Marine but that experts found no change in the level of radiation in the water from the last inspection in 1991. Even if there is a leak Yashenko said russian naval scientists insist it would pose no serious threat of contamination. He did not elaborate