South African Ops Medic (1988-1989)

Including

`The Nine Days of War'

SET THREE: "LEAD UP TO HAND OVER"

OW31, OW32, OW33: These are the pictures that I took when I had everyone's cameras with me. After the 10th of April, the United Nations, they told the enemy that they can have a free flight back into their country, if they just report to these United nations posts. Only one person ever gave himself up because he was wounded, and the photo was taken of him in the local newspapers sitting in front of this exact tree. Only one person gave up, and that was purely because he was wounded, and he couldn't get back. He had no use where he was going.

I was killing myself because the United Nations blokes - they were like a load of moffies [poufs]- gays. It was horrendous. Just one shot was fired, I think about ten miles up the road, and they all jumped into their UN trucks and fled back to Ondangwa. We laughed ourselves to death about that one. We had a great old laugh.

OW23 [Cameras] The military were bound below the 10 degree line and I was running around more in civilian clothing, and you had all the reporters there with all their cameras. They weren't bothered with mine. In fact, in the frontier where you have the United Nations, all the Captains and Kolonels in the army all threw me their cameras; `Go and take a few pictures for me.' I was running around with several cameras around my neck, looking like a reporter, and I was taking photos of everything.

OW26: This is right on the border of sector 10

OW27, 0W28, OW29, OW30: Koevoet would go outside with their 50 brownings and - brownings just outside the camp, on the other side of the mine field and they would fire practise shots to get their aiming in right, and these reporters - they loved it. There was this one guy with a small dog on a long leash, and he almost ran and dragged the dog behind him because he wanted to get a close up of the shooting of the 5 * browning outside.

That's when we went out with Koevoet. I was with them a few days. That's the truck that we were with most of the time.


Published: 20 July 2003.

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