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"Blue Beret"
....Saturday, we find our Blue Beret getting up early. He climbs into his refrigerated truck and leaves the camp. Destination........Lebanon!
On arrival at the Alpha gate, he clears the Israeli computer check and proceeds through the M.P. gate to the Bravo gate. There, he runs into a friend of his. George is one of the Syrian Liaison Officers. The job of these guys is to assist the U.N. at all the border crossings into Syria. The Blue Beret had met George on one of the runs to the Lebanese border an few weeks earlier. George needs a ride to Damascus and as B.B. was going there anyway, he was happy to oblige his friend. On the way, they talked about the run into Lebanon that B.B. was embarking on. Across the western world, Lebanon has an aura of fear and terrorism that is difficult for B.B. to avoid carrying with him this day. George assures him that where he was going was just like any other place in Syria. With that info, and George at his drop off point, B.B. drove to his pickup point outside Damascus and waits for his guide on this overt U.N. mission.
Arriving early, B.B. reads a book while waiting for Wahib. Wahib is the Syrian contractor that arranges and purchases the rations for Camp Faouar and the various kitchens for the U.N. around the Area Of Separation on the Syrian side. After a brief introduction upon Wahib's arrival, B.B. heads down the highway towards Lebanon, using Beirut road signs as a bearing. Conversation is limited to hand gestures and yelling in the truck as the two travel along their way. The truck, a 1991 Polish built Star, is very noisy. It's cab is built over the engine and as the engine heats up, so does the cab. As they crested one of the longest hills, the temperature gauge shows over 95 degrees.
It is not too long before the truck arrives at the Lebanese border. Wahib motions for the truck to pull over at 2 or 3 places and he goes into the offices made out of the ever abundant lava rock and limestone, with various pieces of paperwork. Finally he motions for them to continue down the highway. You can tell when you are in Lebanon almost immediately.
The driving in this new country on the Blue Beret's tour is profoundly more aggressive. If you show the slightest bit of under confidence, the Lebanese use it to cut you off, cut in front or just scare the crap out of you as they come toward you in your lane and force you to pull over. Also, as you drive along you notice hundreds of bombed out cars littering the side of the road. B.B. stays in the middle of his lane and just carries a big grin as he drives, masking the wave of nervousness he isn't about to show. They arrive at a large city, as yet unnamed by B.B., and attempts to follow Wahibs gestures as he directs the way to their stop. The streets are narrow, the traffic fast, the day hot and muggy, but the Blue Beret drives on undaunted by the oppressing factors and arrives at the location unscathed.
As the truck is being loaded, B.B. takes the time to read and drink water. In barely 20 minutes the truck is loaded and Wahib, acting as conductor, ushers them on their way. There is one thing about Lebanon that is important to know. Lebanon is a black market country. Everything that is available in the middle east is for sale here, but cheap. There is a lot of money in Lebanon and you can see it everywhere. Huge billboards like you see in Canada are everywhere, selling everything imaginable.
The trip back to the border is a little easier as B.B. is now driving with the same aggressiveness that everyone else has. All at once the Blue Beret notices a young boy pointing a hand gun at him. Instant terror fills B.B.'s soul. Should he speed up? Run the kid over? Jump out or just duck? These thoughts are slamming around in his head, yet he does the right and logical thing; he waves...
The kid has a huge grin as he raises his bright fluorescent water pistol and waves back. The Blue Beret at that moment decides to get more sleep before he comes on this run again on Monday. They arrive back at the border and after showing more paperwork and offering food and fruit as "incentives" to the Lebanese border guards, they are allowed to pass through to the Liaison Officer Waiting Room. Here, inside Syria, the U.N. has to get its cargo cleared again by Syrian customs. That is why the Liaison Officer is picked up by another driver from CANCON and brought to the border. After a 2 hour wait, during which B.B. sees huge convoys of tractor trailers bound for Jordan, Kuwait and Syria, they are free to be on their way. Wahib returns with the Liaison Officer and B.B. returns on his own.
B.B. arrives at camp Faouar and unloads the cargo without any trouble, leaving him free to return to Israel this day instead of staying at Camp Faouar as would normally be required for this run.
The next day, the Blue Beret has to be in Camp Faoaur to deliver rations to the Ausbatt dining hall. At the ration depot where he unloaded the night before, he his met by Wahib who has a van full of groceries. Also, 2 trucks from 2 Polbatt kitchens are there. Wahib divides up the rations according to what has been ordered by all four of the kitchens and again B.B.'s truck is loaded. He delivers his truck load to the Ausbatt kitchen and returns home. He is tired and hot. The days are now getting very hot and it is difficult to expend much energy.
At the Syrian Bravo gate, B.B. engages in some polite conversation with another Liaison Officer and the 2 finished cigarettes and a bottle of tepid but ultimately refreshing water.
Again, B.B. fuels his truck, knowing that tomorrow morning he will be returning to Lebanon. Saturday, Monday and Wednesday are the three days of the Lebanon trip, with the following day being used for disbursement. Friday, he will be off and Saturday will be his turn to drive the Liaison Officer to the Lebanon border to meet the ration run being driven by one of the other Canadian Blue Berets. Our Blue Beret could be any one of the 21 names of the drivers employed here at Camp Ziouani in 95 with the rank of Corporal who could do this run.
M.S.E. Operator could be a friend to most of you reading this, and it is important to note that he is not alone over here. His story is the same as all 216 Canadians serving in Camp Ziouani in 95. His story will be changed by some, but nevertheless, as he looks around him he sees more that just Canadians. He has seen Blue Berets on the heads of Americans, Austrians, Polish, Peruvians, Danish, Australians, Swiss, Chinese, Russians, Finns, British, French, Dutch, and New Zealanders. All of these people are soldiers in their respective countries who have chosen to serve the world as "Blue Berets" in the service of peace. The United Nations is now in it's 52nd year and is going strong, new countries are joining all the time and more are benefiting from the sacrifice of time and life given by those of us who wear the
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"Blue Beret"