Buis, John: my RCMP United Nations peacekeeping experience (March 14, 2019)
PublicABSTRACT: Officer Buis’ time in Sector East (Croatia) was very important because it was years earlier than the other officers interviewed and thus featured many aspects absent from his fellow officer’s experience. Important elements were discussions surrounding the conduct of the Russian UN detachment whose members proved very unhelpful. Other aspects worth nothing was Buis’ working with the local youth to gain the trust of the community. The sudden surge in violence and the UN police’s subsequent evacuation was another event mentioned in the paper. 00:00-10:00 – Mr. Buis’ background in the RCMP, Ottawa orientation, mistaken belief the orientation properly prepared the officers for the Balkans, number of Canadian officers involved, flight into Croatia. 10:00-20:00 – Luxury of USD salaries in a bad economy, infusion of valuable currency into the local economy, incentive of locals to rent their homes to UN officers, arrival in Sector East, usefulness of local translators as guides, worthless local currency, shady Russian dealings with ostensibly hostile Serb militants. 20:00-30:00 – Mr. Buis’ use of sport to integrate into the local Croatian town (Ilok), distributing medical supplies out of pocket to the locals, refusal of the Russian UN contingent to help the Canadian UN officers, preference of working with the Belgian UN contingent. 30:00 – 40:00 – Size of Mr. Buis’ assigned town, destruction of local towns and visibility of the damages of war, threat of landmines being less than in Bosnia, day of the sudden evacuation due to a surge in militant violence, locals crying as the police drove out of town, Russians at the UN Base making it difficult. 40:00 – 50:00 – Aftermath of the evacuation, demoralization due to the evacuation, how the situation affected Mr. Buis’ family, local landlady saving Buis’ possessions during the evacuation and getting them returned to him, landlady’s grandchildren re-connecting with Mr. Buis over Facebook years after the mission ended, comments on the lack of literature on UN police missions in the Balkans. 50:00 – 58:27 – Buis’ strong relationship with Greater Vancouver’s Serb and Croatian communities due to his service, how his time in the Balkans helped Buis as a police officer in Canada, conclusion. Suggested Clip(s) for Archive: 13:18 – 14:40 – The UN military presence and unethical practices of the Russians.
Interviewer: Russ, Peter
An interview/narrative of John Buis' experiences in the Balkans. Interview took place on March 14, 2019.
Interviewee: Buis, John
- In Collection:
- 1 sound recording (MP3)
- 45.16667, 15.5
- 49.24966, -123.11934
- 45.22222, 19.37694
- Original sound recordings (MP3) also available.
- Canadian Military Oral History Collection
- BJ_878
- Special Collections Finding Aid: https://uvic2.coppul.archivematica.org/military-oral-history-collection
- March 14, 2019
- Digital sound recording in .mp3 format at 256 kbps. Recorded in digital format by interviewer, technical and cataloguing metadata provided by JF. Interview recorded in digital format for UVic Special Collections in 2019. Migration metadata by KD and MT.
- Rights
- This interview has been posted with the understanding that it may be used for research purposes only. Should the interviewee or their heirs have any objections to this interview being accessible on the Internet, it will be removed promptly. Contact UVic Special Collections for permission if using for other than research purposes: speccoll@uvic.ca
- DOI
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