Newsweek Letter

Article/Opinion “Collaborators and Heroes” (Newsweek October 2, 2000) by Andrew Nagorski is informative and timely at the beginning of the new Millenium. Once again we are faced with a need to improve significantly the protection of civilians during conflicts. My grandfather, Ignjat Lang was the leader of the jewish community in Vinkovci (Croatia) up to the beginning of WWII. Young jew from this community assasinated a Nazi leader in Switzerland. To retaliate, prior to occupation Nazis informed my grandfather that they will kill 100 jews if he leaves. Together with my grandmother he stayed. They were taken to concentration camp Jasenovac and killed in a terrible way. His name is unknown because Yad Vashem policy of respect and responsibility for every victim and every righteous was not followed in my country. My father was in a resistance movement. With such background I studied medicine and devoted my work integrating public health and human rights. Joinning Dr Jonathan Mann at WHO I participated in formulating Human Rights aspects of AIDS policy and later became first fellow of the Francois Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard. Since 1988, I devoted all of my time and work, risking life throughout Balkans for people of all nationalities and religions trying to prevent conflict and later saving lives. Based on this work and experrience I formulated Humanitarian Health proposals like: Hate Watch, Right to Home, Global Hospital, Prisoners of war and refugees camps monitoring, Good (Righteous) People, Red Cross Forum and other (www.srce.hr@izazov_dobra). Harvard School of Public Health study predicts that that war suffering will be among the top ten causes of suffering at the beginning of next century. During the 20th century civilian victims rose from 10 to 90%. Holocaust was unique in the uniqueness of its cruelty and suffering but also wih the everlasting responsibility it left to everyone and all of us, painfull memory to respect and warning to cherish. Slobodan Lang Zagreb, Croatia