Refugee work quick way to understanding

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32462, 24 November 1970, Page 6

Refugee work quick way to understanding

One of the quickest ways to gain perspective on the basic problems of human beings is to work with refugees, according to Mrs Rosemary Ko* haut.

A New Zealander by Birth, Mrs Kohaut has spent most of the last 12 years travelling with her Austrian husband, Mr Roman Kohaut, who is a member of the office of the United Nations High Commis-. sioner for Refugees. “Any one in the world who has their health, food, warmth, and a place to live where they need not be afraid of persecution has every reason to be thankful and happy,” Mrs Kohaut said in Christchurch yesterday. From 1964 until recently Mr Kohaut held appointments in Tanzania and Uganda, where his work consisted of organising the resettlement of refugees from tribal disputes in the neighbouring African states. Mrs Kohaut assisted him first-hand in one case, receiving refugees from other states and taking care of their immediate needs and “Most of the refugees

arrive by train or road, cold, hungry and very frightened,” she said. They were mostly the products of tribal disputes i where one tribe persecutes another for a variety of reasons, ranging from jealousy of the higher intplliss characteristics such as height. Mrs Kohaut said not only racial differences, but tribal differences within the same races were also Very markedWelcome Tribes that had fled to Tan. zania and Uganda had been received generously by the governments there. After an initial short time in a reception area the Tanzanian Government allotted 10 acres of land tq each household and welcomed the refugees to build a new life permanently. Schools and medical dispensaries were built for the use of both the Tanzanian citizens and various refugees. Mrs Kohaut said that on the whole resettlement was very successful after the refugees lost their fear and settled down to develop their land. A trained nurse before her marriage, she said her nursing experience had been extremely useful for providing immediate medical care to undernourished, often ill, people. i She had found that even the most frightened people responded to genuine interest, compassion and kindness, ho matter how great the racial or cultural differences might be. Large house Mrs Kohaut has also found' herself running a large household in most cases and having a full schedule of diplomatic functions to attend and sometimes organise. The functions are invariably attended by a wide variety of people with totally, different racial and cultural backgrounds and had provided an excellent means of learning to understand people, Mrs Kohaut said. She has a keen interest in, people, their histories and cultures, and one of her sparetime hobbies is reading as much as possible on these

subjects. Another hobby is ’ cooking (she now has a wide variety Of international dishes among her recipe?), and yet : another is photography, for i which wildlife in Africa offers the widest scope, i After their visit to New Zealand Mr and Mrs Kohaut Swill feturn to Sydney, where Mr Kohaut was appointed Mast August.