Wednesday, October 15, 1980
daily nebraskan
page 15
Red Cross job let professor see
warring countries' backyards
By Ward W. Triplett II!
Prof. David P. Forsythe may have more experience in
die area he studied than most political science teachers.
Forsythe, an international Law and Politics instructor,
spent nearly three years in the war-torn nations of Angola,
Rhodesia, and others as the only American member of the
Red Cross' International Committee.
Although Forsythe's involvement with the group end
ed in 1976, what he learned and observed still carries in
to his lectures this semester.
"I think I understand politics and law better than be
fore," Forsythe said. "I don't think I could teach as well
without it. I would hope that UNL students get a better
course because of my experiences."
The ICRC is responsible for seeing the humane treat
ment of prisoners of war, political prisoners, hostages,
and other war-related victims.
"That is, when someone is seized or missing, frequent
ly the Red Cross will get involved."
Forsythe first started accompanying Red Cross offic
ials on their missions in 1972, plane-hopping back and
forth from classes to Rhodesia and Mozambique before
taking a leave of abscence the next fall.
lie was aked to join the missions after a visit to Geneva
nude committee officials feel he might be 'useful to
them.'
So, from late 1972 to 1976, most of Forsythe's time
was spent as a consultant, often in countries where armed
conflict was common.
Forsythe remembers riding in a jeep across a bare ter
rain in Africa, along with one other Red Cross obeserver
guerillas who were fighting the Mozambique government.
Learning plus experience
"It was kind of odd, seeing that we were in an Ameri
can jeep with fighters carrying Chinese weapons. It was
fascinating. for me personally. 1 was able to blend academ
ic learning with the real thing. . . up close and dirty," he
said.
The Red Cross organization was only allowed into
warring nations on the provision that all findings be
kept confidential, "Anything but the details," Forsythe
said, could be reported to the world press. The main re
ports went to the government involved.
"What we did was to check to try to find missing per
sons or cases of torture or war crimes. It's common know
ledge that Israel has Arab prisoners, locked up without a
trial. Whether there was torture going was our interest,"
he said.
"If something really terrible was going on, we would
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inform that government, not the free press, and give them
six months to do something about it.
""If we came back, and nothing had changed, then we
issued a press release that said something to the effect that
'We are postponing our visits to Portugal until'...they were
always general, but any one who cared could figure out
what we meant."
The trip had various values to Forsythe.
One was the chance to see the 'backyards of countries.'
that westerners rarely, if ever, see first hand. Assignments
in Africa, for example, often led to virtual wastelands or
jungles, where there were no paved roads, no plumbing,
and fighting breaking out. This was really rural Africa,
not where you'd go on vacation," he said.
He said he also like d the exchange of ideas, not on
political science itself, but on understanding the views of
other nation's citizen's.
World looks different
"When you're down in Angola somewhere, the world
looks totally different, the issues come from a different
hierarchy. The U.S.-Soviet Union struggle doesn't seem
so important. Here the issue is racism, these people are
in war," he said. "You understand the Black Africans
problem, you understand the political prisoners' prob
lem, you get the depth of feeling you wouldn't get other
wise." Though living in countries while there were battles
and threats of battles going on, Forsythe rarely came
in contact with a life and death situation, though he said
it was a possibility .
"Several Red Crossers were killed in Lebanon, a tew
in Rhodesia, but there was not much shooting where I
was. It could have happened to me, but thankfully it
didn't," Forsythe said. The biggest scare came from a
pilots' error while Forsythe and other Red Crossers were
preparing to embark from the shores of Mozambique,
only to crash a short distance from take-off.
"We were taking a plane out because the guerilla's
we were with were planning on blowing up the bridge in
the road ahead. As it turned out, the road would have
been safer," he said.
Back in Nebraska, because of its climate and scenery,
Forsythe has few plans for returning to that.
"I enjoy teaching in ceneral. I like livine here. I eniov
the life of a professor-that's why I came back," he said.
Also, the 1CKC (not to be contused witn tne internation
al Red Cross that is widespread in the United States) is
made up almost totally of Swiss workers, so it avoids in
fluence from either the United State or the Soviet Union.
Forsythe was, to the best of his recollection, the only
American involved in ICRC in the organization's history.
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