Description
Mr. Gallant tells us about one of the most difficult things he witnessed while in Lebanon.
Fred Gallant
Born into an Acadian family in Mont-Carmel, Prince Edward Island, Mr. Gallant joined the Army and rose to the rank of Captain. He served two tours in Cyprus as part of the United Nations Peace Keeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) during the 1970s and 1980s as Battery Captain. His methods helped many soldiers and his interventions most likely saved the lives of his own, and many Greeks and Turks. Years later, now a Major, he became a UN Military Observer as part of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO), maintaining the peace between Israel, Lebanon and Syria. He worked in all three middle eastern countries and has some eye opening stories to tell.
Transcript
One of the things that happened in Lebanon which really affected me was there was a young Palestinian girl, 19 years old who got pregnant, she wasn’t married. Her brothers and her father
strapped explosives around her waist, put her in the Mercedes, video-taped the whole thing, drove her down to our area, put her loose in front of an approaching Israeli patrol and she was detonated and they killed her, to take out, well to keep the family honour and to try to kill the Israelis that were on the patrol. The Red Cross was called immediately and then the UN had to go in and help remove the body parts, but can you imagine? You know.