Conflict Resolution and Persecution

My company was in a town called Javar, and we patrolled the surrounding areas and under the Peace Accord, citizens who had lived in that area regardless of who they were could move back to their house, and the people who were in that house, had to move. So you would have a lot of confrontations there. You would have people who were at war for years move back into that same area and they would have conflicts with each other a lot. So there was a lot of, I don't want to say policing is the word, but, a lot of I guess interventions or conflict resolutions between people. And there was also again, which was hard to take was seeing that, how they treated each other because let's say one side had gotten possession, received possession of that town and another side had moved back and under, and they were allowed to move into their houses, well you could tell if, who they were. Because what some people would have electricity and lights, the house or the apartment right beside it would be burning a candle and you could see the candle. And if people ever wondered why or I found out that, well if you were this side you would get electricity, you would have your basic necessities of life, but if you weren't you were running on candle power. You were, we would deliver radios, those wind up radios and you know to people and you would see okay these guys got electricity and they got, you know running water for what it's worth or water and these people don't. So you knew who they were you knew who was what and you know a lot of places in that town would if you were a business, again but you were the other, a different person or if you're a different ethnic background that place would be set on fire. Or one they through a few hand grenades in their bread shop and blew it up. Again, houses were constantly burning, housing, house burning was a big thing because they knew that that person was gonna move back in there. Well how do you stop someone from moving back into their, you know a decent house or, a house that has walls? Well you burn it. You blow it up, you knock it down, then what are they gonna do? Well hopefully they'll go back and they won't move in there. So that was a, that was a constant thing. That was a at night there was a lot of, you know you would always be going to an area with, that had a fire in it. 97 wasn't as, I remember one person put it who didn't do much there said it was a coffee tour, but you know he didn't go out on patrol with, with the infantry. We were, we walked around, you gotta deal with people's problems. So it was an interesting tour actually, there was a lot that went on there.

Mr. Neepin describes escorting civilians back to homes which they had been removed from, and how households would be denied services because of their religion.

Darcy Jeremy Neepin

Mr Neepin was born in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, and moved to Winnipeg with his family while still young. An uncle who served with the 1st Battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) told him many stories as he grew up. From these stories he gained knowledge of what military life as an infantryman was like and before he turned 12 years old he was sure he wanted to serve. At the age of 18 Mr. Neepin joined the Cameron Highlanders Reserves. Being of Cree descent, he was the only Aboriginal Canadian in his recruiting class of 30. In 1990 Mr. Neepin answered the call for volunteers to join the 1st Battalion PPCLI for a peacekeeping tour in Cyprus. Having his first overseas experience under his belt, he returned home in the summer of 1991. Mr Neepin continued to volunteer for overseas peacekeeping missions, serving with the PPCLI for the 1992/93 tour in Croatia and in 1997 & 2000 in Bosnia.