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Sylvie Audet (Canada) served
from December 2000 - February 2001 |
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  UNMEE - Look at surge - Dekemhare - December 2000 |
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 UNMEE - Aerial view on the camp - Dekemhare - December 2000 |
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 UNMEE - Aerial view on the camp - Dekemhare - December 2000 |
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 Bus stop near Asmara - December 2000 |
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 Spice Market Asmara - January 2001. |
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 Grave of a Canadian war hero R. Dunn.
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"We had just advanced from our rear camp in Dekemhare into Senafe. We had crossed both trench lines in Senafe and their mine fields. Tensions were very high for not only the Eritrea and Ethiopian armies but for us as well. There was still military forces in the area, whom were not supposed to be there. We knew our task of getting the militaries to withdraw would be tuff. We set up camp in the school yard at the base of that amazing cliff. My Lieutenant and I left the camp right away to search for a well in the city and this is when it first happened. The children in the city gathered around us and said "Canada" while pulling our hands to lead us somewhere. Now there was
no way we were going anywhere with these kids. This thing smelled of an ambush badly. How did they know the word "Canada" and why were they so eager to lead us away? The two of us then returned to the schoolyard and reported this unusual event to Headquarters (HQ). 2 weeks went by and each patrol that entered the city had the same experience with the kids. Each time they would report it to HQ and say they did not follow the children. Finally HQ got tired of hearing about these children and orders us to investigate. Now this is when it gets embarrassing for us. We geared up to follow these kids like we were entering an ambush...we were ready for anything that may happen. We had over 300 rounds of ammunition per soldier, flak jackets, radios, machine guns. We were not going to be caught off guard. When we entered the city, the same routine happened with the kids, but this time we let them lead us. Weapons on our shoulders we walked through the city slowly waiting for something to happen. I remember how hot it was that day and how much I was sweating. Finally we got to a cemetery on the outskirts of the city and the kids started pointing at this tombstone. We looked at the name "COL DUNN". When we got back to camp we radioed in what had happened. HQ sent a report back to Canada asking them to figure out who this DUNN was. A week later we found out. The kids had lead us to the grave of a Canadian war hero R. Dunn, one of the first winners of the Victoria Cross. The highest order of merit issues in the Canadian Forces. This man was a legend. He had gone on safari Africa in 1860's and never returned. He was a Canadian hero who had been lost for over a hundred years. These kids whom we thought were leading us into an ambush had done Canada a great service and located Colonel R. Dunn Victoria Cross. If those kids were not as persistent as they were we would never have followed them and we would have never found Colonel Dunn. As a thank-you we came back with a bunch of candy for the kids and build them a see-saw in there school yard. Some how it just didn't seem enough." Ben Mitchell Canadian Armed Forces
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