Smithers

Fatima Cengic tells story of heroism

The Interior News, July 28, 2004.

Fatima Cengic survived the siege of Tesanj, in Bosnia, and proceeded to build a life for herself in Canada – all thanks to a Christmas shoebox that arrived from Whitehorse and a great deal of determination. This was published in the Interior News on July 28, 2004. This story also never made it online, so here is a full transcript:

WHEN Fatima Cengic was 13 years old, she was living in Tesanj, a Bosnian city under siege by Serbian militants. She was unable to enjoy even the simplest of pleasures of life, such as a carefree stroll down the road.

Because of the threat of gunfire and bombs, she lived with her family in the basement of their home for six months.

But after six months, Cengic got fed up and decided enough was enough.

“My room was upstairs, everything was upstairs,” she says.

“I just hated the basement.”

To the chagrin of her parents, Cengic defied what they thought was safe, and began sleeping upstairs.

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Groundbreaking filmmaker an adventurer at heart

The Interior News, July 21, 2004.

In 2004, Howard Ennis was living in the Kispiox Valley. He told me the story of how he first came to the north – to be one of the first people to film the First Nations people of British Columbia. This was published in the Interior News on July 21, 2004. It never went online, so the following story is published in full now:

WHEN Howard Ennis was a young boy in 1930s Pennsylvania, he used to read books by Canadian naturalist and author Ernest Thompson Seton, and dream about having similar adventures in the northern wilderness.

He was so keen he would plan small-scale, outdoor adventures and drag his older brother along.

Ennis says he was always the brains of the operation and his brother, the brawn.

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