International Rescue Committee

Charles "Carel" Sternberg, who fled Nazi persecution and went on to aid tens of thousands of refugees from World War II Europe and later victims fleeing conflicts around the world, has died. He was 91. Sternberg, former executive director of the International Rescue Committee, died Thursday in a Forest Hills, N.Y., hospital of pneumonia. He headed the New York-based organization from 1965 to 1985, but continued until his death as a volunteer and consultant.

Owliya Dima scanned the bare apartment, noting the only new items the family owned: six white pillows stacked on two box springs that were missing their mattresses. In the living room were three mismatched sofas donated by a church. One of the few items in the kitchen was an old skillet that the refugee family had brought from Iraq. The father, Hussam Zabiba, held up a handful of miniature shampoo and soap bottles for Dima to see. "Hotel," he explained. Dima, an Ethiopian Muslim who had been a refugee herself nearly three decades ago, moved through the two-bedroom Anaheim apartment with an Arabic interpreter, compiling a list of needed items.

Did anyone read "Grim Toll in Congo's Civil War: More Than 3 Million Lives" (April 9), way back on Page A22? It states that in the last 4 1/2 years the Congolese war has claimed at least 3.3 million lives, more fatalities than any conflict since World War II. George Rupp, the International Rescue Committee's president, is quoted as saying, "This is a humanitarian catastrophe of horrid and shocking proportions. The worst mortality projections in the event of a lengthy war in Iraq, and the death toll from all the recent wars in the Balkans, don't even come close."

Nursing her year-old daughter under a tree, Zaina Kisa talks softly about how her life was destroyed when she was raped by 10 rebels from neighboring Burundi and conceived the child. "There is no future here for a woman stigmatized by rape," the 20-year-old woman said. "Many times I look at this child and remember the horror and pain of that day.... But she is a victim too because she will never know her father."

Nursing her year-old daughter under a tree, Zaina Kisa talks softly about how her life was destroyed when she was raped by 10 rebels from neighboring Burundi and conceived the child. "There is no future here for a woman stigmatized by rape," the 20-year-old woman said. "Many times I look at this child and remember the horror and pain of that day.... But she is a victim too because she will never know her father."

Irena Janjic and her family left Bosnia six years ago with nothing but the clothes they were wearing, fleeing a war that ravaged their lives as well as their hometown of Sarajevo. In April, 19-year-old Irena arrived in the United States and now has what often eludes arriving refugees: a job.

Alarmed by war clouds forming over Europe, a small group of prominent citizens convened by Albert Einstein met in an apartment here in 1933 to plot the escape of opponents to Adolf Hitler. Out of that meeting, the International Rescue Committee was born.

Owliya Dima scanned the bare apartment, noting the only new items the family owned: six white pillows stacked on two box springs that were missing their mattresses. In the living room were three mismatched sofas donated by a church. One of the few items in the kitchen was an old skillet that the refugee family had brought from Iraq. The father, Hussam Zabiba, held up a handful of miniature shampoo and soap bottles for Dima to see. "Hotel," he explained. Dima, an Ethiopian Muslim who had been a refugee herself nearly three decades ago, moved through the two-bedroom Anaheim apartment with an Arabic interpreter, compiling a list of needed items.

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is denying Kurds in the mountains of northern Iraq food and fuel as winter closes in, relief workers say. "Time is running out in the mountains," said Scott Portman, head of the U.S. International Rescue Committee. While the blockade is not total, it could wreck efforts to stockpile supplies and shelters before winter takes hold. The blockade has created shortages in northern Iraq and thrown Kurds there into a panic, the relief workers reported.

A roundup of events as NATO airstrikes continue in Yugoslavia: * Belgrade: Russian envoy meets with Yugoslav president for nine hours. * New York: Aid group says it plans to airdrop food, other supplies into Kosovo. * Albania: Army stages war games simulating defense against Serbian attack. * Bosnia-Herzegovina: Yugoslav forces enter nation, detain six NATO peacekeepers.

Did anyone read "Grim Toll in Congo's Civil War: More Than 3 Million Lives" (April 9), way back on Page A22? It states that in the last 4 1/2 years the Congolese war has claimed at least 3.3 million lives, more fatalities than any conflict since World War II. George Rupp, the International Rescue Committee's president, is quoted as saying, "This is a humanitarian catastrophe of horrid and shocking proportions. The worst mortality projections in the event of a lengthy war in Iraq, and the death toll from all the recent wars in the Balkans, don't even come close."

Charles "Carel" Sternberg, who fled Nazi persecution and went on to aid tens of thousands of refugees from World War II Europe and later victims fleeing conflicts around the world, has died. He was 91. Sternberg, former executive director of the International Rescue Committee, died Thursday in a Forest Hills, N.Y., hospital of pneumonia. He headed the New York-based organization from 1965 to 1985, but continued until his death as a volunteer and consultant.

Irena Janjic and her family left Bosnia six years ago with nothing but the clothes they were wearing, fleeing a war that ravaged their lives as well as their hometown of Sarajevo. In April, 19-year-old Irena arrived in the United States and now has what often eludes arriving refugees: a job.

Alarmed by war clouds forming over Europe, a small group of prominent citizens convened by Albert Einstein met in an apartment here in 1933 to plot the escape of opponents to Adolf Hitler. Out of that meeting, the International Rescue Committee was born.

Louis Wiesner, 86, who brought health services to victims of war and natural disasters through his work with the International Rescue Committee, died Sept. 20 in Meredith, N.H. The cause of death was not disclosed. Wiesner was a retired diplomat who had directed the State Department's Office of Refugees and Migration when he joined the International Rescue Committee in 1975. He created the group's medical program and served as its director from 1975 to 1984. Born in Port Huron, Mich.

I have learned with great dismay that the Orange County Board of Supervisors is planning to abolish the Human Relations Commission. While I understand the fiscal crisis facing the county, I believe the costs will be more than the savings if this step is taken. The staff of this commission deserves most, if not all, of the credit that our county has developed peacefully into a multiracial, multiethnic whole. Their work with the various law enforcement agencies, the various racial and ethnic groups, and the public at large has brought about understanding and tolerance instead of major racial and/or ethnic disturbances.