In a Strange Land
“They had no information about what was going on in Kosovo until they got to this fort and onto those iMacs,” says Dave Zweigel, Project Manager from the United States Information Agency (USIA). “The first few days were just overwhelming. It was almost sad to see the joy in these people’s eyes—being able listen, read, see information in their native language.”

Refugees from Kosovo began arriving at Fort Dix, NJ, in May. The Internet center, a cooperative effort between government, private industry and local volunteers, runs on 12 iMacs and a G3 Server. Hundreds of refugees visit each day to stay in touch with what’s happening at home and to search for friends and loved ones online.

Keeping busy: System Administrator Afaf
Mitchell hard at work on her G3 Server.

Temporary home: Mother and baby out for a stroll.

New friends: Military personnel pause to pose
with some of the Kosovar children on the base.

High-tech maintenance: Volunteer Bill Achuff
supervises a mouse-cleaning session.

Zweigel encourages them to start by setting up free email accounts. “Then they can register at Red Cross Family Links which covers all the refugee camps in Germany, France, Poland, Finland, Australia and other locations.” Representatives from the American Red Cross periodically visit the center, fielding questions.

Up and Running in a Snap
Setting up the computer network was a no-brainer. “We took the iMacs out of the box, put them on the table, plugged them in, connected them to the router, laid the wires, set the IP addresses—total time, 45 minutes,” says Zweigel. “I think the longest portion of setting up those Macs was deciding, was it gonna be purple-orange, purple-orange or orange-purple, orange-purple or six purple and six orange.”

Joining Zweigel at Fort Dix is USIA Systems Administrator Afaf Mitchell. A Windows NT and Novell server guru based in Washington, Mitchell was assigned to this project to deal with technical issues. So how much time has she actually spent on technical issues?

“Hmm,” replies Zweigel. “Between tying children’s shoes and running out to get sodas and buying gifts for everybody, Afaf has spent a total of 15 minutes over the last two weeks on technical issues. That’s the great thing about Macintosh—it doesn’t take a systems engineer to keep this place running. We have no problems. We’re simply running.”

Mitchell agrees. When asked about her workload, she laughs. “I can’t believe how easy this is. I’m gonna go back and tell people about this.”

Unsung Heroes
Behind the scenes, volunteers from local Macintosh user groups keep the center running on a day-to-day basis. “One of the reasons I chose Macintosh for this project,” says Zweigel, “is that I knew that I could count on Macintosh user groups to rally around and run this facility.”

Thanks to the User Group Volunteers

Main Line Macintosh Users Group Moe Comeau, Greg Holmberg Macintosh Users Group of Southern New Jersey Jacki Moore, Joan Smith-Brown Princeton Macintosh Users Group Beth Allen, Albert Axelrod, Joann McDaniels, Alice Miller, Harold Parentini, Megan Peterson, Vgail Vonderweidt, Jack Wetzel, Rick Williams Philadelphia PowerBook Users Group Jason O’Grady, Rob Parker, Bob Snow South Jersey Apple Users Group Barbara Griffith User Group Alliance Bill Achuff, Walter Burns

Macintosh user groups have been active in their communities for over 20 years. They volunteer at schools, build community labs, run training classes, refurbish old equipment that they donate to charity, and spend generous amounts of one-on-one time showing others how to make the most of their computers.

“The amazing thing about Mac user groups,” says Zweigel, “is that they have such a diverse group of people with a diverse group of skills. But they all have one thing in common—they use the Macintosh, and they love to share that experience with others. I couldn’t see trusting this to anyone else but the user groups.”

User group folks do enjoy helping others. Because access to Fort Dix is difficult to obtain, volunteers work full day shifts. With some assistance from translators, they help refugees find resources on the web, post digital photos, send email, print documents and troubleshoot the occasional software problem. They also keep the trailer clean, organized and well stocked with drinks for everyone.

“Our main issue is to get these people home,” says Zweigel. “And through the use of the Internet via iMacs and with the help of user group volunteers, we’re able to reunite these people with family members as the war winds down and peace begins.”

Get involved. Find a user group near you.