Public invited to check out Barrhaven man
Posted Jan 26, 2012 By Jennifer McIntosh
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EMC news - Tim Smith will be available for hire at the Canadian War Museum on Jan. 28. 
The Human Library offers the chance to 'borrow' a real person for 20 minutes and ask them questions. The concept is intended to break down stereotypes.
The retired armed forces officer will be available for people to borrow during the one-day Human Library project being held at the museum and at various branches of the Ottawa Public Library.
The Human Library project is a kind of living library idea that was developed in Denmark in 2000 to break down stereotypes. The idea is to give people a chance to ask questions of people they would never otherwise meet - and learn not to judge a book by its cover.
Smith spent 14 years in the Armed Forces and rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel before retiring to a civilian job. He will be talking about the time he spent in Egypt as part of the first United Nations Emergency Force.
Smith policed the border between Egypt and Israel following the Suez Crisis. The UN forces spent two-week rotations living in the Sinai Desert, patrolling the Gaza Strip all the way up to the Gulf of Aqaba - at the northern tip of the Red Sea.
"The desert was completely beautiful," Smith said. "It was quite an experience."
The Barrhaven resident volunteers at the war museum and said he thought the idea of lending himself out for 20 minutes at a time seemed a neat way to tell his story.
"I like people and it's a way to interact with them," he said. "I also think people don't really know how important the peacekeeping role of the UN is."
Along with Smith, people will have a chance to talk with Hyman Yanofky, a west-end resident who decoded messages from the enemy during the Second World War.
Irena Szpak will be on hand to talk about being a part of the Polish resistance during the same period, along with RCMP officers, humanitarians and peacekeepers.
Lynda Fish, program co-ordinator at the war museum, said the idea of a human book project was bandied around during the museum's peacekeeping exhibit.
"We came up with the idea and some potential 'books' a while ago," she said. "When we learned the library had one planned, it just made sense to partner."
The one-day project is a pilot of sorts in Ottawa.
The "books" featured at the library range from an OC Transpo bus driver to a stripper.
Claude Lurette will on hand at the Centrepointe branch to share his struggle with a bi-polar disorder and cocaine addiction, along with Shirley Gagnon, who left the First Nations reserve of Attawapiskat to study at Algonquin College.
60 'BOOKS'
More than 60 people have agreed to participate in the project.
The main, Centrepointe, Stittsville, Greenboro and Cumberland branches of the Ottawa Public Library will be lending out human books on Jan. 28 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
"It's been a really great experiencing connecting with all these people that have these amazing stories," Fish said.
jennifer.mcintosh@metroland.com
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