The sight of refugees, dressed in the uniforms of Serbian soldiers, guns in hand and dogs straining at the leash, was one of the stranger memories that Mrs. Lucy Willits brought back from yet another visit to war-ravaged Bosnia.

Astonished to discover that refugees had been persuaded to act as `extras' in a major Hollywood movie, being filmed in Bosnia even as the war continues, she says, "There's something very twisted in all this. They dress up and impersonate their enemies during the day and are then driven back to the refugee camps at night.'' During her visit to Medjugorje, Mrs. Willitts met the star of the film, Martin Sheen. He was on location with co-stars Morgan Fairchild and Michael York, filming the story of the five Bosnian childen (now adults) who, for years now, have allegedly had regular visions and spoken with the Virgin Mary.

"The whole thing seems to me, to be in bad taste! Over 20 million people have already made pilgrimages to the village in the last 13 years, but the film people seem to think it will help Medjugorje to become well known in America,'' she explains. "Martin Sheen plays the role of Father Jozo who was imprisoned by the communists when he tried to protect the children. I saw Mr.

Sheen on a daily basis and got to know him. He said that his experiences in Medjugorje had made him more pious.'' Another local priest shrugged his shoulders when Mrs. Willitts asked him how he felt about the movie: "He told me there was enough porn and bad films and maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to make a good one.'' Returning to Bosnia for the eighth time, laden with yet more aid in the shape of toothpaste, brushes, soap, coffee, bandages and first-aid kits, Mrs.

Willitts says the purpose of this latest visit was "to monitor Bermuda's relief efforts, to see a refugee friend and to pray for peace''.

Mrs. Willitts seems to have become an unofficial community `ambassadress', with her visits to Mother Teresa in India and to Bosnia. Her efforts in organising a massive relief operation, sending containers of food, clothing and pharmaceuticals to Bosnia from the people of Bermuda, was recognised with an official honour from the Queen during her visit to the Island in March.

"One of the reasons I went back was to see a refugee who had become a friend of mine. I was very saddened by the change in her. She was very, very negative and has even given up going to church. This is what war does to people.'' Explaining that she had asked for some of the Bermuda aid effort to go to her friend and fellow refugees in Medjugorje, Mrs. Willitts said that this did not happen."There was a lot of aid getting into Medjugorje and it was felt there was greater need elsewhere. She was very bitter about that. I gave her all the stuff I'd taken in with me this time, and she was sending it on to Sarajevo to her friends there.'' According to this woman, the situation in Sarajevo was still "hot'', with people trying to get out of the city. As she had escaped and left people behind, she felt she could never go back, "another aspect of this tragedy'', comments Mrs. Willitts.

Before leaving Bermuda, she had been given some money collected by the children of Purvis School. "I found a family in dire need of help. The father had been blinded and was trying to take care of two little children. They were very grateful, and I've called the school to let them know that.'' She admits that she has been feeling "depressed'' since her return to the Island. "When I got back here, having seen horrendous sights and hearing stories of unbearable heartbreak, I found we were in the middle of another hotel strike! I just shook my head. The pettiness and triviality that upsets people here and makes for such ugly behaviour is truly amazing.'' Trying to explain the difficulty of adjusting to two such different worlds that are, after all, only hours apart `as the plane flies', Mrs. Willitts says she finds herself wondering which way of life, which values are "normal''? "There is a pain over there that is totally beyond their control. Then you come back here and find people deliberately inflicting pain on each other.

It's childish, selfish, and senseless, and I wish people would stop behaving like this. Seeing people living through such tragedy in Bosnia -- refugees who have lost everything they own, husbands missing, watching your own child being killed, not knowing where your family is, wondering if your sister, daughter or your wife has ended up in a Serbian army rape camp -- it's hard to cope with selfish Bermuda. We're never happy here, we're always complaining, bitching about this and that, always wanting more, more, more...'' Most of us, says Mrs. Willitts, are basically indifferent to the misery and problems that are happening around the world: "Whether it's Bosnia or Rwanda, people don't really want to know. I don't want to upset them but, really, we should all be walking around on our knees thanking God that our problems are so trite -- and the problems we do have are created by us alone.'' Bermuda, she says, should take warning from the events in these countries and take steps now to see that nothing like that could ever happen here.

"Racism in Bermuda is not one-sided, so we need to be very careful. Racism goes both ways and both sides are equally guilty. This is how wounds fester.

We could become a divided country, which is absolute nonsense when there are such wonderful opportunities here.'' If Bermuda ever had the misfortune to find itself in a position where it needed aid, she says, "We are totally dependent on the outside world for everything. If we are to survive as a country we have to try and raise ourselves above the shortcomings of human nature. This latest visit to Bosnia has made me realise, more than ever, that we have to get on with what has to be done, to continue to speak out against narrow-minded, tunnel-visioned individuals who, for some reason, think that the world begins and ends in Bermuda.'' Those who would like to help the children of Bosnia can become a `god-parent'.

The same Father Jozo who is portrayed by Martin Sheen in the movie, has founded The International God-Parenthood to Herceg-Bosnia Children. The organisation, which has already been registered in the courts of Mostar, has been established to help destitute child victims of the war, who have "suffered pain beyond their fragile years''. Monetary help in the form of $600 per annum or $50 each month is being requested.

Mrs. Willitts says that Fr. Jozo is asking people to help "raise these children, to stretch out our arms to them across an ocean, to provide love and friendship as well as financial support.

Anyone wishing to receive further information should write to:- God-Parenthood Programme, Medjugorje MIR Centre, 8643 West Central, Wichita KS 67212, or telephone (316) 722-9493.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Willitts is planning another consignment of aid for Bosnia to be collected in September. "We shall be collecting food only, this time and arranging to send it out so that it arrives there in time for Christmas.'' ACTOR AND ACTIVIST -- Mrs. Lucy Willitts pictured with film star Martin Sheen during her visit to the village of Medjugorje, Bosnia.