MARJAYOUN, LEBANON - Sylvia Monika Wyszomirska is a Roman Catholic from Poland, but in an effort to integrate better into the conservative society of south Lebanon she has traded her UN peacekeeper's beret for a headscarf during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

"Out of respect for the environment I work in, I feel I need to try to integrate myself " during Ramadan, said the 37-year-old, who has been stationed in the country for four months.

"And since my contingent is deployed in a Muslim area, I have decided to wear the hijab," the Muslim headscarf, over military fatigues, added the mother of a little girl.

Ms. Wyszomirska chose her headscarf in the same light shade of blue used for the berets worn by members of the 13,000-strong UN Interim Force in Lebanon, which keeps the peace along the tense Lebanon-Israel border.

A native of Krakow, Ms. Wyszomirska's job brings her into direct contact with the people who live in Shiite-majority villages across the Marjayoun region.

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