INFORMATORI HUMANITAR ISSUE NR. 4

ACCEPT THE SHELTERS THAT UNHCR OFFERS YOU!

Last three months the UNHCR has been concentrating on the refugees return to Kosova. The refugees return is in its final phase so the main goal now is the sheltering of the population.

UNHCR in cooperation with other organizations has provided 75000 shelters. They are very simple. The roof is made from solid plastic, there is an certain amount of wood material for different use and there are other plastic parts that can be used as windows. The purpose of these shelters is to provide at least one warm room so the people can cope with the atmospheric conditions, said Mr. Redmond. He continued saying that everyone should accept this aid. The UNHCR is an organization that deals only with urgent aid and refugee rehab. In the following weeks this agency will distribute roofs throughout Kosova that will help in the reconstruction of the damaged houses. According to Mr. Redmond the priority in this distribution will be delivering the roofs to those who need them most, and sometimes two or three families will have to stay under one roof. Mr. Redmond also pointed out that the UNHCR is trying to provide stoves that would be used for cooking and heating during the winter season.

We ask all those to whom this help has been offered to accept it because it’s all we can do for you for this winter. We want you to have at least one warm room that will be warm for your families. When the winter passes the population will be able to start rebuilding their homes. I want to tell you and ask you not to refuse this help by thinking that you will get something better because you won’t. That’s why you must accept what has been offered. We believe that lot of organizations will start the reconstruction of the houses when the spring comes. That will be the time for us to decrease our activity in Kosova, concluded Ron Redmond in his interview given to the radio program "In the Name of Humanism" emmited in Prishtina.

Another group of refugees returned from Finland. During the month of April this country accepted 1000 refugees from the camps in Macedonia. The Finnish government has provided an eleven-month permit to all those who wish to return to Kosova in case they want to come back to Finland.

THE AID SUPPLY SHOULD BE INTENSIFIED, MC NAMARA SAYS

The special UNHCR envoy Dennis Mc Namara said that additional efforts should be made so the aid, especially the food and constructing material arrives faster before the winter comes. He pointed out that the aid is arriving but much slower than the refugees are.

So, the constructing material aid should be arriving faster.

The KFOR soldiers started constructing an airport near Gjakova. Its runaway will be 2800 meters long and suitable for landing for all aircraft except jumbo-jets. It will be place in the place of the previous agricultural airport. This is the first serious step for the development of this municipality. At first the airport will be for military use but later civilian aircraft will also be able to use it.

The lack of school buildings in Dechan makes the start of the school impossible. This was concluded in a meeting Of the Education Directory of this municipality. The decision was brought that the 1998/1999 school year should restart on the 1st of September and end on the 1st of October, while the 1999/2000 school year will start on the 8th of November. During this time all necessary activities will be taken to adapt the school buildings and to provide the needed school inventory. The Japanese constructing firms "Jen" and " Jensen F Jensen" have promised to help in reconstructing during their representatives’ visit made in this area. On this occasion they said that they will provide financial support from their budgets and asked the citizens to clean the damaged objects.

The German Humanitarian Association "Capa Namur" started the rebuilding of 138 houses in the village of Dobratin in Llap area. These houses were totally destroyed during the conflict. Efforts are being made for reconstruction in other villages such as Gllamnik, Llapashtica e Eperme, Obranca etc.

But things are not going so fast considering the fact that the winter is approaching.

The start of the Police Academy in Kosova is postponed for the 30th of August. OSCE responsible for its functioning said that the postponement is due to technical reasons. 18011 persons have applied, 94%of whom Albanians, 5 % Serbs and 1% others. We have invited 400 persons for an interview, announced the OSCE Press Office in Prishtina.

The Czech Republic will soon start the organized return of the refugees. 10 flights starting from the 14th of September will bring back 90% of the refugees sheltered in this country. There are 1100 refugees in this country and their return is made on voluntary basis.

After the arrival of the multinational forces and the different organizations lot of young people are solving their employment problems. The American Company "Wesco" will employ 500 workers in the bicycle factory situated in Babush near Ferizaj. An agreement was made on this issue between the Representatives of this company and the authorities of Ferizaj municipality.

German and Dutch engineers started supplying building material for the inhabitants of Landovica to help them rebuild their destroyed houses. The office of the construction service will support the building of 200 houses in this region.

An American Congress delegation visited Macedonia in order to get acquainted with the refugees’ situation. They visited the Neproshteno camp, the Collective Center Dare Bombo and some Refugees staying in Tetova families. The congressmen had a close look on the every day problems that the refugees are facing in Macedonia. The refugees, especially those staying in camps were interested if there was a new evacuation program going on. The American congressmen clearly stated that there wouldn’t be such an action in the future, which eliminated the hopes of those who wanted to go to the US. The former Evacuation Program is not completed so there are still some refugees that are going to the USA, but there will not be a new program of this kind.

The association SOS-Kosova from Geneva will help the hospital in Podujeva. Representatives of this organization met Podujeva authorities and agreed that this organization, in accordance with the approval taken from the local Directorate of Health and Social Care, will be responsible for the transport of the aid dedicated for the hospital. This will improve the medi-care situation in this region.

Over 150 persons have asked help from the Handicap International doctors in the office of this humanitarian organization.

Our office in Prishtina is also responsible for Podujeva, Lipjan, Obiliq and Fushe Kosova municipalities. We have started identifying and diagnosing those patients that need our help. We visit the patients in order to look closer in their problems and help in solving them, says Doctor Sinan Rusinovci, an employee of this organization. During the visits we saw different cases and patients that really need our help. Besides the medical treatment we offer them rehab tools, concluded Rusinovci.

For all those that need help from this organization, the telephone number is 27-496.

Besides many problems the Kosovars are also facing the telephone net malfunctioning. Workers and experts of Kosova Post and Telecom are working in repairing the damage caused during the conflict.

We are happy that we are functioning at all, beggins Agron Dida, the General Manager of this company. He says that they can not do anything and it’s a wonder how they can work in these circumstances. Every time people pick up the phone and hear the beeping sound they should be happy about this. The international connection was cut when a farmer working with a buldozer in his field near Podujeva cut the international cable. In cooperation with UNMIK we are developing a project which will be realized in two stages. The first stage will include installing of 250000 telephone connections and will last two months. The second stage will include building an infrastructure for the mobile phone net, says Dida.

If we assume that every user spends 50$ per month, with the installing of 30000 lines we will be able to earn 1.5 million $, an amount which would be a big impulse for our economy. From the 12th of this month we have started calculating the telephone impulses, concluded Dida.

In hospitals around Kosova there are a lot of patients victims of mines, accidents and different diseases in need of blood.

With the clinics working and the number of patients increased we are facing blood shortage. As you know we have many mine and traffic victims. We are happy because lot of people has expressed readiness to donate blood for those in need, says Agron Kerleku, a specialist from Prishtina Transfusion Institute.

A considerable amount of blood was collected in blood donating actions throughout Kosova. The first action of this kind was realized in Podujeva region among UCK soldiers who were eager to participate in our action. Such activities continue among the employees of our Institute and in other Prishtina Clinics, stressed Kerleku.

Mr. Kerleku informed us that KFOR soldiers also expressed readiness to join this noble action. But he thinks that the people of Kosova should be the ones to initiate these activities.

Glihe Demiri, a patient from Kamenica said that she is doing dialysis in Gjilan but that she came to Prishtina to get a transfusion. The doctors here gave me everything I need, this woman says.

"I came here to donate blood for my sick mother who is staying at the Surgery Clinic. I feel that I can do this and help my mom," says Ismet Dervishi from Podujeva.

Doctor Kerleku asks all those who can donate blood to join this action. I use this opportunity to ask all citizens of Kosova to help us. By donating blood they will save lives. During September we will start our actions in the University of Prishtina, and we are expecting great deal of help from the students. We are planing to go to the high schools and ask help from the graduates. I want to mention that the blood donors should be between 18 and 65 years old. By donating blood persons also help themselves because this initiates their red blood cells regeneration, appeals Kerleku.

Kosova refugees staying in Macedonia until now had the right to use their green cards as travelling documents. They were allowed to pass the border twice with them and after the third time the cards were taken from them. According to the Macedonian Ministry of Internal Affairs’ decision the cards will be valid until the end of August. Starting from September an entrance in Macedonia with these documents will not be permitted. The Green cards will be taken after the first departure of the refugees from Macedonia.