More than a year after the United Nations
took over adminstration of Kosovo, inter-ethnic tensions in the province
are extremely high, living conditions are poor, and many countries are
threatening to forcibly return Kosovar refugees to the volatile situation.
This week, Norwegian
People's Aid appeals for funding towards its Kosovo programmes.
Norwegian People's Aid (NPA) has worked
in the Balkans since 1992, assisting victims of the wars in former Yugoslavia.
In Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia, we built collective shelters for the
refugees, and gave psychosocial assistance to the traumatised. Our recent
efforts have been channeled towards long-term development assistance, reconstructing
houses with returnees and rebuilding their communities.
Since the NATO bombing of Serbia and Kosovo, NPA has worked in western Kosovo with a three-prong integrated approach, assisting with
Shelter: reconstruction of war damaged houses in six villages in Decani Municipality.
Community Development: psychosocial assistance, women's groups, children and youth programmes
Mine Action: Manual and mechanical demining and landmine awareness.
By mid November 1999, we had trained 120 Kosovars in manual demining, reconstructed or "winterised" 600 private houses -- providing shelter for approximately 700 families (more than 4,700 people in total) and organised 700 women in handicraft/dialogue groups.
Our funding has been cut, and we need 20 million Norwegian Crowns ($2.32 million) for shelter/reconstruction projects, 6 million Norwegian Crowns (695,000) for community development, and 22 million Norwegian Crowns ($2.55 million) for mine action work..
The shelter/reconstruction programme involves members of the local community, since house owners commit their own labout to the task and relatives join in the work.. The houses are built so that they will be sustainable. This way of implementing the programme is cost effective, strengthens the beneficiaries' sense of ownership and respects the local tradition where the man builds his own house. If beneficiaries were older, there were no men in the family, or family membes were handicapped, NPA assisted with craftsmen and labourers.
With the dramatic cuts in funding, the future of the shelter/reconstruction programme is in jeopardy. The uncovered needs will not be met, and the situation in our area of operation is most likely to deteriorate. Some families need more sustainable housing to meet a second winter, while others are still staying in overcrowded houses waiting to return to their own homes.
At the same time, most European countries are speeding up the return process, encouraging or forcinng Kosovars to return to Kosovo. This will increase the number of families in need of assistance.
The returnees from third countries are mainly returning to houses that were completely destroyed and in need of total reconstruction. The return process is likely to increase during this summer, and our Shelter/reconstruction programme has already started the re-distribution of tents.
As a result of accelerated returns, the humanitarian situation could get worse, and winter will represent a serious challenge. In a broader perspective, the international community's failure in assisting the Kosovars could jeopardise the relative stability in the province, obstructing the work under KFOR and UNMIK.
It is NPA's strong opinion that Kosovo should go back to being a multi-ethnic society. At present, the province is far from it, and the concept of reconciliation and minority return may seem unachievable. However, without meeting the basic humanitarian needs among the present population, the reconciliation process is at best postponed.
With NPA's track record in shelter and reconstruction already established, it represents a resource-base in terms of both skills and experience, aiming to assist all ethnic groups.
In order to reduce human suffering, we kindly ask for your support to fulfil our obligation to meet the housing needs of four villages. This involves rebuilding 315 houses, constructing 134 roofs and rehabilitating some 1,100 rooms.