Still Living in Fear

Think back to last year. The first images of Kosovan refugees appeared in the press. The first cries of ãwe must do moreä were being heard on the radio and TV. The outpouring of public sympathy towards refugees was seen as symbolic of our caring society. The Prime Minister flew to the refugee camps, where he demanded that we do more for the people of Kosovo, and that we honour our international commitments.

It was on 24th March 1999 that NATO began air strikes against Serbia in response to the persecution of Kosovan ethnic Albanians. It was the most brutal ethnic cleansing that Europe had seen since the Nazis.

Refugees fled here under the Humanitarian Evacuation Programme and were given twelve months Exceptional Leave to Remain. Families and individuals were welcomed with open arms. But now, a year later, their status expires and they face many uncertainties.

One person who visited Kosovo on the Explore and Prepare programme described his experiences: ãThe destruction is overwhelming. Many houses are destroyed, schools and factories plundered and burned, wells poisoned. Thousands of people still live in tents or badly damaged houses. Power supplies are irregular, very little heating fuel is available and communications are extremely bad.ä

A spokesman for Oxfam said: ãResources in the regionâs capital, Pristina, are under enormous pressure and hundreds of thousands of the two million people in Kosovo are still living in camps - with no homes to go to. There have been massive sit down protests and hunger strikes across Kosovo over the 7,500 people still missing. Landmines litter the region and there is still ethnic violence, though thankfully much reduced.ä

Some of the Kosovan community wish to return, but despite the positive changes and the efforts of the international community, there remain individual Kosovo Albanians who could face serious problems, including physical danger, were they to return at this time.

Here NCADC gives three examples of Kosovans threatened with deportation to Kosovo after coming to the UK last year.

 

Rysha Family

Njazi Rysha and his family are terrified of returning home. Like many Kosovans, he is still on medication to cope with nightmares and depression. But he is particularly concerned about his son, who has special needs and will have no support in Kosovo.

Samir Rysha, who is five years old, has problems with reading, speaking and hearing. His father said: ãHe doesnât understand things like the other children and cannot control himself. Since he started school, we can see the improvement daily. But in Kosovo there is nothing for him. Even before the war, there were no facilities for Kosovan Albanians with special needs. Now there are no hospitals or schools at all.ä

Samir still has nightmares about Kosovo, though seeing a psychologist and a peaceful life in Manchester has helped. The trauma is evident in the rest of the family. Mr Rysha, a truck driver before the war, is now unable to work because of the heavy medication he is taking for insomnia and depression.

Their terror at the prospect of returning is understandable. Serb paramilitaries burst into their home and forced the family, at gunpoint, into a cupboard under the stairs. Mr Rysha, his wife (then seven months pregnant), their three children, his sister-in-law and her five children were then held hostage for eight hours. ãThe Serbs had Îmassacreâ written across their foreheads. I remember because I was staring at it for eight hoursä says Mr Rysha.

 

Azemi Family

Sziz Azemi visited Kosovo in March and has seen for himself the difficulties. During his trip, a small boy in his village lost an arm to a landmine, he discovered a man shot dead in his car, and at night a curfew fell over the nearby city of Ferizaj.

ãWhen my children should have been playing with toys, they had to go and hide in holesä, Mr Azemi explains. ãWhen my children see soldiers on TV, they are frightened.ä

The Serbs burned out the village, then used Mr Azemiâs house as a base for raping women and co-ordinating attacks on other villages. It is now uninhabitable. Bringing the children to England has helped them to start living again. He says: ãI miss Kosovo but until it is more stabilised it is too dangerous for the children.ä

 

Ilir Maraj

Ilir was a second year medical student in Pristina when the war broke out. He hopes to stay in England to complete his course, then return to help rebuild Kosovo. Ilir has spent each day revising his medical studies and taking English and accountancy courses. He has won a place at John Moores University in Liverpool, where he hopes to complete his studies. His old university no longer exists. "If I go back to Kosovo now I will not be able to contribute anything."

 

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