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Stealing From Their Own Future
by
Neeraj K Singh

In 1990, there was a cultural assault on the Albanians of Kosovo by the Serb authorities. The instrument used was a new Serbian curriculum, which largely eliminated the teaching of Albanian literature and history in schools across Kosovo. When the schoolteachers refused to comply with the new curriculum, several thousands of them were sacked. Strict physical segregation was introduced in school facilities for Serb and Albanian children. Teaching aids, equipment and even basic infrastructural facilities were often denied to Albanian portions of the schools. Similar discrimination was witnessed in healthcare after most Albanian doctors and health workers were dismissed from hospitals.

The response of the K-Albanian population was remarkable. In a rare display of community consciousness, the Albanians organized their own ‘parallel’ system of clinics and schools, mainly in private premises. The teachers were paid out of an income tax of three per cent levied on a voluntary basis on the Albanian diaspora. In this way teaching was organized for more than 400,000 children. Continuing this noble task with zeal, and despite frequent arrests, intimidation and beatings by the Serb police, these teachers and organizers came to symbolize a unique assertion of the collective will to address a direly felt social need.

Against adversity, the Albanians of Kosovo had made a common cause of education and healthcare and nurtured them as community projects at the local level. As normalcy returns, complacency seems to be creeping into people with respect to their social responsibilities. It appears that the clear stream of reason that emerged in the troubled mountains yesterday has now lost its way. Today weapons proliferate in the schools of Kosovo, whilst computers, microscopes and other teaching aids are being stolen from these institutions with impunity.

The British Government had donated some computers to the Veliki Belachevaz Secondary School in Kosovo Polje to enable its K-Albanian students to receive adequate computer training. That was not to be. On the night of 2nd August, some miscreants broke the door of the classroom, cut through the protective bars and took away 11 computers with accessories. The value of the stolen computers has been estimated at 10,000 DM. But the damage in terms of the opportunity cost of having entire classes of students deprived of computer education cannot be measured in Deutsche Marks. Such an incident is also likely to have a negative psychological impact on children who come to school and find their world of cyber-fancy so brutally vandalized.

In just four days last week, six schools have been the targets of burglary. On the 1st of August a well-organized gang tricked the security guard on duty at the Economic School into allowing them access. Once inside, the guard was overpowered and tied up. The thieves emptied the contents of the school safe, escaping with a substantial sum of money. On the same day in Prizren, a primary school was burglarised and a computer, a generator and chalkboard taken away. On the 2nd of August a primary school in the village of Petrovo Selo, Prizren area, was attacked by criminals who stole the school’s computer. During the same night as the Veliki Belachevaz burglary, thieves had also attempted to break into a school in Orahovac, presumably to steal computers and supplies. Overnight on the 4th a school in Urosevac was entered by persons who stole science equipment, including microscopes and cassettes.

There is a common factor underlying these incidents – senseless filching characterized by a crass disregard for the harm done to children from theft of items without much profit to the plunderers. In the Urosevac case for example, one fails to understand of what value educational cassettes would be to the burglars who took them away. An insight into their sadistic bent of mind is got from the Veliki Belachevaz case where a monitor and keyboard stolen from the school were later found dumped in the Drenica river in the locality.

Lack of community concern is brought out from an incident that happened in the ‘Hasan Prishtina’ primary school in Ulpiana on the night of 19th July. An UNMIK Police officer on patrol apprehended two local K-Albanian men carrying away property from the school. On questioning, their explanation was that about 15-20 people had entered the school premises earlier that night and taken away items. This had prompted these two men to also take away whatever they could lay their hands on. A baffling logic indeed – blame the tiger for killing the cattle, the wolves only feed on them. But even wolves would prevent the predator from preying on their own children.

It is not schools alone that are victimized. During the night of August 3rd in Gnjilane the Ambulance Centre was entered by a gang who tied up the staff and emptied the safe of 69,000 DM. Perhaps the money would have gone into buying another ambulance for providing succour to the ill and dying. Even as I write this article, we have received reports of criminal damage of the primary school in Dardania village of Pec'. Unknown suspects threw stones breaking the windows of the main office of the school.

Clearly, a crucial aspect of the initial solidarity of the people of Kosovo and their resolve for constructive cooperation is being lost. When left to fend for themselves against an oppressive regime, they displayed tremendous survival instinct. But now that the international community stands by to aid them at every step, where is that strong sense of solidarity and self-respect. A community that permits blatant violation of children’s rights cannot endure.

Today there is a challenge before the people of Kosovo. The same people, who made education and healthcare into a mass movement in the last decade, are now called upon to prevent criminals from poaching on these community assets in their neighbourhood. Humanity has in the past glorified ‘Robin hoods’ who would steal from the rich to provide for the poor. Here we have among us the ‘novo-robin hoods’ who steal from their own people, from children. They steal from their own future.