UNMIK ON AIR

9 April, 2003

RETURN IN NOVAKE

(Zoran Culafic)

Hello and welcome to this edition of UNMIK on Air with Sputnik Kilambi

The return of all IDPs who wish to come back to their homes is one of the international community’s priorities in Kosovo this year, but progress in this area still leaves much to be desired. It appears that Belgrade and the international community each have their own ideas as to how this should take place. And given this lack of coordination, it’s not surprising that Serb returnees are confused.

Novake was once a Serb village in a beautiful valley near Prizren, with almost 110 houses and nearly 600 inhabitants before the war. Now every house has been destroyed. Some 60 Serbs returned to Novake village near Prizren recently – certainly a positive development, but the follow-up will be crucial.

One of the returnees is Stajko Djordjevic, a big built Serb in his mid sixties who believed Belgrade’s claims that things would be settled very soon. Now he has doubts whether the promises will be kept.

Stajko Djordjevic: When we decided to come here, they told us, just come on March 15 and as soon as you come the rebuilding of the houses will start. But, as you can see, only a few foundations have been laid. Building material is still to arrive. And they promised us that in two months we would be able to move into the houses with our families. But, my God, we’ll see what is going to happen now.

Reconstruction work is being done by ASB, a German NGO, while KFOR provides security and three meals a day for the Serbs who currently live together in a village dormitory. ASB chief Bill Foxton is fully aware that many things are going too slowly for these people.

Bill Foxton: When I looked at this project, I knew that the first building that I have to reconstruct was the school. And I brought the donor here, and I show them Novake, there was nobody living here, the school was destroyed and you imagine how difficult is to persuade somebody to give you 100.000 euro, because, this is - how many will come back. So, if I can get 100.000 when nobody is here, I can get money when people are here. That’s not a problem.

Speaking with returnees, one gets the impression they are really happy to be back on their own property, but one can also hear that they feel that Serbia forced them to return by dramatically reducing help for those in IDP centers. Bosko Stanojevic was obliged to return to Kosovo when the Red Cross ceased aid to his IDP center.

Bosko Stanojevic: How can I earn money when I have 1.200 Dinars pension (around 20 euro). They reduced all that help even ten-year old children are excluded. You can get your money from the Red Cross on only one day in a month, but if you are not present on that day, you lose it. I was in hospital and couldn’t go on that day, later on when I went they refused to give me the money saying where have you been till now.

Nonetheless, all of them are very happy to be back in Novake. This is their village and for many, it’s their whole life, even if their expectations are not very high.

Dusan Petkovic: When we left this place I was really healthy but I got ill in Serbia and was in hospital, this was because of my depression at having been forced to leave Kosovo. I spent one month in a hospital bed. When I heard about the returns, I couldn’t wait to come back

Igor Djordjevic: You can see, they all are coming here, but the government offers us nothing. And our families are in Serbia; we all pay rent there. And Government is not saying - just let’s help those people somehow, with the electricity or the monthly rent now we are all here and our families are there.

The main problem for most returnees is how to earn a living. Velimir Petkovic is a cook from Velika Hoca and he was lucky to be hired by KFOR and German ASB - NGO.

Velimir Petkovic: KFOR is providing the food, and we are paid by the ASB; we prepare three meals a day, various meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner. I was visiting our IDP centers in Serbia, they have just one meal for a day and here we have meat even in the morning, for lunch and for dinner too. It’s excellent

But better nourishment isn’t everything. Each time Momcilo Stojanovic puts a morsel of food in his mouth he thinks of his wife back in Serbia.

Momcilo Stojanovic: We are here and we have good food to eat, but we do not know how they are there in Serbia. If we can earn some money here we would send them in Serbia to survive but, my God, I can’t say how they are living now. My spouse is there, my father was killed here, my mother died in Pirot, in Serbia, afterwards my spouse is working all day long, from 8 am to midnight and she gets just a small money for her. She would like to come back too, but there is no condition, there is no place for us to sleep, we are here all together, all men. Imagine, one woman in a sleeping room with 30 men, it is not appropriate.

Managing the returns in Novacke is certainly a huge challenge – but even if the present reality leaves much to be desired, the people also have positive memories to draw strength and hope from. What many people don’t perhaps know is that in Novacke, ethnic harmony was never a problem.

Branko Gligorijevic is a leading member of the returning Serb community.

Branko Gligorijevic: I remember that about 150 Serb families found shelter with Albanian Catholics from the neighboring villages of Spinadija and Smraca and they protected more than 570 Serbs. If they had not done that, all of us would have been killed, because we were abandoned by the police, by the army, even by the priests.

The people of Novacke and surrounding areas lived together peacefully once, not so long ago really – they can do it again.

That does it for this edition of UNMIK ON AIR. Thanks for listening.