[strawbale] Fwd: 4th Kosovo Report - Sept. 2, 2001

[Catherine Wanek <blackrange@zianet...>]

> Delivered-To:blackrange@zianet...
> Date: Sun, 02 Sep 2001 10:27:33 EDT
> From: LoisPeace@aol...
> Subject: 4th Kosovo Report - Sept. 2, 2001
>
> Hi Everyone,
>
> Since I am in Pristina for the day today (Sunday), I decided to take
> advantage of the Internet Cafe here and jot you a few lines without
> notes.  
>
> Since Sunday is the only day our registration center is closed, this is
> the only day I can come into Pristina to do my shopping, telephone my
> children and use the Internet Cafe.  
>
> Well, we just completed five of the six weeks scheduled for OSCE Voter
> Registrations, and we have registered 120 of a possible 4821 local
> residents to date -- a little more than 2% !  We knew it was going
> to be a tough job getting the Serbian people to register.  And this
> past week was exciting because they are slowly coming!  We never
> registered our first person until Aug. 13th.  Then we registered 1-3
> a day some days and  none some days until this past Monday. 
> This week we registered 12 on Mon., 14 on Tues., 15 on Wed., 27 on
> Thurs., 21 on Fri. and 7 on Sat.  A very big week for us!
>
> I do believe we will be much busier next week -- which is suppose to be
> our last week.  However, there has been talk in the air for the last
> two weeks that they might extend our registrations two or three weeks if
> we see the Serbs slowly coming out.  So I do believe it will be
> extended.  But until I get an official notice, we are only six days
> from the end of registrations!
>
>  I would love to go into the villages and meet the village people
> back in the mountains.  But it will be difficult, because my team at
> my fixed site in Zubin Potok says the villagers in the mountains are so
> poor.  They said your heart just breaks for them.  
>
> So whatever will be, will be!  
>
> Guess what?  I had a visitor last week!  Jill Cerqueira was
> here.  Our Jill from WCD.  She is a high school History teacher
> at Holmdell High School.  She came to Kosovo to work with bringing
> together Albanian and Serbian HS students through e-mail communication
> with her students.  She is now working on trying to build a
> relationship with our Zubin Potok Serbian High School students and the
> Albanian students in Chapra, 6 kilometers away.  
>
> There is a little old man (probably in his 70's) in Zubin Potok who runs
> up and shakes my hand every time he sees me.  He says everything in
> Serbian, and then we get someone to translate for us.  He always
> says the same thing:  "We use to be such good friends -- the
> USA and us Serbian people"  "I'm so sorry we aren't
> friends any more".
>
> Every time I see him and he grabs me to shake my hand, I could cry. 
> He is so hurt by the NATO and USA bombing.  He just can't understand
> how we could do such a thing to them.  I always tell him we are
> friends and it was just the leaders who made that happen.  Every
> time I tell him this, then he squeezes my hand harder and smiles and
> agrees!  
>
> As afraid as I was to come into a Serbian community, I am so thankful I
> am here.  The whole town knows me now, and they all are wonderful to
> me.  I am so glad to be able to help them deal with this
> disappointment of what happened between our two countries.  
>
> There is a man who came into my registration site last week.  He
> came up and shook my hand.  My team told me that his house was
> destroyed by NATO bombing. It was the only house in the town of Zubin
> Potok distroyed by the bombing.  His elderly father was in the
> basement when the house was distroyed, but his father survived.  He
> has been trying for two years to get someone to rebuild his house for
> him.  He is probably in his 60's and he needs Int'l help so
> bad.  And so far the UN hasn't done anything to help him. 
> There aren't any NGO's in Zubin Potok who can help.  So I am going
> to try to get the Straw Bale Builders to come and rebuild his house
> .  I plan to write to Catherine Wanek today.  I just added you
> to this mailout, Catherine, so I hope you read this.  It would be
> such a wonderful thing if the BWB (Builders Without Borders) would come
> and build him a house.  It would do miracles for the poeple of this
> region, because no-one is doing anything to help the Serbian people
> i!
> n Kosovo.  Millions and Millions
>  of dollars are being poured into the Albanian communities of
> Kosovo, but not one penny is available for the poor Serbian
> communities.  It is criminal!
>
> I will write to you personally, Catherine.  I pray you and the BWB
> can come and build him a house.
>
> The electric has gone out twice while I am writing this, so I need to
> mail it before I loose it altogether.
>
> My love to all of you.
>
> Love and Peace,
> Lois