wfn.org | Some Kosovo refugees settle in, others prepare to return home

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99-179

Some Kosovo refugees settle in, others prepare to return home

by Jim DeLa

     (ENS) Mehmed Pllana discovered the Serb army was invading 
his village near Pristina when bullets began tearing through the walls 
of his home.
     Pllana gathered his family as they literally ran for their lives. The 
family and about 500 other villagers, many of them women and 
children, headed for the forest as the Serbs pursued them. Pllana, 
telling his story recently through an interpreter, said he carried his 
9-year-old daughter, Ajshe, in his arms, to shield her. "We just kept 
running and running. Bullets were flying everywhere," he recalled.
     He and his family are now safe and living in Clearwater, Florida, 
thanks to Episcopal Migration Ministry, donations from congregations 
throughout the diocese and the work of EMM's coordinator in Southwest 
Florida, Carolyn Monroe.
     The Episcopal Ministry to Refugees, the local arm of EMM, has taken 
in 24 refugees from war-torn Kosovo, and Monroe says most are doing 
well. They have apartments and most have jobs. Many of the women are 
working as housekeepers at the Radisson Hotel in nearby St. Petersburg, 
while many of the men are employed at Eastern Ribbon and Roll, a company 
that makes cash register tapes for retailers.
     The ministry supplies each family with an apartment, furnished by 
donations from many congregations in the diocese. The pantries are stocked, 
and closets are filled when they arrive. The program helps them through the 
first four months by paying rent and teaching them the basics of life in America, 
such as setting up a bank account and enrolling children in school. 
     After four months, families are expected to be self-sufficient and most are 
able to succeed. "We follow them for at least eight months," Monroe says, 
"and we do have funds in reserve in case some have trouble." 
     The refugees are adjusting to their new lives, although the experience of
fleeing a war zone is still fresh in their minds. 
     After escaping into the forest, the Pllanas and their neighbors ran four 
kilometers to a farming village, where they were offered a place to hide. 
Several people were wounded during the escape, but Pllana said they couldn't
trust the doctors. "Their doctors were Serbian doctors," he explained. If 
someone from Kosovo would go to them, "they would steal that person's 
blood (to treat Serb soldiers) and then leave them to die."
     The Pllanas--by way of horse-drawn carriage and then a cattle train--
eventually found themselves at the Macedonian border. They weren't out 
of danger yet.
     Thousands of people were descending on the refugee camp there. 
Police used clubs to keep crowds in order. "When we were running into 
the camp, whoever wasn't strong enough would get run over by people 
trying to get inside. You would have to go past dead bodies to get in. It 
was a horrible place," Pllana said. They are not planning to return. 
     Other families now in Clearwater share similar stories. "The Serbs said
we had five minutes to pack and leave our house," said Ahmet Statovci. He, 
his wife and three children left on foot. They were eventually taken to a train 
station but not told were they were going.
     After 12 hours they found themselves at the Macedonian border. But 
because of the crush of people trying to get into Macedonia, the border 
was closed. They had nowhere to turn. "We stayed outside in a field for 
a week." 
     Once the border reopened, they lived in a tent for five weeks in a refugee 
camp before they were allowed to select a new country in which to live. 
They chose the U.S. because one of their sons learned English in school. 
"We're very glad we are here," he said.
     The family was to return to Kosovo by the end of November, although 
their 18-year-old son, Flamur, will be staying (see separate story). Carolyn 
Monroe expects that about half of the refugees will eventually return to their 
homeland. Some, with husbands and other close relatives still in Kosovo, 
have already returned after just a few months in the U.S.
     Although they expect no more refugees from Kosovo, Monroe is still 
placing families from Bosnia.
     To help, contact Episcopal Migration Ministries at (800) 334-7627.

--Jim DeLa is the director of communications for the Diocese of Southwest 
Florida and editor of the diocesan newsmagazine, The Southern Cross.