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Letters from the Hoppes: Missionaries in AlbaniaRETURNING TO KOSOVO
6/23/99
Dear friends:
Yesterday, under the dark cover of early morning, Nathan boarded a heavily-loaded minibus and departed for Kosovo. The laden vehicle was heading for a small village somewhere outside of Gjakova. Nathan was accompanying one of our Kosovo families--Mira and Ndue Tahiri, and their four children--back home. If all went well, they should have reached home by mid-afternoon yesterday. Because the phones in Kosovo are not yet back in service, I will not know what has happened until Nathan returns--hopefully, sometime tomorrow. This morning I was told that refugees were being turned back at the border--Kosovo isn't ready to receive its masses of citizens yet and wants to delay their return until next week. Since Nathan didn't return home last night, I assume he and his minibus crossed the border (or, perhaps, they're camped out nearby).
Violtsa and Zef Tahiri (the brother of the above-mentioned Ndue), and their two children (our house guests for two months) also left yesterday, having arranged for transportation with their uncle's family. I miss already Violtsa's sweet nature and kindness. Two weeks ago, after we settled her into her own little apartment, she took to baking us bread every day. I enjoyed visiting her, drinking freshly-brewed Turkish coffee, and bouncing 3-month-old Mihail on my knee. Violtsa's pride in her plump little son was a pleasure to see. Mihail had never really had a home other than ours, having made his first long journey two days after his birth in Kosovo. He had been carried in his mother's arms through the mountains in the rain, unable to nurse because his mother had no milk to give him. She herself had had nothing to eat or drink during her hospital stay and for several days after Mihail's birth. She had been unable to produce any milk. Needless to say, when the family finally reached the Albanian border after their long ordeal, Violtsa and Mihail were rushed to the hospital. Mihail was thin and sickly, and Violtsa herself was in a serious state of exhaustion. (She walks with a limp because of an injury incurred during her own birth 27 years ago, and her walk through the mountains so soon after giving birth and her own disability, as she describes it, almost cost her her life.)
Now, Violtsa returns to face a difficult situation in Kosovo. Although the looting and burning of houses by Serb forces and the bombardment by NATO have brought on so much destruction in Kosovo, Violtsa's life as a village woman before the war began was not easy. Previously, her daily duties had included milking the cow (from which she made yogurt and cheese), baking bread on a wood stove, washing clothes for five people by hand, and cleaning the house. Her mother-in-law with whom she lives was disabled and could not assist her. Now Violtsa returns with an infant to care for along with her extremely active four-year-old. At our last meeting, she gave me a wan smile. I don't think she was ready to go home. Her life here had been infinitely easier. (Nathan will be giving careful attention to their circumstances and those of Ndue's family and will try to provide the things that they need in order to have a manageable life. That is one of his primary reasons for taking this trip to Kosovo. He loaded them down with enough food to sustain them for some time.)
Fortunately for the families of Ndue and Zef, their homes were not burned. Last week a representative from the Tahiri family was dispatched to Kosovo to discover what had become of their parents and what condition their homes were in. These families are among the few lucky ones. Not only did they find their parents alive, they still have a roof and four walls to shelter them. Their parents had refused to leave Kosovo and had survived on bread made from a large stock of flour stored before the war began, and yogurt and cheese made from the milk produced by their cow. Several times the Serb military had come, asking after their sons and looting their home, but they had left the aged couple unmolested and the cow undisturbed.
Nathan and I were completely unprepared for the mass exodus of the Kosovo refugees. We thought most would be cautious about returning home to possible burnt-out, mine-infested, looted homes and properties. But such has not been the case. The refugee camps are quickly emptying out, and the returnees are now numbering in the hundreds of thousands. I am worried about what they will eat, where they will find shelter if their homes were burned, and what will happen if they encounter mines and other explosive devices. No doubt the aid agencies will help, but it takes time to organize these things, and no one thought the war would end so suddenly. Understandably, the Kosovars would prefer to be home, suffering from want in their own back yards, rather than cramped in close quarters in a camp or apartment a day's-journey from home. We can't blame them.
Although many of the refugees are leaving, many will still remain here for a few weeks or months. Some don't have the resources to return home. (All available modes of transportation are commanding exorbitant fares--$350 and up to hire a minibus). Besides continuing to provide food and other necessities for those refugees whom we know here, we will also be turning our attention toward helping refugees return home, and we will try to provide what we can for them to start life over in Kosovo.
But first, Nathan needs to return. If all goes well on this trip, he may decide to accompany more of "his families" home.
Thank you for your prayers and gifts to help these refugees. You have helped to ease the pain and distress of an immensely difficult period in their lives.
God bless you.
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6/26/99Hello Friends,
Two nights ago, Nathan returned safely from his excursion to Kosovo. The properties of the Tahiri family-three households in all-were largely in tact, having suffered little loss from looting.
Nathan was struck by how immediately life fell back into it's normal routine. That first day home, Mira Tahiri milked the cow morning and evening-just as before; the children wandered out into the garden to play; various neighbors, whom the family hadn't seen for months, came to drink coffee and gossip about local affairs. Violtsa was reunited with her two brothers and their families, none of whom she had heard from since before the war. (On several occasions, I had seen Violtsa weeping over the unknown plight of her brothers.)
The shopping district of Gjakova, the largest city nearby, was completely destroyed by Serb forces. Nathan saw blocks and blocks of rubble and scorched construction debris. Elsewhere in the city, about 10% of the houses were burned. Two of the most astounding sights of destruction were the police headquarters and the military base, both of which had been bombed by NATO. Though these locations were not leveled to the ground, they were rendered completely unsalvageable, with very little damage being done to any surrounding structures. Thankfully, Nathan neither observed nor heard of any incidents of retaliation by Kosovars against the Serb civilians in the area.
The road trip from Tirana to Gjakova took 13 hours, 7 of which were spent winding through the mountains on a miserable road flanked by a sheer, frightening drop. According to Nathan, "guard rails were not included in the budget."
Needless to say, I am happy to have Nathan home. He has spent the past two days visiting his refugee families to find out what their plans are. Most with whom he has spoken are anxious to go home as soon as possible. Some have already left. Nathan is giving serious thought to accompanying 4-5 heads-of-household to Kosovo to survey their properties. All of these men suspect that their homes have been destroyed. Nathan wants to analyze their situations and determine whether he can help provide temporary housing for them while assisting them with rebuilding.
Please pray for peace and forgiveness between the two ethnic groups in Kosovo. In his conversations with Kosovars, Nathan tries to do what he can promote reconciliation, but he often feels like he's talking to a massive, stone wall. Fortunately, God can tear down walls. Lynette for the Hoppes
senden