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| The sign for the shared office for humanitarian organizations in Ferizaj.
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The rhythm and pace of our work in Kosovo was propelled by the obvious urgency of the situation and greatly facilitated by a seemingly endless array of coordination meetings with communities, partner organization and United Nations staff. The meetings were, of course, absolutely necessary. Responding alone would have been impossible and deploying coordinated efforts was imperative given the overwhelming need.
The province's phone system had long since been damaged beyond quick repair, and the network of radio communications was cumbersome. It meant a whole lot of back-and-forth visits just to set and confirm times for the various meetings. My bicycle came in handy and helped get the job done. Somehow though, we always found ourselves at the end of a long day in the field starting a series of planning meetings that went on into the night. The United Nations/NATO group updates were on Monday evenings at the sports auditorium, the World Food Programme sessions were on Tuesday nights and the United Nations distribution sessions met on Thursdays -- meetings on the seventh floor in a building with no working elevators. The other four nights were reserved for the impromptu work of the moment.
The sessions included the main implementing partners -- the other international organizations playing a leading role in a given locality or with a particular specialization. We dealt with the non-glamorous stuff that needed addressing to get the big job done. We unclogged logjams at the border crossings, found lost deliveries in transit, promoted collective security policies, proposed local contracting standards, located warehouse space and set beneficiary qualification criteria. It took endless hours but saved enormous problems down the road.
I know the Kosovo emergency response has been characterized by the huge numbers of organizations that rushed in with assistance and the difficulty the United Nations had in coordinating their work. But looking back, I found it the right mix of professionalism and intensity needed to get things done. It certainly was hectic and high energy. The Humanitarian Information Center in Pristina did a great job of keeping us all up to date, even without the phones, faxes and e-mails that would have made this coordination much easier. My hat goes off to all those colleagues who dedicated their time to the effort and who still found a way to talk about humanitarian work over a 10 p.m. dinner among friends.
Day 3