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| A CARE convoy carries shelter materials to help prepare homes for the Kosovo winter.
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I quickly discovered that trips to Mitrovica at the northern end of the province were a regular part of my work. CARE has a large field office and part of our warehouse distribution chain located there. Our program includes most of the elements of our Kosovo programming -- health, shelter, mine action and distribution of materials. It also was a very dangerous town in which to work.
At the time of my visit, Mitrovica was divided down ethnic lines by the River Ibar. Two bridges, controlled closely by the French NATO contingent, linked the two sides. Some Albanians resided to the north, but no minorities occupied the Albanian areas to the south. Intimidation and retribution violence had driven the Serbs and Romas away. The town showed conspicuous scars of the war in its destroyed buildings and damaged infrastructure. Moving around required extra vigilance on our part -- frequent use of the hand-held radios, talking with the checkpoint guards and being very attentive.
Estimates of the war's toll on Kosovo's housing had varied. Maps portrayed damage by category and municipality, while aerial photos showed half-destroyed communities. There were also projections as to where the snow line would lie in February. The consensus was that more than 70,000 homes were severely destroyed and that upwards of 500,000 people would somehow have to survive Kosovo's notoriously wet and cold winter in damaged housing.
Driving into Mitrovica and the communities around it on this day, my thoughts were more subjective. How horrible the force unleashed -- the bombing, burning and general wanton destruction. How random the damage mosaic: here nothing, while over there, total ruin. My work brought me into direct contact with real faces and real circumstances. One family in particular stood out for me.
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| Izhmet Behrami and family in their home.
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I met Izhmet Behrami and his wife, Julie, cleaning the rubble from their home in the Albanian enclave of North Mitrovica. The walls remained, but the house had been gutted by fire. There was no roof, and the summer sun poured in. The pattern of the old wooden floor rested in ash in eerie testimony on the concrete sub-floor. Izhmet and Julie were busy with brooms and shovels and had accumulated a huge pile of refuse and ruined personal effects in front of the house.
They were living in a large tent shared with their teenage daughter, Acdita, and Julie's sister. It was one of the many hundreds of tents CARE distributed in the area. Though very basic and quite hot in the summer, the tent kept the rain out. It was to be their home until part of the house could be refitted with a warm, dry room kit provided by CARE.
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| The damaged roof of Izhmet's home.
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Throughout Kosovo, we were working feverishly trying to both provide temporary shelter for families on their own property and then help prepare their damaged houses for winter. The "warm, dry room kit" included fitting one room with plastic sheeting to cover the windows and roof, a rough wooden door and a layer of thermal ground cloth. When combined with a wood stove, these can proide an effective barrier to the snow and cold. This was the focus of the international community's huge logistic and relief effort at that moment -- get ready for winter.
I visited Izhmet and his family several times during my stay. He was always cheerful, always willing to show his progress and accommodate the strangers in a hospitable way. The dialogue through the interpreter may have been clumsy, but his determination and pride showed through to all.
Day 4