Deportees and Refugees in Macedonia
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Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 15:50:55 +0300 (EET DST)
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Subject: Deportees and Refugees in Macedonia
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Original sender: Greek Helsinki Monitor <[email protected]>
Deportees and Refugees in Macedonia
Deportees and Refugees in Macedonia: Life Between Walls or Wire Fences
AIM Skopje, 16 May, 1999
The end of the first tide of banished persons from Kosovo, the number
of which stopped at about quarter of a million, brought certain relief
to the Macedonian government which in mid May declared that it would
allow as many banished Kosovars to enter as are received by western
countries. And as western countries are in no hurry with reception of
deportees in their countries it seemed that tensions would increase
again. "Salvation" came in the form of empty border crossing which was
crossed by just a few persons for days. The puzzle everybody tried to
solve, starting from NATO to journalists of local media, was the
reason which led to cessation of the rush of deported Kosovars into
Macedonia. The answer arrived in the form of a Reuters' analysis that
a secret agreement between Yugoslav president Milosevic and Macedonian
president Gligorov was the reason for the interruption of the inflow
of people from Kosovo and Metohija. The immediate cause for such
speculations was the letter of Macedonian president addressed to his
counterpart in Belgrade which was later published by the media. On the
basis of what was made known of the contents of this letter it is
impossible to say that it is a concrete agreement, but the very fact
that the letter is quite intimate raises doubt that "there is
something in it". About reasons why he had written this letter,
Gligorov declared that with it he wished to "open the eyes" of
Milosevic, literally claiming that he had wished to say the truth
about what was going on in FRY because he feared that people around
Milosevic were not telling him the whole truth. He, of course, used
the opportunity to praise the courage of the Serb people, which is a
specific cult in Macedonian ethnic community, but at the same time
made it clear to Milosevic that it was impossible to fight against 19
powerful countries. So far there has been no reply, the only reaction
was gratitude of Yugoslav foreign minister. Gligorov did not even
receive a return call from Milosevic, whom he had called a month ago,
but he was allegedly busy with talks with Primakov at the time.
But it seems that Gligorov does not intend to give up on his mission
to call his Belgrade counterpart to his senses, not minding the
speculations that he is scheming with him on certain sensitive issues
causing additional mistrust among NATO partners. An illustration of
results of such Macedonian policy is the fact that after the
Washington summit Macedonia is further away from reception in NATO
than it was before the beginning of the attack on FRY.
Macedonian policy is not more sophisticated when organizing of life
for deportees from Kosovo is concerned either. Although the second
month is expiring since the first tide of deportees has arrived, the
life of Kosovars can be brought down to mere physical survival. Almost
complete Albanian intellectual elite from Kosovo is in Macedonia, but
they are shut down in their small worlds which are most frequently
enicircled by walls of houses in which they are accommodated thanks to
solidarity of their ethnic brethren in Macedonia. Those less
fortunate, the so-called "ordinary people" or those who have no
relatives or friends in Macedonia, live their life between wire fences
of tent camps, with almost no connections with the outer world.
The beginning of publication of Koha ditore daily is the unique form
of organised life of the Kosovars in Macedonia. This newspaper is now
distributed free of charge in camps and via humanitarian organizations
to families which receive humanitarian aid. There are indications that
the known weekly Zeri might also appear soon, which will also be
distributed to Kosovar families. Apart from that there is almost
nothing, if taverns and cafes are excluded, which are full of people
who know not what the next day might bring. As it is possible to
learn, Macedonian government has refused the initiative to organize
cultural clubs which would play the role of guardians of social life
of the deportees and preserve their social identity which would help
them pick up their social life once they return to Kosovo. This is not
surprising in view of the strong anti-Albanian disposition in
Macedonia ever since the deportees started arriving. Fear of loss of
identity which is openly expressed is used as a starting point in
treating the Kosovars, and on the other hand this repulsive policy is
aimed at making life of the Kosovars as unpleasant as possible in
order to make them want to leave as soon as possible.
It is also interesting that not even the civil organizations in this
country have done anything to bring the deportees or the refugees
closer to the local population. These organizations which are inert as
it is due to the lack of experience in organizing or development of a
civil society, simply withdrew into ethnic spheres, giving the
government a free hand to deal with the problems as it best suits it.
Although camps are springing up like mushrooms after the rain and
although there are several ten thusand persons in each, nobody
bothered to organize any structure that could play the role of "local
self-administration" which could represent the deportees in
negotiations with the authorities on certain vital issues. There have
already been plenty of opportunities to realize the need for such
structures the absence of which can lead to serious incidents. It is
whispered in Skopje that attempts of open rebellions in camps because
of difficult living conditions have been prevented.
With the rise of outdoor temperature, a dilemma arises in the camps:
what is worse - the cold or the heat? Low tents with a few ten people
living in each, often members of different families, become unbearable
when the sun heats the air in them up to summer temperate of thirty or
more degrees centigrade. When in these camps, people have no other
preoccupation but to wait, one can just try to imagine what sorts of
situations this can cause. Some form of organised social life would
certainly be a good buffer against possible conflicting situations,
and it would at the same time help keep up the spirit of the people
who have suffered great shocks.
International organizations are trying to play a certain role in this
sense, but their attempts to help the unfortunate Kosovars all
encounter negative reactions of the local population. In a situation
in which the local population is experiencing a difficult economic and
social crisis, reactions such as jealousy are easily predictable, but
it seems that most of foreign organizations still have not realized
this. That is how the vicious circle is closed within walls or wire
fences, making the life of the deported quarter of a million Kosovars
in Macedonia into life in a specific ghetto with no visible way out
for the time being.
AIM Skopje
IBRAHIM MEHMETI
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