wfn.org | FEATURE: The Balkans - Returning Home

["Frank Imhoff" <franki@elca.org>]

FEATURE: The Balkans - Returning Home
LWF Regional Program Offers Hope for a Fresh Start 

MONTREUX, Switzerland/GENEVA, 28 May 2004 (LWI) * In 1999, Boso Cosic and his
wife were among the first Serbian refugees to return to the Sanski Most
region of Bosnia-Herzegovina. They lived at the refugee center there until
their house was rebuilt. Their son, daughter-in-law, and their three
school-age children were not sure whether they dare return. They eventually
did so last year, and requested the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) for
assistance. Building materials they received were used to extend the family
house. As beneficiaries of an agricultural project of the LWF Department for
World Service (DWS) Balkans Program, the family began to grow cucumbers and
strawberries. Additional support in the latter half of 2003 went toward
purchase of agricultural equipment to boost farm production. 

There are often three generations returning together, according to Ms Hermine
Nikolaisen, LWF regional representative in the Balkans. This demonstrates
people's yearning for their homeland and hope for a new beginning, she notes.
She spoke of the Cosic family's case at this year's DWS Annual Forum in
Montreux, Switzerland. In an interview with Lutheran World Information (LWI)
she said, "My vision for the Balkans is one in which political and economic
stability are achieved, enough jobs are available, and peaceful coexistence
between the various ethnic groups is possible." 

The LWF representative is unwavering in her conviction despite renewed
conflicts in Kosovo between Albanians and Serbs in mid-March. At least 19
people were killed and hundreds injured in the violence in which over 3,000
minority group members, mainly Serbs, were forced to flee. Almost 30 Serbian
Orthodox churches and monasteries were burnt down or extensively damaged, and
around 800 Serbian homes destroyed. 

Nikolaisen cites one possible cause of the violence as Kosovo's still
undetermined status. Kosovo Albanians are in favor of creating an independent
state, whereas the Serbs reject such aspirations, she notes.

Helping Rebuild Destroyed Homes

In 1992 millions of people were forced to leave their homes during ethnic
conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. That was the same year Nikolaisen came to
the Balkans as LWF regional representative. She was transferred to Kenya in
1998 and led the LWF Kenya/Sudan program until 1999, returning to the Balkans
in 2000. For over ten years, the LWF regional program has served
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo and Vojvodina. 

During the war in the Balkans, LWF focused on providing humanitarian
assistance. Such help is still needed in order to enable people make a fresh
start in their homeland. In 1999, when almost one million Kosovo Albanians
returned home, LWF and Action by Churches Together (ACT) International, the
Geneva-based global network of churches and partner organizations responding
to emergencies, collaborated to help 5,400 families rebuild their homes.
Water-supply systems and 40 kilometers of access roads were restored. Many
wish to return, Nikolaisen stresses, but it is difficult. They have neither
money nor construction materials to rebuild their devastated homes. There are
few opportunities to earn income.

LWF provides assistance toward reconstruction of homes and offers support for
agricultural activities. Support to repatriating refugees includes a visit to
their hometowns for assessment of conditions that await them. They have an
opportunity to talk to friends and neighbors to find out how they are
settling back and earning a living. The returnees then receive construction
materials and loans from the LWF to rebuild homes. The DWS Balkans program
gives advice on income-generating activities in agriculture. Despite great
need, the regional program cannot assist everyone. It mainly focuses on the
most vulnerable groups. 

Many Factors Contribute to Instability in the Region

The LWF representative believes there are several factors that contribute to
instability in the Balkans. Since mid-2003, the Kosovo Albanians have felt
they no longer receive sufficient support from non-governmental
organizations. In their view, there also has been strong and somewhat
exclusive support for the return of the Serbian minority during this time.
Nikolaisen describes the renewed outbreak of violence and its potential,
particularly among young people, as frightening. Other concerns include low
educational standards, shortage of training opportunities as well as
promising career development for young people in a region with a 60-70
percent unemployment rate.

The DWS Balkans program currently has five international and 120 national
employees with a budget of USD 18 million, according to the regional
representative. She points out that many other aid organizations have left
the Balkans due to insufficient funding. This has significant consequences
for the population, she adds.

In March 2004, the German global television network Deutsche Welle, aired the
documentary film "Friedensstifter auf dem Balkan" as part of its series on
issues of faith. The documentary, a compilation of stories about some of the
families, depicts LWF's work in the region. (798 words)

(Written for LWI by Klaudia Zimmermann, youth trainee in the LWF Office for
Communication Services.)

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now has 136 member
churches in 76 countries representing 62.3 million of the almost 66 million
Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas
of common interest such as ecumenical and inter-faith relations, theology,
humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects
of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva,
Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the LWF's information service. Unless
specifically noted, material presented does not represent positions or
opinions of the LWF or of its various units. Where the dateline of an article
contains the notation (LWI), the material may be freely reproduced with
acknowledgment.]

*    *	   *

LWI online at: http://www.lutheranworld.org/News/Welcome.EN.html 

LUTHERAN WORLD INFORMATION
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Editor's e-mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org