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In their effort to be a link in providing information to displaced people on condition of their property in Kosovo and Metohija Association of Citizens for Assistance to Displaced from Kosovo and Metohija “Sveti Spas”, thanking to understanding and excellent support of Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) , continued with organising of GO-AND-SEE visits of to Prizren region during whole year of 2003. In relatively short period of time (in one year time) it has been done in this field more than expected. Our beneficiaries established contacts with neighbours and friend, visited them and kept company with them. They have been creating conditions for recent return. The period of activities in 2003 was characterised by discussing and practical implementation of Manual for Sustainable Return. As the part of the implementation of manual the local NGOs nominated their representatives of IDPs in municipal working groups as initiated by ORC's Office for Return and Communities. |
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The participation of these representatives was of great importance for further work in process of return. If we take into consideration indisputable fact that the majority of returnees were using our services before final return through the programme of GO-AND-SEE visits in order to get information on situation in |
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places where they lived before displacing , we are coming to conclusion that the project “At home of own” has accomplished planed tasks. In 2003 continuity of visits to Prizren region was maintained. Favourable security situation enabled in this year as many as 55 visits with total 278 persons. The improvement in comparison to previous visits is in increasing number of males, especially young ones who decided to make visit. Since the beginning of organised visits, from August 2000 as many as 612 beneficiaries used our services until the end of 2003. Graphic 1 shows the number of visits to Prizren region by year: 2000 -66 beneficiaries, 2001 - 55 beneficiaries, 2002 -213 beneficiaries, 2003 -278 beneficiaries.
The number of returnees can not be directly linked to our activities but it is the very fact that almost all of them were beneficiaries of our programme and that our engagement and providing of services enabled them first contact with Kosovo. In reporting period was significantly increased the number of beneficiaries who visited the town of Prizren thanking to possibilities of more intensive visits to the town. The Graphic 2 shows the number of visits by places in period 2000-2000, when actual visits to the town started in last month of the year.
By enabling visits to the town, the priority was given to the beneficiaries who visit the town, so that in 2003 there were much higher number of those who visited town compared to those who visited the villages. Graphic 3 shows the total number of 612 visits in 2003 by places. By comparing the last column, which represents the visits to Prizren, can be noticed the difference in the number of beneficiaries. The overall number of visits by places is as follows: Zivinjane - 4, Smac -9 , Novake -13, Musutiste -3, Sredska -114, Lokvica -7 , Stajkovce -27 , Musnikovo -73 , Bogosevce -57 , Gornje Selo -18 , Drajcice -92, Planjane-17 , Prizren -178 .
The number of returnees is also changing the statistics of the village prevailing so far. Gornje Selo, with mixed population was visited by 11 beneficiaries by mediation of our organisation. Musnikovo, with mixed population, was visited in our organisation by 16 of our beneficiaries during 2003. Bogosevce was visited in 2003 by 11 IDPs .
Sredska was completely empty village until the August 2002 when returned Mr. Zoran Stevanovic . In 2003 this village was visited by 27 people thanking to NRC's project. International NGOs and Co-ordination Centre for Kosovo an Metohija made this village to start to live in 2003. The number of houses was reconstructed, the new houses were built, the ambulanta was renovated. A reception centre for those waiting for their houses to be renovated until is possible to live in them was put in function and the police station was activated again. In August there were 56 families with 84 individuals. In December 2003 there were 14 families with 20 individuals.
Drajcice visited 17 beneficiaries in 2003 by mediation of our organisation. The village is with mixed population and certain number of Serbs hadn't left the village after the exodus. Today there has been 20 Serbian families with 36 individuals. Stajkovice visited 9 persons in visits organised by us. Planjane, also village with mixed population, was visited by 3 persons, i.e. all the beneficiaries who expressed their wish to visit this village. Today in Planjane live 2 Serbian families with 4 individuals. Lokvica, with mixed population. In our organisation 4 people visited the village. In Lokvice there are today 2 families with 2 individuals. Novake, inhabited by Serbs, remained empty after exodus and was destroyed completely. After the return of IDPs 2003, started and was successfully finished the reconstruction and building of 62 family houses. According to UNMIK reports there are 100 inhabitants living there. The local population, mostly peasants, managed to cultivate their land. One of the burning problems in the coming year is selling of their products. There are a number of younger returnees in the village what gives hopes for return of all categories of displaced persons, not only of the elderly household members. Smac was visited by 6 persons in 2003 trying to explore possibilities of return. Smac is the village in which, until exodus, lived in good terms Serbs and Albanians. The village is in the neighbourhood of the village Novake so that the visitors of village Smac had chance to visit the returnees in village Novake and to share their impressions on reality of survival there. In spite of greater number of people interested in visit to village Smac more visits was not possible to realise because we hadn't got support of responsible bodies - due to security reasons the village was not possible to visit without announcing and without escort.. Musutiste was not visited during 2003 because it was not possible to guarantee the safety there. Our organisation visited together with 3 IDPs from Musotiste, with support of UNHCR Prizren and other relevant factors, the Austrian base “ Casablanca ” on 03 September 2003 and had first talks with leadership of Suva Reka municipality on possibilities of return to this place. Interest for visit to Musotiste is very big. Zivinjane was visited for the first time in 2003 with our assistance. Four people interested in visits realised them. There are all security preconditions for visit to this place but the interest is small due to the big number of destroyed houses. The village was inhabited exclusively by the Serbs. There is no inhabitants now in the village. Prizren was possible to visit only after 24 November 2003 when 10 people visited it. Thanking to good coordination and co-operation with UNHCR office in Belgrade and especially the one in Prizren as many as 154 displaced persons in our organisation visited the town in 2003. Due to the big number of interested IDPs for the visits to the town, and physical inability of responsible institutions in Prizren to give to everybody necessary logistics and escort, after short time of visits with obligatory escort, was established new way of visiting the property of IDPs - without escort “at own risk”. This way of visiting appeared as the product of traditionally good relation of all Prizren inhabitants. Of course, this way of visits was supported by UNHCR Prizren logistics.
Compensation for costs of transport, overnight stay in hotel and food for 2 days was provided on account of the project to all beneficiaries who were visiting Prizren and Smac while for beneficiaries who visited villages in Sredacka Zupa only transport was provided considering the fact that they had possibility to proceed to their villages after they reach Brezovica. As the part of the project the office of “Sveti Spas” Belgrade was giving to beneficiaries the services of legal advice and assistance free of charge. As many as 116 beneficiaries approached office for free of charge legal assistance during 2003. CONCLUSION During 2003 AT HOME OF OWN were returnees from Novake, as well as the certain number returnees from Gornje Selo, Bogosevac, Sredska and Stajkovac. Our organisation was not able neither to assist them in reconstruction or building of the houses nor was able to meet their needs after return in terms of finance. However many other organisations gave the most part of required assistance. Our assistance was in form of assistance by relieving fears, preparations for departure to homeland and re-establishing of contact with homeland. We organised GO-AND-SEE visits and informed IDPs about the situation in places where they lived before displacing. It is small but important contribution. We believe that we assisted in taking of final decision whether to integrate or to return. It was small stone inducing avalanche, the desire for final voluntary return. The possibility for including representatives of our association in work of municipal working groups and co-operation with ORC's Office for Assistance and Communities are important preconditions for answering to the requests of the beneficiaries and eventual returnees in 2004, when many or IDPs are to take final decision and we have strong reasons to believe that the preconditions for liberation of occupied property will be created. A number of beneficiaries who applied for visits of their homes with our support and results made so far are giving us right to to hope that we will be able to meet demands of the beneficiaries. The realisation of project supported by
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