Global Focus: TALK ABOUT KOSOVO RELIEF

washingtonpost.com
Monday, April 12, 1999

Ethnic Albanian refugees Ekrem (L) and Burim await medical attention after being injured by shrapnel as they fled Kosovo. (AP Photo)

Read the transcript below.

Vienna, VA: Can you please describe the specific program activities your organization is currently undertaking in the Kosovo region? Who are you helping and how?

Save the Children: Save the Children is working jointly with other International Save the Children organizations from around the world to respond to this humanitarian crisis. We are working directly in Montenegro, in the city of Plav, where we are supporting 8-10,000 refugees since the crisis began. We have been there since November and have assisted this group of refugees by providing 22 tons of emergency food including flour, cooking oil, canned meats and fish, water, milk powder, soap and shampoo. We are sending in another shipment of kits to Rozaje in the north of Montenegro. We have staff on the ground in Tirana, in Albania, doing a rapid assessment of conditions, and are also providing our colleague agency Save the Children Denmark with logistical support for their emergency supplies. 

bethesda, md: Reports indicate that the flood of supplies being sent to help the refugees are piling up in warehouses, and that it's been difficult to distribute the goods. Why is this happening? What's being done to solve the problem?

Save the Children: It does take some time to set up a logistical network for distribution. Agencies just recently established a larger presence in Albania and are working diligently to distribute the goods that are available. Having supplies in country and accessible will in the long term be an asset as in past emergencies getting a secure pipeline of goods has been problematic. Save the Children has staff on the ground in Albania, Montenegro, Sarajevo, and Macedonia so we could develop delivery systems to address the need. In most emergencies, including this one, it is always best to provide cash so that staff on the ground can purchase those supplies that are most needed and are locally available. 

Arlington, VA: Many families get split up situations like these, and many children are essentially lost. Are any formal efforts being made to reunite refugee children with their families?

Save the Children: UNICEF generally takes the lead in child reunification and works closely with non governmental organizations including Save the Children. Today in Macedonia Save the Children is working with UNICEF to begin the identification of those children who have been separated from their families. 

Vienna, VA: I've been hearing so many horrible details this weekend about the young women -girls, even!- who have raped by Serb soldiers. What is being done to help these women and prevent these unwanted pregnancies? Do you know of a relief group whose efforts are focussed on this issue? I'd be willing to make another donation to this cause exclusively. Thanks for your time.

Save the Children: I would encourage you to take a look at the INTERACTON webpage at WWW.interaction.org to review the particular focus areas of each of the agencies responding to this humanitarian crisis. 

Annandale, VA: Given the logistical nightmare of transporting goods through tiny airports and bad roads, is your organization coordinating well with the other aid agencies to provide the supplies needed to the refugees in the most efficient manner? If so, how are you doing this?

Save the Children: In most similar situations there exists a great deal of coordination between agencies such as UNICEF, UNHCR and the non governmental organizations. For example Save the Children has received support from the Dutch government for our relief efforts to assist affected families in Montenegro. In other times of crisis there is great coordination and exchange of information with respect to security and the conditions and needs of both refugees and those who are internally displaced. 

Arlington, Va.: On the news, we've been hearing a lot about how the war is psychologically damaging to the children of Kosovo. Can relief organizations do anything to address mental health needs?

Save the Children: Yes, there is a lot that can be done for those children. War changes a child’s sense of values and meanings. From flight to refuge to returning home, there is enormous diversity with respect to childrens' experience of displacement and conditions they face. Children witness violence, are compelled to participate in violence, and are victims of violence. When children are exposed to events beyond the normal boundaries of human experience, such as the violence common to war, stress reactions become apparent. Such reactions may include, aggressiveness, changes in temperament, nightmares, eating disturbances, learning problems, repeated fainting, vague aches and pains, loss of speech and bladder and/or bowel control, and clinging to or withdrawal from adults. Long term effects are likely to have their roots in loss of the child’s close emotional relationships and the events surrounding that loss. 

By integrating a child development perspective into emergency response activities, childrens' varied needs will be addressed. Food distribution and shelter programs can be implemented in ways that promote child protection from physical and emotional harm. Relief organizations can directly address childrens' needs. Education programs, for example, help re-establish stability in the midst of chaos – not only for children but also for families and care-givers. Education programs provide structure and predictability to every day life for children; provide caretakers time to do other important things; promote socialization among peers; protect against further cognitive harm; provide a captive community for health activities; provides opportunity to promote reconciliation activities; and provide an opportunity to identify children suffering from extreme trauma. 

Alexandria, Va.: I have no quarrel with your effort to feed and clothe the Kosovo refugee children, but isn't this the easy part of the job? What do you plan for the long term when the conflict fades from the news?

Save the Children: Actually this is the hard part of the job given that we have to rapidly establish operations in some new areas where many agencies have not been operational. When these immediate emergency needs subside we hope to have more time to address the longer term issues including repatriation and resettlement. This also is not easy, but in a more stable environment we can identify more staff, identify resources from within the community that definitely exist and do longer term planning. Resources, which often are reduced when these issues are off the front page and out of the media eye, can be difficult to obtain and we are depending on the support of both our private donors and other institutional partners to enable Save the Children and the other humanitarian assistance agencies to respond in a comprehensive long term manner. 

Holland, MI: My ten-year-old daughter is interested in the situation in Kosovo and is especially sensitive to the plight of refugee children. She wants to do a fund-raiser at her school to help in the relief effort and to raise awareness among her peers. Do you have any fund-raising ideas for her, or can you tell us where to look for ideas?

Save the Children: It is great that your daughter wants to respond to those emergency. It is really important for all of our children to realize what is happening to children and their families affected by this conflict. I recommend that she call Carolyn Miles at Save the Children at 203-221-3795 or email her at cmiles@savechildren.org to discuss ways to get more involved. Children did a lot to support our continued efforts for Hurricane Mitch, and these experiences were very positive for children here in the US and those impacted by MITCH in Honduras and Nicaragua. 

Washington, DC: Is your focus on children who have been separated from their parents? Do you anticipate needing to find homes in other countries for those who have been left without families as a result of this conflict?

Save the Children: Our objective is to everything humanly possible to reunite families and hopefully have them return to their own communities. We will work toward this goal, with other agencies. This is our particular speciality, whether this takes place in Angola, Mozambique, or former Yugoslavia. There are other agencies who have a particular focus on placing refugees here in the United States. As for the reunification of children we and our partners will work closely with UNICEF and UNHCR to enable this to take place. 

arlington, Va.: What kind of background, training, and-or experience do you require your volunteers have in order to do this type of work? Are volunteers overwhelmed by the misery they witness? And does Save the Children offer some type of crisis management program to assist volunteers with the mental anguish they may experience?

Save the Children: Our staff working in these emergency situations all have prior extensive experience and training in such difficult environments. We provide them training, and when we seek new employees we look for those who have managed emergencies with the many other capable international organizations who also work in humanitarian response. We do provide on-going training in terms of emergency management and have also documented best practices in emergencies. Additionally we have identified a donor who has supported Save the Children to bring together on an annual basis its worldwide staff working on Children and Crisis issues. 

With respect to volunteers we are not equipped to place them. On rare occassions, with highly skilled professionals who are in a position to both volunteer their time for six months or more, and who cover all of their expenses, we have made a rare exception. In this particular environment, and at this time we are able to secure the safety and well being of the generous individuals who have asked to volunteer. 

washingtonpost.com: We're roughly half-way through this live discussion with Gary Shaye of Save the Children. Submit questions using the hyperlink below. 

Albenite Barialiu, 2, from the Kosovo village of Bukos, is suffering from conjunctivitis.  (AP Photo)

University Park, MD: How is food distributed to children and babies, as opposed to adults? What items are children in need of, in addition to food?

Save the Children: Half of the first batch of food supplies that we sent to Montenegro was distributed in cooperation with the Red Cross. The second half was directly distributed by Save the Children staff to neighborhoods where refugees where located. Only those refugees who were able to provide a refugee identification card were provided with supply packets. One box of supplies per family of five was made available. Powdered milk was included as a basic commodity in each of the packets that were provided. 

Additional supplies which we require funding to provide include; a one time distribution of bottles, pacifiers, and cloth diapers. We also are seeking funding to continue supplemental weekly distributions that include formula and three types of baby food. 

Rosslyn, Va.: Children are suffering all around the world. Have your volunteers discovered any physical-emotional-physiological problems unique to the children in Kosovo, versus the ones plaguing children living in the other countries you assist?

Save the Children: At this moment this is one of the needs we are assessing. Can you come back to Save the Children with this question in the future. And please see my earlier response which discussed some of the impact of crisis on children. 

Fairfax, VA: What is the most effective way to make donations for refugee assistance. Does the UNHCR funnel donations to other agencies, such as Save the Children? Or must contributions be made directly to individual agencies?

Save the Children: The most effective way to help us at Save the Children is to call us at 1-800-243-5075 and/or go to our website at www.savethechildren.org We do work closely with UNHCR and USAID which has recommended that individuals make contributions to charities such as Save the Children and others listed on the Interaction Web site mentioned earlier. 

Alexandria, VA: Is it possible to adopt children who have become orphans due to the conflict in Yugoslavia? If so, how?

washingtonpost.com: Many users have inquired about adoption, Gary. Do you know of any agencies that might be planning on assisting orphans from Kosovo?

Save the Children: The first step in such a crisis is to determine how many children may indeed by either orphaned or separated from their parents. Our efforts are directed toward reunification of these families, with either their parents or members of their extended family. If, at a later date, it is evident that children are indeed orphaned there are specialized agencies which work exclusively with adoption. We will try to obtain names of these agencies and will pass this along to the Washington Post. 

Falls Church, VA: I would like to volunteer my time to help administratively. Can you direct me where to start to offer any administrative help from Washington DC?

Save the Children: Would you be kind enough to email Heike Sommer at hsommer@savechildren.org to determine if there is a way for you to volunteer in our Washington DC office. And thanks for offering. 

Arlington, VA: Is there a concern that humanitarian aid will fall victim to the black market or other exploitation in the Balkans? What do you and other organizations do to prevent that?

Save the Children: Yes there is always a concern and all of the agencies go to great lengths to make sure that donated supplies and materials go to those in the greatest need. Here at Save the Children we work closely with community groups, and leaders who are identified by their own peers. In this way we can reduce the chances for misuse. Secondly, once the material assistance portion of our program concludes, we work on providing educational and health services for those who are affected by the emergency. Outside of the material assistance that we provide with the packets described earlier, our focus on service provision and education reduces the likelihood of any misuse of funds. Secondly we have an aggressive audit program which reviews our procedures and expenditures. This is a routine process at Save the Children and helps us to ensure that all of our financial transactions are handled to the high standards that have set. 

Washington, DC: Q: What are the long-range plans for providing education for relocated refugee children?

Save the Children: I am glad to see this question because Save the Children's particular expertise in former Yugoslavia was in the education field. During the previous crisis in Bosnia and Croatia Save the Children helped to establish preschools so that children could return to some normality in their lives, and that many of the displaced could return to teachings which was their profession. 

Save the Children has developed program and policy approaches around the world that combine traditional rapid emergency response techniques with sound child development theory to meet the special needs of children affected by armed conflict. Our preschool education program in Bosnia, for example started in 1993 in the crowded refugee and displaced person collective centers along the Croatian-Krajinan Serb confrontation lines of the Dalmatian coast. Hundreds of pre-schools/playrooms were subsequently established in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, of which over 150 have become self-sustaining. The daily three-hour programs in the SC approach provide structure and security and allow children to be children for at least part of their day. At a time when a fragile community needs urgently to repair its social fabric, the restoration of some degree of normalcy through resumed programs for children can be both a potent therapeutic force and an important symbol. Maintaining the flexibility demanded by changes in security situations has enabled the SC program to function effectively in basement shelters, refugee centers and homes, as well as former kindergarten facilities. A simple system of basic site repairs including a heating allowance and packaged preschool start-up kits consisting of toys and consumable supplies, hygiene materials, minimal furniture and a carpet, facilitate the rapid transformation of any safe, usable space into a special place for young children. 

We will assess whether a similar program is appropriate for those leaving Kosovo, and hopefully returning there. Each particular emergency is different so we want to be careful to make sure that the programs we establish are appropriate to local conditions and needs. We also need to secure funding for these type of programs. 

washington, D.C.: How, besides simply giving an organization money,can somebody help these children? 
Any ideas would be welcome.

Save the Children: Obviously resources do make a difference and enable all of the humanitarian assistance agencies to respond appropriately. Other ways in which you can help include sharing information as to what is going on for the people in Kosovo is to encourage students to discuss these issues, check our Web site and the INTERACTION Web site and to do as much as possible to educate people about the issues. People really can make a difference as we saw during the recent land mine ban campaign. Sharing your views on humanitarian assistance with your elected representatives is another way in which you can support all of our efforts. 

washingtonpost.com: That's all the time we have. Thanks to everyone who participated and thanks to Gary Shaye.