SUMMARY
Ethnic Albanian Kosovar refugees poured into Albania in the spring of 1999 fleeing the Yugoslavian army and the ensuing NATO air strikes. The IRC initiated emergency programs to meet the refugees’ most urgent needs. Most Kosovars have since repatriated, but the communities that hosted them, which were needy prior to the conflict, were left in a debilitated state. The IRC reconfigured its programs to help repair the basic infrastructure that deteriorated during the refugee crisis.
BACKGROUND
Tension between Serbs and ethnic Albanians in Kosovo have long created population displacements in the region, but nothing like the human tidal wave that occurred in 1999 in the wake of the Serb offensive. Nearly half a million Kosovar refugees arrived in Albania just as the country was emerging from a decade of instability. Throughout the 1990’s, Albania’s transition to a parliamentary republic and free trade after 50 years of communism and isolationism was marred by frequent outbreaks of unrest. The collapse of financial pyramid schemes, through which many Albanians’ savings were lost, caused further incidents of rioting.
The potential for Albania’s fragile political and economic structure to disintegrate was tested by its acceptance of some 460,000 Kosovar refugees in 1999. Tens of thousands entered refugee camps and many more went to stay with relatives, friends or host families. The impact of this massive influx of people (equal to 15 percent of Albania’s population) on the country’s already overburdened physical and social infrastructure was extensive.
On June 3, Serbia agreed to sign the UN-approved agreement with NATO triggering the rapid departure of most of the refugees.
THE ROLE OF THE IRC
The IRC began shelter and sanitation programs in the summer of 1998 for small communities of refugees in Albania who had fled the ongoing conflict in Kosovo. We converted state warehouses into collective centers, renovated private homes to accommodate refugees, and established a non-formal education and recreation program for refugee children who did not have access to regular schooling.
When hundreds of thousands of Kosovar refugees escaped to Albania in March of 1999, the IRC set up a rapid response team to meet their immense needs. IRC’s shelter team set to work on renovating and repairing 11 community buildings and other large sites that were being used to shelter refugees. We also helped repair the homes of host families who were supporting an estimated 60 percent of the Kosovars who were in the country. The IRC also established emergency public health and primary health care programs for the refugees. We built sanitation facilities and provided access to clean water for seven refugee camps, trained local health care workers in disease control and offered basic health care and reproductive health services through mobile medical units and stationary clinics. The IRC also combined educational and psychosocial activities to ensure that young Kosovar refugees received emotional support.
As the refugees returned to Kosovo, the IRC’s program shifted from emergency aid to rehabilitating resources in Albania that were depleted during the crisis and improving local capacity in order to achieve self-sufficiency.PROGRAMS: The IRC is currently overseeing shelter, sanitation, water, health and education projects. SHELTERIn the stabilization period, the IRC has continued to renovate and repair houses that were used to shelter refugees, as well as rehabilitate community buildings that refugees were or are still using as collective centers. Some of the larger projects undertaken by IRC Albania include:
- The repair and reopening of the Shkoder Train Station, which served as a major refugee transit center and was left in shambles.
- The repair or reconstruction of schools in the towns of Fier and Elbasan that were used as collective centers.
- The construction of a covered market in Elbasan, to serve the community, create jobs and generate income.
WATER: The IRC is working to improve access to clean water. Projects include rehabilitating or constructing water supply systems to a number of towns and villages including, Baldushk, Mbrostar and Fier.
HEALTH:
The IRC supports mobile health units throughout Albania. These traveling clinics reach refugee populations in remote, underserved areas and transport refugees to area hospitals when more critical treatment is necessary. We also work to develop Albania’s health system, by training local health care workers in disease control, sanitation, reproductive health and primary health care and supporting Tirana University’s psychology curriculum.
EDUCATION: Under a UNHCR grant, the IRC is improving education services in refugee-impacted communities. The program involves rehabilitating schools, providing teaching materials and facilitating links between schools and communities. The IRC is also proving materials and resources to two schools for students with disabilities. The resources are being used to improve the schools’ capacity to provide vocational training to the students in areas such as carpentry and gardening.
