KOSOVO: AID AGENCIES RACE AGAINST TIME

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• published: 21 Jul 2015
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Albanian/Nat With winter approaching, ethnic Albanians in Kosovo are growing frustrated with the lack of aid despite reports of gifts of millions of dollars from donors. Humanitarian agencies in Kosovo are in a race against time to help hundreds of thousands of people get through the winter. With winter approaching, ethnic Albanians in Kosovo are complaining more and more about the lack of aid. In the village of Vasileva, 74 houses out of 75 were burnt by the Serbs. The Berisha family is one of many who lost everything, including their house. During the NATO airstrikes, the family hid in the neighbouring village for weeks. Afterwards, the family was split. The father joined the Kosovo Liberation Army in the mountains while the rest of the family went to a refugee camp in Albania. Today the Berisah family is still living in U-N-H-C-R tents with their seven children and will probably have to spend all winter there. Rabishe Berisha, a 33-year-old mother of seven, says she is concerned about her children living in tents during the harsh winter weather. SOUNDBITE: (Albanian) "They burnt our house during the NATO airstrikes. My husband was hiding in the mountains. My seven children and I were in a refugee camp in Albania. Now it is winter time, and it is very cold. If no one is going to help us, I don't know what will happen to my children." SOUND CAPTION: Rabishe Berisha Humanitarian efforts to help thousands of Kosovo Albanians through the winter reportedly have been hampered due to lack of donor efficiency. Although donors have given millions of dollars to help rebuild homes damaged or destroyed by Serbs, lack of coordination between donors has led to inefficiency. Dennis McNamara, the Balkans special envoy of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, said on Tuesday that aid agencies were "nowhere close" to the goal of getting 70 percent of homes ready for winter with heating and adequate shelter. Appearing before the International Development Select Committee of the House of Commons, he said there were 47-thousand homes beyond repair and a "grim" situation in providing basic facilities like water and power. Although many have not been able to return to their homes, McNamara said and there was no one still living in the open under plastic. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/60e47c59edea5a70222e551b765edd3c Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork