Living conditions poor in Kosovo, pastor says

By United Methodist News Service

Living conditions remain very poor for the former refugees who have returned to their villages in Kosovo, according to a United Methodist lay pastor there.

"Without the help of national and international humanitarian organizations, even a basic supply of food could not be guaranteed," said Mehmet Sopaj.

The pastor visited the offices of United Methodist Bishop Heinrich Bolleter in Zurich, Switzerland, Aug. 16-30, to update the bishop on the situation in the region. With the assistance of Urs Schweizer, the bishop's secretary, Sopaj responded to questions via email from United Methodist News Service.

While acts of revenge by Albanians against the Serbs still occur in other regions, Sopaj reported that Sallagrazhde, the city where he lives, and the surrounding area, are calm. But many people have not been able to rebuild houses destroyed during the war. "Because of this fact, many people are living in tents or in the cellars of the houses, where it is very damp," he said.

The returning refugees have many needs. "Especially serious are the mental and psychosomatic illnesses -- consequences of traumatic war experiences -- which cannot be treated because of a lack of medicines," he noted.

Winter, which usually arrives in the Balkans around Oct. 15, poses "a new humanitarian disaster" because of the lack of suitable housing. Making at least one or two rooms of houses habitable and improving food and medicine supplies is critical. "For both we are urgently in need of help," Sopaj said.

Of the three congregations the pastor oversees -- Sallagrazhde, Suhareka and Pristina -- he only has established regular contact with members in Sallagrazhde. Sopaj conducts twice-weekly worship services in his home, which was not seriously damaged, and visits parishioners in their homes -- or the ruins of their homes. Some members, he added, remain as refugees in other countries.

The pastor looks to the rebuilding of his country with optimism.

"We have big hopes for reconciliation and an improvement of the relationship between Kosovo-Albanians and Serbs," he said. "I still believe that we will be able to live together in Kosovo again. But it will take time, and much patience will be needed since many people have lost dear spouses, children, sisters and brothers in their families, since they have lost their houses and all their property or since they have been injured."

Sopaj is encouraging people to be forgiving. "As Christians, we have to be people of grace towards everybody. And it is also our task to pray for our enemies, that they may find and go the way of our Lord Jesus Christ, as Jesus himself is the way, the truth and the life.

"We also have to pray for the government of President Slobodan Milosevic, that they may recognize what they have done and which bad way they have gone."

Sopaj is seeking assistance from other United Methodists for basic foodstuffs, medical aid and the rebuilding of houses. The congregation in Sallagrazhde also would like to help refurnish the primary school there, where desks, chairs, books and other items were destroyed, "in order to allow the 420 pupils to start their classes as soon as possible." The new school year began Sept. 1.

"We hope and trust, through our God and the help of our brothers and sisters in Christ, we will receive all that is essential for our future life," he said.