Later today, I (Lisa) talked with a local Kosovar here in Texas, and he immediately flinched when I mentioned that my friend had gone to Blace today...
Refugees in Blace, Macedonia
Dana's words:
Michael made good on his promise to take us into Blace this
morning. Just before we arrived at the camp, which is right on the
Kosova border, he turned off the paved road and drove his small
Suzuki up a dirt road that was barely wider than the car, finally
stopping at a gate that opened into what initially looked like a
peaceful meadow, but was actually a cemetery with a score of
fresh graves, some very small. He explained these were people
who had died just after crossing the border, the physical demands
of their escape having been too much.
We took photographs of the area, and returned to the car for the
last 1/4 mile or so to the camp to deliver the vitamins and some of
the space blankets. Michael had his Press badge, but the police
were adamant that no cameras were allowed past the gate, so I
stayed outside and used the telephoto lens, and Dusty and Michael
walked in. It's a sad place, but while inside they met a very large
and merry man from Catholic Relief who was working with
children in the camps and was familiar with the problems they are
having, and we ended up turning most of the vitamins over to them
with his help. He said often the children have had nothing to eat or
drink for 2 or 3 days, and the vitamins could actually make the
difference between life or death in some of the sicker ones.
Things are really scary around Blace. You can actually see the
Serb troops parading around, and they aren't above taking an
occasional pot shot, according to the Catholic Relief worker. He
told us the area around the small creek that runs by the camp is
heavily mined, and he fears that it's only a matter of time before a
small child escapes to play in the creek and steps on one. He said
this morning before we got there, a horse had stepped on one, and
was probably still lying down by the creek, but I didn't have any
desire to look for it. He also said there are reports he thinks
reliable of large massings of Yugoslavian troops in the area just to
the north, and large massings of NATO troops just to the south of
Skopje, where there are vast open spaces. There were lots of
NATO vehicles on the road today, and frankly, I'll be happy to
leave Scopje, since it's in the middle
of this firepower sandwich.
After we left the Blace camp, we drove further back toward
Skopje, to the Stenkovic camp 1 with the relief worker, and
delivered the vitamins to on of their doctors, then returned to
Skopje and the Mother Tereza warehouse. I took pictures of the
noticeably diminished supplies there, and Dusty and I talked with a
young girl who approached us as we waited for Michael to finish
his business. She told us her 16 year old brother was somehow
separated from the rest of the family, and is now in the Stenkovic
camp. She and her family visited him a few days ago, but she's
afraid to go back now, because the Macedonian police tried to
hold her there the last time, in
spite of her having all the proper papers.
This is all I can do for now. I thought about buying some kind of
souvenirs to take back, and even tried to shop for some, but my
heart wasn't in it. There's really nothing in this country I want to
take back, so I gave Eddie most of my remaining dinars, just
keeping a few for cabs and some beer tonight.
I had commented to the Catholic Relief worker today that what we
did is just a drop in the bucket. He said 'but it IS a drop in the
bucket, and you should never underestimate the value of any
contribution, no matter how small. A single vitamin might save a
life.'
I'm back at the internet cafe again at a little after 4:00 p.m. I will
be leaving Skopje tomorrow morning at 6:30, but have to be at the
airport earlier... I've seen all I want to see.
by Dana Moore