c. 1998 Religion New Service

WASHINGTON _ Seeing a brief window of opportunity before the full-fledged onset of winter, religious and other humanitarian relief organizations in Kosovo are scrambling to make up for the time lost to threatened NATO air strikes.

And, according to officials, a mood of cautious optimism prevails among the groups providing a lifeline to thousands of refugees.

The Feb. 28 Serb crackdown on ethnic Albanians in the Serb-controlled province of Kosovo forced U.S.-based religious relief organizations operating in the region since the early 1990s to abandon longterm development programs in favor of emergency relief as thousands of ethnic Albanians either fled in terror or were burned out of their villages.

Relief workers at Mercy Corps International, an ecumenical, faith-based relief organization based in Portland, Ore., returned to the Serb province and were delivering supplies within hours of last week’s accord that staved off _ at least temporarily _ the NATO airstrikes.

The organization’s five expatriates were forced to evacuate fearing Serb retaliation from threatened NATO air strikes. Together with a staff of 20 nationals, Mercy Corps has delivered approximately $25 million in aid to the region since 1993.

Officials said that even as the peace accords were being signed, a Mercy Corps convoy was rumbling toward the town of Kishna Reka in Kosovo where the convoy’s supplies _ hygiene packs, plastic sheeting and food stuffs _ were distributed by the Mother Teresa Society. Most of the humanitarian groups operating in the region utilize the indigenous Mother Teresa Society’s distribution network.

But the recent attacks, bombings and shellings by both sides in the conflict have destroyed progress in agricultural development made by Mercy Corps projects over the last five years, said O. Terry Heselius, Mercy Corps country director who was interviewed by telephone from Pristina, Kosovo.

Life is increasingly difficult for the approximately 300,000 people displaced by Serb aggression, Heselius said. Many are living exposed, enduring winter weather without shelter. Despite the accord, initial news reports indicate Serb checkpoints remain intact, making it impossible for the refugees to return home, and NATO has issued another warning to Serb leader Slobadan Milosevic threatening air strikes if Serbia does not live up to its side of the accord.

Officials from World Vision, the evangelical relief agency, said the situation in Kosovo is going from bad to worse,”from humanitarian crisis to humanitarian catastrophe.”It has set as its goal”getting people through the winter.” Drawing on its extensive building experience in Bosnia, World Vision is coordinating with many relief organizations in projects to provide desperately needed shelter. The organization will provide a”winterized”room for every family in its program.”The looming crisis is enormous,”said Phil Oldham, Catholic Relief Services regional team leader.”If the agreement (Kosovo peace accord) holds, we can address it in a fairly adequate way. The climate is a key part in the crisis; once the snow gets on the ground it really gets hard for those living outside to simply live,”he said.

Catholic Relief Services is coordinating a massive food program to feed the ethnic Albanians through the winter. On Sunday (Oct. 18), the first shipment of what will be a nine-month ration of food for 150,000 people docked in Bar, Montenegro, in the Adriatic Sea. The $10 million program is funded by the United States’ Office of Federal Disaster Assistance (OFDA).

While thankful for the reprieve the accord affords, some fear it may be a temporary one.”We are very pleased to get back in,”said Nancy Lindberg, vice president of Mercy Corps.”Our concern was having no one in the country, no way to help. We just have to see about the lack of protection. It does give us some breathing room, but is still doesn’t give us protection on the ground.” A regional expert at World Vision expressed similar concerns last week after returning from a fact-finding mission.”The agreement has no teeth to provide for the security of the displaced people,”said Serge Duss, associate director of public policy and government relations for World Vision.

Ethnic Albanians are prevented from returning to their homes because the military and police, the very people who drove them away, remain stationed in their towns and villages, according to Duss.

Experts from all relief organizations agree that enough resources to feed and shelter the refugees stand ready. But they staid that no amount of aid will assure the refugees of safety from Serb aggression.

DEA END ROCKWOOD