“The Gift
that Keeps on Giving”
A Child
Landmine Survivor Struggles to Build a Life
“Seven
years after the Kosovo conflict ended, NATO bombs continued to
explode (this fall) in the mountains of northern Albania. This
time, however, it was a reassuring sound. Up in the hills, men
in protective gear were setting off bomb lets that alliance
warplanes scattered along the Kosovo border during the 78 days
of hostilities.
Within
earshot but miles away, men and women combed other hillsides,
inch by inch, on hands and knees, searching for landmines
planted by combatants in the ground war between Serb forces and
Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian separatists.
For
isolated villages such as Dobruna, it’s been seven years of
death, amputations, shrapnel wounds and blown-up farm animals,
seven years of blocked-off grazing lands, forests and water
supplies. The explosives have choked off any hope of
development here, denying more than 25,000 people access to
parts of their land…
Most
residents fled the day NATO began bombing Kosovo, March 24,
1999, in a campaign to halt attacks by Serb forces on ethnic
Albanians in the breakaway province. They returned to a
familiar landscape made lethal by landmines and booby traps.
Dobruna had become one of the border’s most
explosives-contaminated villages…
(Excerpted
from Washington Post, “Years After War in Kosovo, Land Mines
Scar Albania,” December 10, 2006, Barbara Frye)
5. Pal Suka - Shkoder
 As
usual, together with his friends Pal took his goats to graze up
in the forest which was not too far fro their house. It was a
nice place to play football as well in the military Playground
of the former Army Unit. The Army abandoned the buildings in
1997 leaving behind scattered ammunitions.
There
was no any other place in the village where the children could
play. Although the parents have told them that it was dangerous
to go there, the children had no other choice.
That
cursed day, together with his cousin Pal went through the bushes
at the side of the playground to look after the ball. While
searching for the ball, they found a mysterious object that they
had not seen before. It was a grenade scattered from the army.
The two children did not have any idea that it could kill. They
stared to bang it.
 “Suddenly
an explosion was heard and I fell down, -This is all what I
remembered- I could not move. I heard a severe pain in my arms.
I tried to move but I couldn’t .My both arms were badly damaged.
Blood was bleeding and I felt I did not have my arms. A few
meters away I noticed my cousin who was lying in the grounds as
well. I noticed that blood was bleeding from his face as well.
He raised his hand to try to touch his eyes … Pal’s eyes are
covered with tears….
He was
sent to the nearest hospital to cut his lower parts of the arms
has been sent to Slovenia 6 times to repair and maintain his
prosthesis. The story Pal is neither the first nor the last.
There are more than 300 children allover Albania wounded by
mines, UXO’s and ERW.
Pal silently looks at
you as if he wants to say I need helping order to become a
doctor, a teacher, why not a writer….
His
family is poor made of 7 persons His father is a farmer who has
to feed 4 children. Because the school in his village is very
far from his house and because the terrain is very tough, Pal
has moved to his aunt in Lushnje, 100 km away from his home to
attend school. Pal is attending school regularly thanks to the
support of US Embassy and N1K funds.
Action Taken so far:
Pal
has been supported with funds raised through the Night of a
1000 Dinners 2004, 2006 and 2007 to re-turn to school and
catch up with his pears.
 Thanks
to the donations made by individual well-wishers at the
Night of A 1000 Dinners he has returned to school and is
attending it on regular basis at his aunt in Lushnje. With
the additional support provided by his tutors and private
lessons, he has been working hard to catch up with his peers
in his studies. In addition to his private classes in
routine subjects, he also attends English and computer
classes on a regular basis. He is in the 9th form
of Primary school and his teachers say that he is among the
best pupils of the class.
Assistance Requested:
He needs further
support to complete primary school IX-the class. Funding is
needed to attend English and computer classes, as well as
special catch up classes and to buy school materials.
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