In 1999, the Balkan Peninsula saw the biggest exodus ever, when more than half a million Kosovo Albanian refugees were pushed by Yugoslav and Serb forces across the border into Albania, one of the poorest countries in Europe at the time.
For children to be safe, UNICEF helped to secure their protection and access to services, in one package. This was easier said than done. UNICEF was among the first institutions to offer a concrete model, called Child -Friendly Spaces. Child-friendly spaces required work across traditional sectors, a totally new concept for Albania. Who knew that this would work? The local government was skeptical. Coordination was not easy. Local staff, too, knew little about how to work in an emergency modus.
Several colleagues from HQ and RO came to help organize the UNICEF response to the Albania refugee crisis response. UNICEF assumed the role of coordinating other agencies in all activities directly benefitting children. The child protection and communication teams worked around the clock to introduce the concept of Child- Friendly Spaces to local partners and national and international NGOs operating on the ground.
In the midst of all the challenges, the team was honored to coordinate the visit of Carol Bellamy. She wanted to observe the situation and visit refugee families. She mobilized the government and created a commitment for urgent protection measures and for investment into what was known to work. Carol Bellamy, along with her team, had to travel eight hours on the bumpy, winding and precipitous roads of North Albania to reach Kukes. These were long hours, and I worried about not knowing answers to her possibly difficult questions. Everything went as planned, and her visit was well received by the government.
Keeping children busy and away from the painful memories was at the heart of our daily work. UNICEF hosted learning and leisure activities for children aged 4 to 18 years, aimed to strengthen their coping ability and resilience. Many sessions including life skills, hygiene promotion, children rights, and mine awareness. UNICEF made an effort to collect and document the stories of the displaced children, with the help of volunteers and child protection workers. Many children had witnessed scenes of unprecedented violence. Their trauma did not depend only on the violence they witnessed, but also on the pain they felt. Their drawings and plays depicted precarious psychological circumstances; sketches of war, crude images of shootings, the dead, and cemeteries. They also played war.
The UNICEF team worked with children, their families, and communities to help planning the activities. We learned that planning itself became a healing activity. For the first time, officials from different ministries were brought together. Above all, we learned that one can get things done if one works with young people. The support of young Albanian people to their Kosovar peers was impressive. They made a real difference.
Eventually, the UNICEF concept of Child-Friendly Services was expanded to community based integrated services. Services for children in host communities were strengthened and Albania was feeling a sense of hope for its own future.
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| The town of Kukes |
Keeping children busy and away from the painful memories was at the heart of our daily work. UNICEF hosted learning and leisure activities for children aged 4 to 18 years, aimed to strengthen their coping ability and resilience. Many sessions including life skills, hygiene promotion, children rights, and mine awareness. UNICEF made an effort to collect and document the stories of the displaced children, with the help of volunteers and child protection workers. Many children had witnessed scenes of unprecedented violence. Their trauma did not depend only on the violence they witnessed, but also on the pain they felt. Their drawings and plays depicted precarious psychological circumstances; sketches of war, crude images of shootings, the dead, and cemeteries. They also played war.
The UNICEF team worked with children, their families, and communities to help planning the activities. We learned that planning itself became a healing activity. For the first time, officials from different ministries were brought together. Above all, we learned that one can get things done if one works with young people. The support of young Albanian people to their Kosovar peers was impressive. They made a real difference.
Eventually, the UNICEF concept of Child-Friendly Services was expanded to community based integrated services. Services for children in host communities were strengthened and Albania was feeling a sense of hope for its own future.
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