I had to research this for my "Children at Risk" class and thought i would share it here as well...

Kosova was a nation that was heavily oppressed by the Serbian nation. In 1992 the people of Kosovo held free election and established their own government. In 1998 the Serbian government started cracking down on Kosovo army. Soon Serbia was slashing, burning, and leveling complete villages in Kosovo. In 1999 NATO began a bombing campaign that eventual lead to the leader of Serbia with drawing from the Kosovo nation.

“The devastation left over one million refuges and internationally displaced person. 300,000 people with out shelter, an estimated 14,000 dead, and mass graves containing bodies of up to one hundred civilians, including women and children.” (www.savekosova.org)

Focusing in after the war on children today, the struggle within an improvised Kosovo is challenging. Children are often seen as burden on families. With the entire population struggling with a near 80% unemployment rate, parents, children, elderly, young, men, and women are forced to dig through heap of garbage to search for food and recyclable goods. A new generation of children is being breed within the poverty of Kosovo where it is commonplace for children to go uneducated, for parents to neglect their children, even for children to be seen as commodities to be sold into human slavery.

But Kosovo’s story doesn’t stop here. With all that it has endured, all the pain, the lives lost… there is still a story of hope. Kosovo is a nation born through her people. A people determined to live lives of peace and unity. Kosovo was born because her people were willing to make a stand. Willing to dream. Willing to believe that with hard work, love for family, and devotion to community they could live full and meaningful lives. The challenge today is to not let the new generation of children forget who they are and what they come from. Its through remembering their story that Kosovo children and families, men and women, young and old will once again dream, once again join hands in unity, and once again live full and meaningful lives of peace.

“Kosovo is now making efforts to rebuild their broken community.” (www.savekosova.org)
Remember, Dream, Rebuild… they will!




Resources:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2o3bT8eh8E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfVsb6u2NPw
http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/articles/restoring_hope_to_the_roma/
http://www.savekosova.org/deceit=news=18.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcYZCWa7ff4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9c_TP8sWXI