Goats turn hurt into hope
"IT was truly one of the happiest days of our lives,” remembers Servete Ramadani, who’s
raising her children in a small Kosovan village that suffered greatly during the 1999
conflict. It’s not the day they returned home after the war she’s remembering – it’s the day
she and her neighbours received 42 goats from Bóthar.
 MORE than 900,000 people were forced
to flee their homeland during the 1999
Kosovo war, seeking refuge in Albania
and other neighboring countries. Those
who didn’t flee lost their lives - between
20,000 and 25,000 people were killed,
mostly men and young boys.
Thousands of homes were burned or
bombed, and many farms were
destroyed.
As a result, over 70 percent
of the animals in Kosovo were killed,
stolen or slaughtered. Bóthar has been
working, along with other
organisations, to restock Kosovo with
livestock.
In Servete Ramadani’s tiny village of
Krusha E Madhe her husband and brother
were among the more than 206 villagers who
were killed. She is still searching for their
bodies.
At the conflict’s end, hundreds of thousands
of Kosovans tried to return to their homes and
pick up the pieces of their lives.
“When we returned to our village,” said
Ilmije Hiseni, who lives above Krusha e
Madhe in a small Roma community, “this is
when we understood what poor means. We
heard someone was giving away biscuits. We
took what we could and that is how we
survived for weeks . . . but it was impossible.” The animals that had survived were
deteriorating rapidly. Their shelters had been
destroyed, and many were left to fend for
themselves as families sought refuge in
neighbouring countries.
Bóthar began airlifting cows and goats to
Kosovo in 2000 and, along with veterinary
supplies and back up, began to help struggling
families to try and re-establish their small
farms.
It was the goats’ arrival that Servete
remembers so vividly. “In March 2003, families in our village
received in total 42 goats,” she said. “When we
first saw them, it was truly one of the happiest
days of our lives. The children were screaming
with happiness! Before, we only ate bread and
tea. Now we have milk from the goats, and the
health of our children is tremendous.
We have
seen many positive changes. These goats have
changed our lives and made things better.” Ilmije’s neighbour, Ganimete Mamutaj, lost
her husband and a son in the conflict. “Our village is known in all of Kosovo as the
most affected [by the conflict],” she said. “But
now, these goats have become our new life, and
we are forever grateful to those who cared.” Servete’s hopefulness echoes Ganimete’s. “Today, because of Bóthar’s help, we have
an opportunity to face the future.”
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