This might be too graphic for some...
Have we done enough??? i remeber so many people coming out to talk about a certain members removal from gupshup... yet very few threads on kosova... may be its time to change our prioritiees
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> ! READ & DISTRIBUTE FURTHER !
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Kosova Crisis Center (KCC) News Network: http://www.alb-net.com
>---------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>UN AGENCY REPORTS ON RAPE, ABDUCTION OF KOSOVO REFUGEES
>
>By Judy Aita
>USIA United Nations Correspondent
>
>United Nations -- Kosovar women refugees have told alarming accounts of
>rape and abduction, according to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).
>
>A report released May 26 by UNFPA said that "Gjakova, Pec, and Drenitza
>were often indicated as places where kidnapping and collective rapes took
>place. The women were individually raped by many men during a few hours
>but sometimes even for days.
>
>"It is primarily the young women who are rounded up in villages and small
>cities," the report said. "The soldiers take groups of 5 to 30 women to
>unknown places in trucks or they are locked up in houses where the
>soldiers live. Any resistance is met with threats of being burned
>alive."
>
>"Women who were released have lacerations on their chests, evidence of
>beating on their arms and legs," the report said. "Their backs also show
>signs of beatings and they were covered in dirt. Agonizing screams could
>be heard for many hours."
>
>The report, the first attempt by a UN organization to verify the accounts
>and nature of sexual violence among refugees, was prepared by Dominique
>Serrano, a psychologist who specializes in sexual violence and trauma
>counseling. She interviewed women refugees and health care workers in
>camps around Tirana and Kukes, Albania, during the first week of May
>1999.
>
>The information comes from victims and direct witnesses. The women spoke
>on the condition of anonymity, came forward to talk with Serrano on their
>volition, and were not recommended or pre-selected by any humanitarian
>organization.
>
>While reports of sexual violence had been circulating for several months
>the significant upsurge in sexual violence seems to correspond to the
>first week NATO began bombing, Serrano said.
>
>"New women arriving from Kosovo indicate that the violence is
>increasing," Serrano said. "According to interviews, it seems that the
>phenomenon, and in particular the abduction of groups of women, is more
>and more prevalent."
>
>Serrano also fears for the women remaining in Kosovo. The daily
>evolution of the situation and the weight of the evidence collected from
>the interviews indicate that even though it existed to some extent
>already, "the politics of terror have proliferated in the last month
>based on a deep-seated racism," she said.
>
>Kosovar men who tried to interfere were killed on the spot, Serrano
>reported. One woman was beaten to death in front of the house where her
>daughters were being tortured.
>
>"Families are generally turned out of their homes by armed men and
>sometimes even by their Serbian neighbors. They often have only a few
>minutes to leave the premises and sometimes their homes are burned,"
>Serrano said.
>
>One victim's husband said that he saw a building in Prizren where the
>first floor contained weapons, the second floor was for the soldiers and
>the third floor contained about 30 women. One of the women who was able
>to escape was shot down in the street, she said.
>
>In the city of Berlenitz a group of 30 young girls was forced to follow
>the soldiers into a house while the mothers waited outside, Serrano also
>said. "For two hours the mothers listened to the screams of the young
>victims who then came out one by one. Some were covered in blood, others
>were crying and their heads were hanging low."
>
>Describing other acts of torture, Serrano said that in Berlenitz young
>boys had their ears and noses cut off before their throats were slit;
>many pregnant women's stomachs were cut open and the fetus skewered. The
>torturers sharpened their knives in front of women and terrorized
>children.
>
>All the victims Serrano interviewed were raped or sexually violated in
>Kosovo, and none of the women interviewed were locked up for more than
>three days. Some of the kidnapped women who were taken to unknown places
>have not yet reappeared, according to their families and neighbors.
>
>Serrano said that the victims felt that rape was a "concrete
>manifestation" of the profound hate which the Serbians feel toward the
>Kosovars. "Judging from the insults and threats of the torturers, some
>victims were allowed to live so that they could tell other people about
>the determination of Serbian power, and thus eliminate any desire on the
>part of the refugees to return," she said.
>
>Some of the women described themselves as being forever "dead" to their
>families after the violation, which carries tremendous stigma in their
>society.
>
>Serrano discussed the difficulty in getting women to admit to rape let
>alone seek help for fear of social stigma. Many victims fear being
>divorced, excluded from their community or family, or fear that a husband
>will try to take revenge. She added that many women will never discuss
>what has happened and other cases will only be revealed when women begin
>giving birth.
>
>There were also many other women who did want to talk to Serrano about
>what happened but only under appropriate circumstances and on conditions,
>including no men or journalists present.
>
>Serrano also found reluctance among some medical personnel in the area to
>discuss incidents of rape and found other aid workers not trained to
>handle the situation. She told of one aid worker who used a loud speaker
>to invite women who had been raped to come forward and complete a
>questionnaire.
>
>While there are volunteers and UN personnel in the maternity hospitals
>and camps in Tirana who are sensitive to the problems of rape,
>"unfortunately the amount of work to be done, the number of refugees that
>need assistance and the lack of specifically trained personnel prevents
>many women from receiving support," Serrano said.
>
>In response to the report, UNFPA is providing counselling and
>psychological support training to health professionals to enable them to
>offer help to victims of sexual violence in Kosovo. In addition, local
>Albanian women's groups will receive counselling training.
>***
>
>********************************************** ***************
>For more information regarding the latest policy statements
>and other materials related to the Kosovo crisis, visit
>http://www.usia.gov/regional/eur/balkans/kosovo/
>
Mahbubur Razzaque
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DISCLAIMER: Witness-Pioneer is an internet based Islamic Organization, focusing on Research and Education. The content of this message does not necessarily reflect the views of Witness-Pioneer. The above author takes full responsibilty of it.
Visit Witness-Pioneer website: http://www.witness-pioneer.org
Have we done enough??? i remeber so many people coming out to talk about a certain members removal from gupshup... yet very few threads on kosova... may be its time to change our prioritiees
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> ! READ & DISTRIBUTE FURTHER !
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Kosova Crisis Center (KCC) News Network: http://www.alb-net.com
>---------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>UN AGENCY REPORTS ON RAPE, ABDUCTION OF KOSOVO REFUGEES
>
>By Judy Aita
>USIA United Nations Correspondent
>
>United Nations -- Kosovar women refugees have told alarming accounts of
>rape and abduction, according to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).
>
>A report released May 26 by UNFPA said that "Gjakova, Pec, and Drenitza
>were often indicated as places where kidnapping and collective rapes took
>place. The women were individually raped by many men during a few hours
>but sometimes even for days.
>
>"It is primarily the young women who are rounded up in villages and small
>cities," the report said. "The soldiers take groups of 5 to 30 women to
>unknown places in trucks or they are locked up in houses where the
>soldiers live. Any resistance is met with threats of being burned
>alive."
>
>"Women who were released have lacerations on their chests, evidence of
>beating on their arms and legs," the report said. "Their backs also show
>signs of beatings and they were covered in dirt. Agonizing screams could
>be heard for many hours."
>
>The report, the first attempt by a UN organization to verify the accounts
>and nature of sexual violence among refugees, was prepared by Dominique
>Serrano, a psychologist who specializes in sexual violence and trauma
>counseling. She interviewed women refugees and health care workers in
>camps around Tirana and Kukes, Albania, during the first week of May
>1999.
>
>The information comes from victims and direct witnesses. The women spoke
>on the condition of anonymity, came forward to talk with Serrano on their
>volition, and were not recommended or pre-selected by any humanitarian
>organization.
>
>While reports of sexual violence had been circulating for several months
>the significant upsurge in sexual violence seems to correspond to the
>first week NATO began bombing, Serrano said.
>
>"New women arriving from Kosovo indicate that the violence is
>increasing," Serrano said. "According to interviews, it seems that the
>phenomenon, and in particular the abduction of groups of women, is more
>and more prevalent."
>
>Serrano also fears for the women remaining in Kosovo. The daily
>evolution of the situation and the weight of the evidence collected from
>the interviews indicate that even though it existed to some extent
>already, "the politics of terror have proliferated in the last month
>based on a deep-seated racism," she said.
>
>Kosovar men who tried to interfere were killed on the spot, Serrano
>reported. One woman was beaten to death in front of the house where her
>daughters were being tortured.
>
>"Families are generally turned out of their homes by armed men and
>sometimes even by their Serbian neighbors. They often have only a few
>minutes to leave the premises and sometimes their homes are burned,"
>Serrano said.
>
>One victim's husband said that he saw a building in Prizren where the
>first floor contained weapons, the second floor was for the soldiers and
>the third floor contained about 30 women. One of the women who was able
>to escape was shot down in the street, she said.
>
>In the city of Berlenitz a group of 30 young girls was forced to follow
>the soldiers into a house while the mothers waited outside, Serrano also
>said. "For two hours the mothers listened to the screams of the young
>victims who then came out one by one. Some were covered in blood, others
>were crying and their heads were hanging low."
>
>Describing other acts of torture, Serrano said that in Berlenitz young
>boys had their ears and noses cut off before their throats were slit;
>many pregnant women's stomachs were cut open and the fetus skewered. The
>torturers sharpened their knives in front of women and terrorized
>children.
>
>All the victims Serrano interviewed were raped or sexually violated in
>Kosovo, and none of the women interviewed were locked up for more than
>three days. Some of the kidnapped women who were taken to unknown places
>have not yet reappeared, according to their families and neighbors.
>
>Serrano said that the victims felt that rape was a "concrete
>manifestation" of the profound hate which the Serbians feel toward the
>Kosovars. "Judging from the insults and threats of the torturers, some
>victims were allowed to live so that they could tell other people about
>the determination of Serbian power, and thus eliminate any desire on the
>part of the refugees to return," she said.
>
>Some of the women described themselves as being forever "dead" to their
>families after the violation, which carries tremendous stigma in their
>society.
>
>Serrano discussed the difficulty in getting women to admit to rape let
>alone seek help for fear of social stigma. Many victims fear being
>divorced, excluded from their community or family, or fear that a husband
>will try to take revenge. She added that many women will never discuss
>what has happened and other cases will only be revealed when women begin
>giving birth.
>
>There were also many other women who did want to talk to Serrano about
>what happened but only under appropriate circumstances and on conditions,
>including no men or journalists present.
>
>Serrano also found reluctance among some medical personnel in the area to
>discuss incidents of rape and found other aid workers not trained to
>handle the situation. She told of one aid worker who used a loud speaker
>to invite women who had been raped to come forward and complete a
>questionnaire.
>
>While there are volunteers and UN personnel in the maternity hospitals
>and camps in Tirana who are sensitive to the problems of rape,
>"unfortunately the amount of work to be done, the number of refugees that
>need assistance and the lack of specifically trained personnel prevents
>many women from receiving support," Serrano said.
>
>In response to the report, UNFPA is providing counselling and
>psychological support training to health professionals to enable them to
>offer help to victims of sexual violence in Kosovo. In addition, local
>Albanian women's groups will receive counselling training.
>***
>
>********************************************** ***************
>For more information regarding the latest policy statements
>and other materials related to the Kosovo crisis, visit
>http://www.usia.gov/regional/eur/balkans/kosovo/
>
Mahbubur Razzaque
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DISCLAIMER: Witness-Pioneer is an internet based Islamic Organization, focusing on Research and Education. The content of this message does not necessarily reflect the views of Witness-Pioneer. The above author takes full responsibilty of it.
Visit Witness-Pioneer website: http://www.witness-pioneer.org