From: BAllensumm@aol.com
Dear friends,
I pass this on to you, with love. During the war in Bosnia, a group of women in Italy began plans to march to Sarajevo. Is the thought of civilian intervention a helpful one?
Beverly
Beverly dear,
thanks for fwd'ing the Kovoso messages; here is one for you with a searing
immediacy.
It's hard to sleep at night thinking about it all.
How are you, and how are the various job searches going???
Love,
Stina
>Subject: Urgent news from Rachel (and Igo)
>
>Dear Kavita and friends,
>
>I am safely in Budapest, Igo is with all her family in Prishtina.
Amazingly
>enough I am managing to speak to her every night on the phone. The city is
>seiged. She told me they only have food for another three days.
>
>I've just come back from a night out at the movies very bedragalled.
>
>First there was the trailler - a great film, a very funny film, an Oscar
>winning film: Life is Beautiful. And as I saw people in this clip being
led
>away to the death camps, I broke. Because this is what they are doing in
>Kosova RIGHT NOW: people are disappearing all the time, intellectuals are
>being shot, women are being seperated from men as they try to escape and
no
>one knows where they have gone. Genocide.
>
>Then came the main film: a great film, an Oscar winning film: I was hoping
>for great pictures of the English countryside. But of course Elizabeth is
>about death and intrigue. As I saw fine noble faces of courtly gentlemen I
>saw my many beautiful male friends. Suddenly one face reminds me of Veton,
>that little bear; another looks exactly like my neighbour who always
>embraced me as we met, one face stares across the screen and it is Fadil
>the beautiful waiter who always knew what I would order; another looks
>exactly like the heroic doctor who with great courage saved many lives
>throughout those earlier hard days in Qirez when the region was beseiged
>and later totally destroyed.
>
>As I stare at the enormous screen faces of my brothers I realise that I do
>not know what has happened to any of those gentle gentle generous men.
>Their deaths could, without doubt, be as brutal as with the Elizabethen
>torturers. I remember the many beautiful kind young Albanian men, and I
>know that hardly any are escaping now. I fear for their lives.
>
>Most days I manage to talk with my Igo: mercifully the phone is still
>working. Over the last week I have felt each inflection of her voice as
the
>strain tells, as the fear grows, as the tanks and police get closer, and
we
>try together not to break down, not to cry, to find a joke, to ask where
>shall we eat tonight. See you tomorrow we say. Her encircled by police
and
>paramilitaries, me safely in a friend's house in Budapest.
>
>As each day goes on they become more encircled, more besieged. Now her
>family doesn't even go into the yard. I worry that it won't be long before
>either the soldiers break down the door - or they run out of food. Tonight
>- monday night, she tells me they have food for 'maybe' three days. What
>will happen after thursday? They cannot buy food as food is only sold to
>Serbians.
>
>I am deeply fearful that they will perish.
>
>Am I just to listen each day like a voyeur as her family slowly sink
either
>to the gun or the empty plate??
>
>I know you love me and I know you love her too. Can we please now do
>something to save her and her family? I need you to help because I am very
>weak.
>
>I want us all to ring the UNHCR and pressure them that they must go in and
>break the siege of Prishtina. They must take food and they must protect
>civilians.
>
>I want us all to think of how we can get Igo and her family out. Can we
>call International Red Cross? Can we organise a convoy from Macedonia to
>bring her to safety. Her sister one of the most prominent actresses, her
>niece one of the most charismatic young singer and humanitarian worker,
and
>she herself a powerful women's rights activist. These are the type of
>people who are on the death lists.
>
>Can we?
>
>Yes we can.
>
>The road to Prishtina from Macedonia takes less than ninety minutes to
drive.
>A very short difference between life and death.
>
>Please contact me. And together we can work out a way. Together we are
strong.
>But we have to be fast.
>
>Rachel
>
>PS. I am in Budapest now c/o American Friends Service Committee
>++ 361 216 1994 (tel/fax)
>
Kavita N. Ramdas
President
The Global Fund for Women
425 Sherman Avenue, #300
Palo Alto, CA 94306
Tel. (650) 853 8305
Fax. (650) 328 0384
website: www.globalfundforwomen.org
And this one from Marjan in Amsterdam, one of our Board Members:
<< Message from the Global Fund board listserv >>
Dear friends,
This is the message we got from Rachel, after the one we all got
before.
it is very hard to figure out what to do. I called the Red Cross
International in Geneva several times and this morning the answer i got
was,
that they
will not go back in until they get security guarantees about their
safety.
They will issue a joint appeal for the whole region for the
possibility of humanitarian aid..
In case someone wants to fax the Red Cross international to urge them
to do something: 41-22- 7332057
These are terrible times. We are all worried sick here and feeling
very powerless. In Holland there is very little 'anti NATO-bombing'
discussion going on, most people think it is good that at least
something is happening... I don't agree with that, because it is
obvious that the bombing only is making things worse, but it is very
hard to come up with alternatives. what to do???!!!
Love, marjan
------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
To: mamacash@mamacash.nl
From: afscbud@mail.datanet.hu (AFSC-CEAR Budapest)
Subject: Update from Rachel
Date: Tue, 30 Mar 1999 23:18:35 +0200
>
>To:mwaller@ucracl.ucr.edu
>From:afscbud@mail.datanet.hu (AFSC-CEAR Budapest)
>Subject:Update from Rachel
>Cc:waty@gn.apc.org
>Bcc:106363.171@compuserve.com
>
>Dear friends
>
>Please excuse me for writing a joint letter to you.
>
>The update is this: today Igo's niece the singer, Iliriana took the other
>women and the children and tried to reach Macedonia by road.
>Igo, Safete (the actress), her mother and the menfolk stayed behind.
>They left their house in central Prishtina because they were burning other
>houses in the street (a very short one).
>Igo rang about 4.00 p.m. and left this message. Since then we have not
>been able to contact her as the phone seems definitely cut.
>
>On thurdsay I am flying to Thessaloniki (Greece) and then will get the bus
>to SKopje. I will look for them.
>
>I will be in touch again as soon as it is possible; you could leave
>messages at this email address for me to retreive later.
>
>With love
>
>Rachel
