KOSOVO 1999

M I N U T E S T O WA R : Picnic in Hell
beautiful possession. That is the most important
right that we must, respect and honour. The right to
life!
The technology of the aid workers is intriguing.
The technocrats here are the elite rulers through
their authority and power of their technology. The
refugees have nothing while the others, the media
journalists and aid workers are the powerful. I
know they are here to help. They are not the ones
initiating the abuses, but the disparity does seem
apparent.
Firouz also seems to be on an emotional
pendulum swing while I must be the recipient to
his recurring bouts of anger. I do not know whether
the anger is more focused on me or the general
situation. He sadly can not seem to release this
anger and this I find this really difficult to deal with.
He is not happy with himself and not happy with
the sound quality on the tape, but the manner in
which he deals with this anger is to inflict it on those
around him. This forms a stain which is difficult to
erase especially when I am with him twenty four
hours a day. Of course this is only my opinion.
After hanging the billboard, I had decided that
what we could give to these people a concert. We
had paid an exhibition tax to hang the billboard
from the wall of the Cultural Centre, and now we
were going to pay the musicians to sing. A few
posters and every roll of sticky tape in town was
how we were going to advertise the concert, and I
think the western journalists just laughed quietly to
themselves. We are hoping for at least five hundred
to come, but I will be happy with two hundred
people in the town square in front of the billboard.
That will be enough.
On Thursday we searched for the Mayor in his
office where we were informed he was at present
in Tirana on business. We then tried to invite the
Deputy Mayor, and if Safet Sula did not know what
was going on at least his deputy could attend. We
felt that it was important to invite the Deputy Mayor.
Ray at the Press Conference was still iterating
what we had seen the days before. A variation on
the same theme: ‘That UNHCR believe there were so
many wide spread abductions of men that took place
during that forced evacuation of peoples almost
been turned into a killing field at times. About three
days ago police then moved in and separated many
men out. One man reported to us that 24 people
from his family had been killed and he had seen their
bodies.’
Today we began distributing the invitations for
the concert throughout the city and amongst the
people at each of the camps. More copies had been
done, when I had an argument with Firouz at the
United Arab Emirates camp. He wanted to film the
children but I wanted to distribute the invitations
instead.
His loyalty is unquestionable. His commitment
to the ideals are solid. But his moods are so
difficult, but the same can be said for me. I find
that sometimes he misunderstands and believes
that I am here only to make a documentary rather
than contribute by erecting a billboard. So instead
of desiring to put these invitations up, he started
complaining that I was disorganised in my schedule
and that the invitations should have been done a
week before. And if they had been he would have
had time to do his filming.
We walked to the Irish camp, one of the more
distant camps and placed invitations on cork
information boards. At every point people would
crowd around gawking and staring. There is so little
in these people’s lives that even this badly typed
invitation is something important to these people.
We have to go ahead and without anticipation see
what will happen. I must try and make a good event
from this no matter what might occur. The billboard
is up and I can see it from so many different angles.
It is now part of the city square and the surrounding
area.
That afternoon I had walked across the town to
Frank Kennedy, the Director of the International
Red Cross in Kukes, and had also spoken with
Ray Wilkinson the Press Officer for UNHCR. The
International Red Cross quarters were on located
on the second floor of a non-descript corner shop.
When I went upstairs the aid workers were deep in
conference. I had to wait for half an hour downstairs,
but when I went up I could feel that there was
an energy change or shift which suggested a real
positive influx. I could feel a healing energy that
was there and how it was capable of being utilised.
Frank met me with open arms and was enthusiastic
about the billboard and concert which I had done.
He felt that more things of this nature ought to be
done; that not enough was being done for the people
from a visionary, or how do you say, inspiring point
of view.
I rendezvoused with Salliarne, the Tiranan
academic late that night and gave him the
translation of my text. I also sat with Dieter, the
Munich cameraman and the other Public Broadcast
Television people from Germany and when the lights
fused in a black out we used tiny torches while we
ate the fish. I had a wonderful conversation with
one of the German camera operators, whose name
escapes me now, about Beirut and his experiences
during the war in 1983 there.