IOM STORIES
years in KOSOVO
I O M
O U R D O N O R S
Mr.Jorge Baca Vaughan - IOM Kosovo Chief of Mission
Working Closely with the Donors and the Local Government in the Field of Migration and Community Stabilisation
In the beginning of March 2010, Mr.Jorge Baca Vaughan undertook the post of IOM Chief of Mission in Pristina. Previously Mr.Baca was the Senior Programme Coordinator for the IOM Mission in Bogota, Colombia. Mr.Baca who is from Nicaragua holds degrees from the Institute of Agriculture Plovdiv in Bulgaria and at the International Training Centre in Tsikuba Japan. During his career, he has worked with a number of international organizations in addition to IOM, including UNDP, UN, MSF, UNHCR and IRC. Mr. Baca`s management experience includes work in several Latin American countries in the field of Emergency, Migration Management and Circular Labour Migration. He also has experience managing Labor Migration and Community Stabilisation activities. Baca`s range of programme experience is an asset for the Kosovo Mission which is currently implementing socio-economic and stabilisation programmes for returnees as well as the wider population. Working closely with the donor community as well as with the local government in identifying the priorities and setting long-term goals in the field of Migration and Community Stabilisation Programmes are key objectives according to the new Chief of Mission.
Inter-Agency and Regional Cooperation Key for Effective Integrated Border Management
In June of this year IOM Kosovo in coordination with the Integrated Border Management in the Western Balkans and Turkey (IBM) programme organized the fourth Permanent Regional Forum of Heads of Border Services. The forum presented an unique opportunity to bring together the officials representing border police, customs, agricultural products inspection and Veterinary units from Kosovo, Croatia, Turkey, Montenegro, the FYR of Macedonia and Hungary. The Project's Regional Forum not only represents an excellent opportunity for reviewing progress to date on standardization of the procedures on integrated border management in alignment with EU practices but also serves as a consultative body on integrated border management matters contributing to the enhancement of inter-agency, bilateral and regional cooperation and coordination. In the framework of the Conference, participants discussed issues related to border management practices such as, identification and determination of the risk areas, and strategic analysis at the operational level.
The Conference also served to strengthen the spirit of cooperation between officials of different services, critical to the programme success and the core objective of this EU funded programme for the Balkans.
"When countries in the region enhance security, and strengthen rule of law, the border crossings becomes more efficient, delays are reduced, businesses thrive and economies becomes more predictable and attractive to investors" said IOM Chief of Mission Jorge Baca in opening remarks to the conference.
EC Pledges Continued Support for Community Stabilisation Activities in Kosovo
Building on years of strong cooperation between the IOM Mission in Kosovo and European Commission Liaison Office in Pristina (ECLO), IOM has initiated a new programme in continuous effort to improve the socio-economic circumstances of the minority groups, including ethnic Serbs and members of Kosovo's Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities as well as the Albanian community living in Municipalities in the northern Kosovo. This 18 months EU funded programme worth 1,9 million euro is part of the IOM Community Stabilisation initiatives implemented over the past six years and funded by the EU. Working closely with local officials and NGO partners as well as with the Ministry of Community and Returns and the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, the programme provides financial support for the start up and expansion of existing micro enterprises for economic and rural development. The Programme provides technical assistance and trainings to entrepreneurs to enhance their operational capacity for managing sustainable businesses. The Programme offers an opportunity to communities to improve living conditions by supporting public initiatives for wider community benefit. The Community Stabilisation Programme will be carried out in 27 of the 38 municipalities, in Kosovo including the most recently formed municipalities of Gracanica, Kllokot/Klokot and Ranilug where minority groups are particularly affected by unemployment and poverty. Between 2002 and 2008, IOM completed a total of 1,110 projects creating some 2,900 full-time and 1,315 part-time jobs through these Programmes
Fighting Irregular Migration Through Poetry
A Place under the sun" is a new book by Kosovo Roma poet Bashkim Pacuku that promotes Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians (RAE) culture in Kosovo, at the same time combating the irregular migration that is so widespread within these communities. The poetry calls upon these communities to find "their equal place under the sun" in this land and to take part in the society. The book was made possible in the framework of the IOM project Capacity Building for the RAE NGOs in south-western Kosovo and Public Information Campaign against irregular migration, funded by the Kingdom of Belgium.
A poetry night celebrating the new book was held in the beautiful city of Prizren with local Roma youth reading from this book. The author, Pacaku in particular thanked IOM and the donor, Kingdom of Belgium for enabling the implementation of this project "This is our homeland and we have to stay here and work for a better future for all of us", emphasized Pacuku.
The Public information campaign component of the project was designed in close cooperation with representatives of two respective Kosovo Ministries and representatives of NGOs to alert the general population in Kosovo, as well as the RAE community in particular, to the consequences of irregular entry, residing and working without permits in countries in Western Europe, in particular in Belgium.
IOM IN KOSOVO
"11 Years Working for a Brighter Future for All Communities"
Recently the International Organization for Migration Mission in Kosovo marked the 11th anniversary of its presence and activities in Kosovo. Over these years, IOM has worked alongside with the international community and the people of Kosovo to ensure a better future for all its citizens. More than one million citizens of Kosovo were assisted by IOM through implementation of hundreds of programmes and projects particularly focused on the stabilization of the overall social and economic situation creating favorable living conditions and enabling Kosovars to live and work with dignity in their homeland.
Marking this very important anniversary, IOM Mission in Kosovo would like to thank it's international donors, including the European Union, the UN Mission in Kosovo, the Governments of United States of America, Italy, Belgium, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, UK, Finland, Austria, Germany, Japan, Liechtenstein, Norway, Denmark, Luxembourg and Canada which provided programming funds supporting the people of Kosovo. During this period the mission has kept growing to respond to the needs on the ground following a strategy that has extended beyond the emergency response, reconstruction and rehabilitation to the development phase.
IOM in close cooperation with international partners has supported longer-term development projects and programs aiming at achieving both human and economic development, helping strengthen of democratic institutions and the rule of law. IOM`s work in Kosovo continues in support of people of Kosovo in creating a brighter and more prosperous future.
Income-generation, employment and Community Stabilisation
Mamushë/Mamusa a Small Municipality With Great Entrepreneur Spirit
Mamushë/Mamu?a is a small town located in the south-western part of Kosovo, having become a municipality in 2008; prior to that, it formed part of the Prizren municipality. Of all municipal units in Kosovo, Mamushë/Mamu?a is by far the smallest in terms of territory but even more importantly, it is located in a beautiful valley rich in agricultural resources. Privileged to some of the best agricultural land in Kosovo, vegetables, fruits and food processing are the main economic resources in Mamushë/Mamu?a.
"In recent years, the production of vegetables and fruits has improved significantly in the Municipality, through the use of greenhouses", says the Mamushë/Mamu?a Mayor Arif Butuç. Almost four years ago when this village was chosen as a pilot Municipality, we established contacts with IOM for implementing the EU funded project for greenhouses. At that time, we had only 4 hectares of greenhouses but this surface has increased significantly under the IOM project. At the moment there are over 160 hectares of tomatoes cultivated under these greenhouses. The IOM assistance provided over 12 tons of materials for the greenhouses which has contributed to a remarkable increase in the production of tomatoes from 187,500 kilograms to over 7 million tons. The increase in production also generated employment, from 40 persons working before the IOM intervention, to 960 persons currently working in the greenhouses. Currently Mamushë/Mamu?a is one of the largest tomato producers in Kosovo.
Due to the excellent results of these greenhouses, the Municipality plans to further encourage this type of business by opening a regional collection centre for fruits and vegetables, notes the Mayor. This initiative could enable the local farmers to provide their fruits and vegetables to the food-processing industry through the collection centre, rather than seeking buyers in different local markets. As a result of the increased agricultural industry, the Mamushë/Mamu?a economy is getting stronger and the community is more stable, benefiting all of its citizens, including the majority Turkish ethnic group in this Municipality
Fati Mazrek is a local businessman producing honey. His business's growth was supported by the EU funded Poverty Alleviation in Marginalized Municipalities Programme, implemented by IOM."When I started this business 11 years ago I had only one beehive. I could not have imagined that one day I would have 190 beehives. Thanks to IOM assistance I managed to grow faster and now I'm planning to expand my business to industrial levels of honey production. The business is going extremely well and recently I have employed four staff", says Mazrek.
Just a few meters down the town's main street, another business supported by the same programme flourishes. Seeing a great need for the production of vegetable crates in this agricultural region, four individuals joined their forces and opened a company to do just that. Initially, they started with only one machine, but from the first day it was evident that the demand for this product was very high. Assistance for the business was provided quickly, through the ECLO-IOM Programme, and the company received additional support for new equipment expanding their production capacity. "The production increased from 20,000 to 300,000 pieces per year and currently the company is covering a large segment of the market in the region including in neighbouring Albania", says Neyim Butuç one of the owners. The expansion of the business also enabled the employment of 18 persons from the village.
During the past 11 years over 20 different IOM community and individual projects have been implemented in the region, largely supported by European Commission funds. IOM was among the first International Organizations in the area providing income generation, employment, and community stabilization support services. The mayor notes that the Mamushë/Mamu?a region was neglected for years, but now is experiencing a real economic boom, maximizing its favourable natural resources and the entrepreneurial spirit of its citizens. The success of these projects is a strong indicator that regional economic development is enhanced by establishing small and medium business initiatives supported by municipalities, communities, civil society and international cooperation.
© IOM Mission in Kosovo • January 2011 •
IOM STORIES
• In line with IOM’s continuous efforts to promote interaction and synergy between its different projects primarily targeting economic development, few days ago a specialized training on agriculture and farming has been organized in Gjilan/Gnjilan. This training involved IOM’s agriculture and farming beneficiaries from this region. The training was lead by Professor Dr. Salih Saliu, a local agriculture expert that lectures at several Universities in Austria, as well as representatives of the "Raiffeisen Bank" branch in Gjilan/Gnjilane, who presented bank loan opportunities for agricultural businesses.
IOM in Kosovo is implementing a range of projects aimed at economic empowerment of migrants through the Assisted Voluntary Return projects funded by various governments including Austria, France, UK and Switzerland. Furthermore, IOM is also implementing the EU funded Community Stabilization Programme that offers assistance to minority communities across Kosovo enabling the improvement of their living conditions as well as enhancing their employment prospects.
Participants in this training programme were acquainted with trends, techniques and new possibilities in the field of agriculture and farming business. Professor Saliu presented the situation in the sphere of agriculture in Kosovo, with particular focus in the region of Gjilan/Gnjilane. He noted that: "Kosovo is rather consumer society than a production one, therefore in spite of world economic crisis; food production is an important economic segment which in favorable climatic conditions in Kosovo could create a good income for farmers and for the society in general ". According to him, the first step in this direction would be opening agricultural collection centers throughout Kosovo that would enable the collection of agricultural products from rural and remote areas and most importantly would increase the production of agricultural goods.
Farmers posed numerous questions about the possibilities of cultivation of new agricultural products. Nevertheless, most of the participants presented limited options for placement of their products and absence of organized market for agricultural and farming products. “There is lack of confidence in doing business in the agriculture and farming field without any apparent support from the government”, said Driton Kelmendi a returnee from Austria. Sefer Murseli a local farmer from Kamenicë/a emphasized that: “the governmental support should come through the range of subsidies that would create basic conditions for agriculture and farming development. Bujar Shkodra from Raiffeisen Bank branch in Gjilan/Gnjilane presented the terms and conditions of the banking sector in financing agricultural and farming businesses. Participants were interested in the loan opportunities that were offered to them because they represent prospects that would enable the expansion of their business activities. According to Bank representatives, the loans that are available for agriculture and farming business vary from 1,000 EUR to 100,000 EUR with interest rates ranging from 12 to 8 percent. Many operating in agriculture sector found the current interest rates to be an obstacle and would like to see more banking products developed with lower interest rates and longer repayment terms.
In closure, Professor Saliu emphasized that Kosovo with its human and spatial potentials has all opportunities to become an exporter of agricultural and farming products. The cultivation of agricultural crops and farming products in years to come may be deficient in the world market, thus this is an opportunity not only to fulfill local needs but also an incentive to increase the potential in exporting local products to the foreign markets.
Creating Unique Economic Development Opportunities by Building Synergy among Various IOM Projects