After 27 years, Kosovo's minefields give way to cafés and parks
Kosovo’s economy now totals $14 billion after 27 years of HALO’s landmine clearance. The HALO Trust began the work in the summer of 1999 when refugees returned to a landscape littered with mines and unexploded cluster bombs. Tom Dibb, who arrived in Pristina with the first humanitarian convoy, recalled that “we were pelted with flowers.” Over the decades villages and towns have rebuilt homes and schools, and a vibrant business sector has emerged, especially in Gjakova’s rebuilt old town of cafés and restaurants. Life expectancy has risen to 78 years.
Kosovo's families and businesses can now build, farm and travel without fear of hidden landmines, decades after the conflict ended.
Source: HALO celebrates conclusion of work in Kosovo (halotrust.org). Spotted via Squirrel News.
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