Arllat is a village in the region of Pristina, Kosovo. Because of its tactical location, the village was targeted in the 1999 Kosovo War and contaminated with cluster submunitions. This made the return of the local population after the end of the war dangerous, and the lives of local people are still put at risk by the explosives left behind.
HALO’s work here is vital. Abedin Bujupi, a local school, is only 100 meters away from the hazardous area. Children are especially at risk of harm as they can mistake these round-shaped cluster munitions as toys. In the past few years, as the village has expanded, several dangerous explosives have been found by locals during construction work. And residents continue to find explosives in their yards and in their gardens.
Maliq Bujupi, age 70, has lived in Arllat since the end of the war with eight other family members. They have a beautiful home, with a peaceful yard filled with apple trees, flowers, bushes, and a garden where they grow vegetables like onions.
But the family didn’t always live in such peace. After building their home, Maliq quickly began finding cluster munitions when planting trees and working in the garden.
HALO deminers found a cluster munition just 4 inches away from a tree Maliq planted.
Apple trees in Maliq's yard.
Maliq found a total of eight cluster munitions himself, and thought his land was finally safe. But when HALO began clearing Arllat, deminers found two more cluster munitions in his yard. One of them was only 10 cm away from where Maliq had planted a tree. If he had dug just slightly differently, there could have been a devastating accident.
Maliq and his family feel much safer since HALO has been working in Arllat. Maliq shared that he loves his home and loves living in the village. He is grateful for the work HALO does for his family and for the entire community. He would like to thank the HALO teams in Kosovo and the generous donor, the U.S. Department of State for making Arllat safe.
This life-saving work is made possible thanks to funding from: The Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (PM/WRA).
