Kosovo Serb refugees lament fate

By Nick Hawton
BBC News, Smederevo

As the world's powers debate the future of the disputed province of Kosovo, Sladjena Nadelkovic, 42, is trying to sell tomatoes outside her shack of a home in Serbia's largest refugee camp.

The conflict forced Ms Nadelkovic to learn to cultivate tomatoes

"I used to work in a textile factory in Kosovo. Now I'm learning how to grow vegetables for a living," Sladjena tells me.

"My family and I have been living here for eight years, since the war ended. But we'd never go back to Kosovo, not for all the treasures in the world."

Sladjena lives in a refugee camp near the town of Smederevo with around 600 other refugees.

Most are from Kosovo but some have been here since the early 1990s, washed up by the tide of war that swept through Croatia and Bosnia.

The Serbian Commissariat for Refugees says there are still 8,000 refugees living in about 90 collective centres around the country.

Independence plan

Djordje Vlajkovic used to work as a miner in Kosovo. He lives in the camp with his wife and 4 children, one of whom has cerebral paralysis.

"I have been a nobody since I came here. I haven't been able to find a job. But I don't want to return to Kosovo," he says.

Stability and peace might create the environment for us to claim compensation for the... possessions we left behind in Kosovo Ivan Milic

"It's too dangerous. As Serbs, we'd be in a very small minority in the town. We'd only return if our police and army could provide security."

Across the road from the camp loom the chimneys of a large US steel plant - the company is one of Serbia's largest exporters.

Some of the people in the camp work for companies who have contracts with the steel plant.

All very paradoxical. It was the US that led the bombing campaign against Serbia in 1999 - now the US invests in Serbia.

The future of Kosovo remains uncertain. Its majority Albanian population want independence, something strongly opposed by Serbia.

A UN plan to grant a form of independence is currently being blocked in the UN Security Council by Serbia's strong ally, Russia.

'New problems'

There seems no way out of the deadlock and that is causing tensions to rise in the province.

But some in the Smederevo camp believe independence might be a good thing.

Mr Vlajkovic would return to Kosovo if there was enough protection

"I support the idea of independence. Things have just been getting worse and worse for the past 8 years.

"Independence might bring a bit of stability. People say Kosovo is Serbian but if it really was, why are we living in this refugee camp?" says Ivan Milic, 24.

"Stability and peace might create the environment for us to claim compensation for the house and possessions we left behind in Kosovo," he says.

If Kosovo does become independent there are fears that some Serbs may leave the province fearful for their safety, and travel to other areas of Serbia.

The international community has made contingency plans should this happen. The man who runs the Smederevo camp, Slobodan Adzic, says this is very possible.

"There are plans to close this camp next year. But if Kosovo does become independent that may change," he says.

"Many Serbs don't like to live in another country where the people hate them. More Serbs may come here - and that could create new problems."