Tiranë, April 12, 1999 (IKA) – Archbishop Ivan Prendja of Zadar, president of Croatian Caritas, flew to Albania with the first shipment of assistance sent from Croatian Caritas to the Kosovo refugees. Archbishop Prendja spoke to Croatian Catholic Radio via telephone about his trip and the situation he encountered in Tiranë.
At the beginning of the conversation, Archbishop Prendja pointed out that the dire situation of the ethnic Albanians from Kosovo is evident everywhere. Even at the airport in Tiranë, which is to small to handle all the aircraft seeking permission to land without confusion, there is a sense of rush and overcrowding. His airplane was met at the airport by Archbishop Rrok Mirdta of Tiranë, representatives of Albanian Caritas and the American Catholic Relief Services. Archbishop Prendja reported that during the morning he had attended a meeting with a representative of Caritas Internationalis from Italian Caritas, who had been chosen to serve as the coordinator of all the other national Caritas branches, and Caritas representatives from Spain, Denmark, Germany and Austria. At the meeting, the necessary undertakings were agreed upon and participants were chosen to travel in the field throughout Albania. Archbishop Prendja emphasized that all demonstrated a great readiness for sacrifice in the desire to assist the refugees in any way whatsoever.
The president of Croatian Caritas stated that basic foodstuffs are the most urgently needed commodity, because people are arriving without anything. That morning, Archbishop Prendja obtained the figure from the Catholic Relief Services and Albanian Caritas that 252,000 refugees and displaced persons have already been registered. He noted, however, that there are certainly those who have not been registered yet and are somewhere in the vicinity of the Albanian border or within Albania. In addition to food, Archbishop Prendja said that there is a need for tents, since approximately half of those registered have no roofs over their heads or are staying in old barracks or abandoned buildings throughout Albania, and the weather there is cold and rainy. Archbishop Prendja said that according to the Italian coordinator, potable water is needed, and financial assistance would be welcome because it would be less complicated to give financial aid to Albanian Caritas for it to use where most needed. This would also avoid various manipulations and misuses of charitable assistance. The archbishop denied rumors that the Albanian Kosovars fear Catholic symbols, and asserted that they are accepting assistance from the Catholic Church and that he had heard of examples of this in Tiranë.
Archbishop Prendja also emphasized that his visit to Albania was also an expression of support by the Church among the Croats for the Albanian Catholic community that is small in number but, through pastoral and charitable activity, has become increasingly included in all aspects of life in Albania, especially now in the collection and distribution of assistance to refugees and displaced persons.