PRESENTATION OF BRUNEI DARUSSALAM’S CONTRIBUTION TO REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED NATIONS INTERIM ADMINISTRATION MISSION IN KOSOVO (UNMIK) AT A DINNER MEETING IN PRISHTINA, KOSOVO

In early 2000, I travelled to Kosovo to determine what assistance was needed after the war in what was previously Yugoslavia, and to identify suitable recipients for Brunei’s Tabung Insaniah In Kosovo.

To me, this was an important endeavour as the fund had been donated by the people of Brunei Darussalam to alleviate the suffering of the Albanians in Kosovo. So, together with two Embassy officials, I travelled to Kosovo, In May that year.

It was an intense but memorable trip. The security situation was still unstable in Pristina, Djakovica and Prizren. Remnants of the war were everywhere; buildings were destroyed or badly damaged. Nothing seemed to have been spared ordinary housing, schools and mosques were all affected.

Djakovica was one of the areas particularly hit by the war. The proportion of missing people was the highest here. Prishtina fortunately suffered less as it was used as a base for the Serbian forces.

The country was under the administration of the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK) with the Kosovo Force (KFOR), the peacekeeping body that was trying to restore peace and stability.

On arrival, the airport was full of uniformed men of different nationalities carrying weapons and manning the immigration counters.

There were many security posts along the roads. For our own safety, we had to return to the hotel before dark whenever we ventured outside Pristina. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) assisted with our programme and provided us with transport.

In Pristina, we met officials from UNMIK and UNHCR Including Jock Covey, the Principal Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General and members of the Muslim population including Dr Rexhep Boja, Kosovo’s Grand Mufti and President of the Muslim Community.

They were thankful for Brunei’s support of the peace efforts and reconstruction programme. We also managed to visit mosques in Djakovica and Prizren.

We returned to Pristina the following year to present contributions to UNMIK for the building of a primary school and to provide accommodation for a university in Mitrovica.

UNHCR received funds to repair a mosque in Prizren, and for a school to resume some of its extra- curricular activities. In addition, I handed over Mushaf Brunel Darussalam to two mosques.

Back in Paris, the embassy made arrangements for three students from Kosove to study in Brunei. Since then, a few more students have received scholarships to our higher education institutions. I am thrilled that one of them has graduated from the University Islam Sultan Sharif All (UNISSA) with a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

I was pleased to reconnect in Brunei Darussalam with one of the students who became an Imam in a mosque that served the Albanian community in Switzerland, and he is now back in Pristina, Kosovo. It was very gratifying to be able to facilitate Brunel’s practical support for the rebuilding of Kosovo.

Recollections of Brunei Darussalam’s Diplomats (Page 117)

116 The Journey from Subok