UNMIK/PR716
Pristina – Six Ashkali families will return to their homes in Vushtrii/Vucitrn today. Their return to Kosovo, which was planned over the last year, has been positively supported by Vushtrii municipal authorities as well as the local population. The Vushtrii Municipal Assembly adopted a motion supporting the return of the Ashkali residents during the summer of 2001.
The return of these families to Kosovo is being assisted by UNHCR, whose mission is the overall supervision of the safe and free return of all refugees and IDPs to their homes in Kosovo.
The Ashkali residents of Vushtrii have also expressed their willingness to return to their homes and communities. Ashkali residents who have remained in Vushtrii continue to live peacefully with their Albanian neighbors.
Those whose homes were destroyed during the conflict and consequently occupied Ashkali houses, have had their houses rebuilt with funding from the European Union.
The return of refugees and displaced persons to their homes in Kosovo is an important step in leaving behind the legacy of war and conflict. It is also a major step in Kosovo’s journey to joining a free and democratic Europe.
