LIMITED TIME! $ Mention this ad and receive a 5200 certificate to be used toward your down payment. Must be used toward a lease or buy vehicle from LaFontaine • Expires 12/17/99 TOYOTA Serbs to end the repression, but forced relocation — known by the euphemism "ethnic cleansing" — resulted in an estimated 1 million eth- nic Albanian refugees, 5,000 to 10,000 killed and tens of thousands of homes, businesses and schools burned. As Serb forces withdrew, much of the Serb community went with them. Leaving, they trashed the schools. So the JDC's top priority was glass, to keep out the cold. Some 20,000 square feet worth was bought for the 14 schools in Pristina alone. Workers installed it in one week. Next came replacement of doors and locks, many of which were said to have been kicked in and intentionally destroyed by Serbs. As Baron tells it, the Kosovars are growing wary of well-meaning relief workers who promise but don't deliv- er. "That's why we only promise what we can deliver," he says. Some needs, such as physical recon- struction, are obvious. Other ideas came to the JDC only after it further familiarized itself with the communi- ties. The organization recently gave away 15,000 pairs of shoes in Kosovo — mostly to orphaned children — and 3,500 backpacks for students. The JDC and ORT have also donated 45 computers: 15 in Pristina, 15 in Prizren, and 15 in Skopje, Macedonia. The JDC has also hit on an idea for back-to-work vocational training for Albanians, to train them to make tables and chairs for the schools. Then there's the shortage of dental technicians: The JDC may bring some in, says Baron. Finally, the JDC has allocated dome discretionary funds for school officials to determine their own needs. Kacinari, for example, used the cash to buy items such as chalk, pens, note- books, a screwdriver and light bulbs. Many relief organizations offer sup- port, but only with numerous strings attached, which does little to restore the dignity to a long-degraded com- munity, says Baron. We Jews know about occupation and foreign authority," says the 32- year-old. "If I'd been liberated, even if someone wanted to help me I'd still want to defend my pride. Like, 'I'll tell you my needs and you can help me if you want.' Just because someone gives you money doesn't mean that they should own your soul." The JDC did in fact make one condition for its aid: that Albanian school officials not discriminate against Serb and other minority chil- dren. Kacinari boasts that in her school, there are 200-plus ethnic Turkish children, learning in their mother tongue. Says Baron, "We told them we will not collaborate. If a Serb or Gypsy child wants to come to school, to us they are all just children. But he added, "These people are hurt and the feeling of revenge in the streets is very strong. I don't know if you can blame them. To put hate aside is very difficult, as anyone from Israel knows." Baron took leave from a lucrative job in Israel as a commercial lawyer for a one-year commitment to work in Kosovo. "It was boring, fighting in court for a wealthy customer, just so I would make 1 percent of a business settlement," he says. "This work here has immediate rewards. If you give a kid shoes or a school bag, it's good for the soul." 17 WAS $54,336 MSRP 1999 Landcruiser Sunroof, power windows & locks, cruise control, keyless entry, sport seat, AM/FM cass/CD, alloy wheels. Demo. Stk. #454 AS LOW AS 3.9% APR ON ACCORD 4 DR., 4 CYL. LEASE INCLUDES: CD Changer, Alloy Wheels, Rear Spoiler 36 mo. Lease $ 1 99** Mo. due at 9 $169a incept. 1999 PASSPORT EXL 4x4 2000 Accord LX LOADED • Lease Inc. CD Changer 42 mo. Lease $1699 due at incept. Loaded, with air cond. SALE PRICE $ 16,495 Internet Quotes Avails ) 7 *Plus tax, title, plate. Based on approved credit. ble or_a tta am 26429 Michigan Ave. • (313) 565-5100 .Plus tax, title, dest., doc. fee, plate. ** Plus tax, title, doc. fee, plate, 12K mi. p/yr., Pyts. plus tax. All rebates to dlr. 2027 S. Telegraph • Dearborn (313) 561-6600 www.lafontaine.com www.autobytel.com FREE DUAL MODE PHONE FREE UNLIMITED NIGHTS &WEEKENDS FREE 200 MINUTES to visit Israel to learn Hebrew. And if the economy does not stabilize, the Prizren Jews may use their connec- tions abroad to head for greener pas- tures. One family of four has already emigrated to Israel, aided by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, and a second family is seriously considering it, Demiri says. The Jews of Prizren identify with the ethnic Albanian majority, a fact that sets them apart from the 40 Jews living in the provincial capital, Pristina. Serbian speakers, they were part of the elite in the apartheid-like system Milosevic created. Although the Jews were not par- titularly active or visible in the regime, they rarely spoke out against the ethnic cleansing that led to the deaths of possibly 15,000 Albanians. The returning Albanians view every Serb-speaker as having been complic- it in that tragedy. So, like many Serbs, Pristina's Jews either left in advance of the returning Albanians or were expelled from their homes. Their community in Kosovo is no more, with most of them now in Belgrade, the Yugoslav capital. They are trying to get to either Israel or to the United States. 1-1 -- Michael 1 Jordan/JTA (248) 7379070 (248) 745-9699 32839 Northwestern Hwy. Farmington Hills, Michigan (248) 848-1939 2430 Franklin Road Bloomfield Hills, Michigan 27684 W. 12 Mile Road (inside Video Event) Farmington Hills, Michigan (734) 699-8188 (248) 4460056 10824 Belleville Road Belleville, Michigan 22564 Pontiac Trail (Inside Mammoth Video) South Lyon, Michigan Limited time offer. Newt year contract required. Activation fees apply. Phones may vary. Partial minutes rounded up. Normal tolls, taxes and fees apply. Credit and other restrictions apply. See locations for details. 12/3 199 25