Kosovo Student Poisoning

The Kosovo student poisoning refers to the poisoning of nearly 8,000 Kosovar school students by toxic gases that occurred on 22 March 1990. As a result of a lack of information this incident was named the "mysterious disease" at first. Many had fainted, vomited or had violent convulsions. Almost all had inflamed eyes and a distinct facial flushing. The disease continued to strike the population for the rest of the year and 7,421 Albanian Kosovars were stricken with illness.

Since then, research has been undertaken by both Albanian and foreign nuclear experts, and they have been persistently confronted with a failure to reveal a common conclusion. Dr. Bernard Benedetti, a doctor for Médecins du Monde who had been in the province during the height of the troubles earlier in the year, said that the samples he had taken and had had analyzed by two laboratories in France suggested the involvement of a poison similar to the pesticide lindane. At that time, Albanian medical doctors appealed to the Serbian authorities to establish an independent and impartial international investigation of these events. This demand was rejected by the Serbian side. Albanian students were denied medical care as they were accused of "lying".

Schools and victims

In March 1990, several months after the unilateral move by the Serbian government to segregate schools throughout Kosovo, a mysterious illness - massive poisoning of mostly school children appeared. The first victims to suffer this disease were students, who experienced the most terrific nightmare of their lives. Schoolchildren could detect a "white powder" on their desks. If they poked it, they quickly developed symptoms: First froth around the mouth and then cramps and fainting. Many schools from each corner of Kosovo began to report such happenings and from the first day on the absence of pupils in schools started to increase.Hyseni, Halim. E verteta per Helmimet ne Kosovë

The first affected school, "Đuro Đaković" High School located in Podujevë, was affected on 20 March 1990. Only a few pupils were affected at first but with the days passing the number grew and the area of affected schools widened. Panic started to strengthen on 22 March when around 200 pupils of Podujevo's local schools and local residents showed symptoms of the illness. Most were driven to Pristina to receive first aid.

Expansion

*"Moša Pijade" (High School) located in Ferizaj. First cases appeared on 22 March
*"Muharem Bekteši" (High school) located in Vushtrri. First cases appeared on 22 March. The number of affected pupils and local citizens that day is claimed to have reached 200.
*"Boro e Ramizi" (Primary School) located in Prizren. First cases appeared on 22 March. The number of affected pupils that day is claimed to have reached 33.
*"Vellezerit Aksiq" (Primary School) located in Lipjan. First cases appeared on 22 March. The number of affected pupils and local citizens that day is claimed to have reached 35;
*"Vellazerimi" (Primary School) located in Obiliq. First cases appeared on 23 March. The number of affected pupils that day is claimed to have been 6.
*a) "16 Nentori" (Primary School),
b) "9 Maji" (High School) located in Kamenica. First cases appeared on 23 March. The number of affected pupils that day is claimed to have reached 51.
*"17 nentori" (High School) located in Mališevo. First cases appeared on 23 March. Few cases have been claimed.
*a) "Moša Pijade" (High School), b) "Peko Tećavćević" (High School), c) "Josip Broz Tito" (High School), d) "25 Maji" (Primary School), e) "Ganimete Terbeshi" (Primary School) located in Ferizaj. Cases reappeared on 23 March. The number of affected pupils that day is claimed to have reached 300.
*a) "Emin Duraku" (Kindergarten), b) "Hajdar Duši" (High School), c) "Boro Vukmirović" (High School), d) Erenik (Liquid's Factory) located in Gjakova. First cases appeared on 23 March. The number of affected pupils and local citizens that day is claimed to have reached 200.
*"Muharem Bekteši" (High School) located in Vushtrri on 23 March. The case of the disease reappeared among pupils and also among local citizens. The number of affected pupils and local citizens that day is claimed to have reached 165.
*"Jeta e Re" (High School) located in Suva Reka. First cases appeared on 23 March. The number of affected pupils and local citizens that day is claimed to have reached 300.
*"Drita" (Primary School) located in Deçan. First cases appeared on 1 June. The number of pupils requesting for help that day was around 10.
*"25 Maji" (Primary School) located in Ferizaj on 1 June reappeared the case of "mysterious disease". The number of pupils requesting help that day was 5.
*"17 Nentori" (Primary School) located in Malisheva on 1 June reappeared the case of the disease. The number of pupils asking for help that day was 20.
*"Vellazerim Bashkimi" (Primary School) located in Suva Reka. On 1 June around 10 pupils asked for help.
*"Ivo Lola Ribar" (High School) located Pristina. By the end of May and beginning of June, cases started to appear in Pristina creating panic among locals.
*"Stanko Burić" (Primary School) located in Lipjan. The first cases appeared by the end of May where 5 pupils of this school requested help.
Many victims got first aid from Catholic nuns, most of whom were located in Viti.Kosova Committee, Hyseni H., addition, oral information from journalist Evliana Berani. A nun's confession in "Glas Koncila" (6 May 1990) provides more information about nuns helping young girls and boys that were brought with the symptoms of "the mysterious disease" in the improvised hospitals and ambulances.

Aside from Albanians, a few Serbs and other nationalities were affected too. All had shown the same symptoms of the disease even though they were fewer in number.

Research

The Faculty of Medicine of the University of Pristina on 22 March organised a group consisting of Albanian and Serbian doctors and on the same day gave a statement to the public. They announced that it was an epidemic disease but they wouldn't give any other press until they possessed the results of the analysis of blood and urine from toxicology laboratories. Toxicological analysis of blood and urine didn't give a clear picture of the situation. The first samples were taken by Yugoslav Personnel and the analysis was done at the Military Academy in Belgrade, as Kosovo lacked such equipment.Kosova Committee for Information of the world, Poisoning of Pupils in Kosovo. Causes and Consequences. 1990 A verdict was reached after three days that the samples did not contain any poison. This rapid response induced Dr. Baren Cohen, who had spent time in Kosovo with the Helsinki Federation, to comment that it was strange for the academy to release results so quickly while for laboratories in the West it would take at least six weeks to make the same analysis.

Serbian doctors

Dr. Balošević, speaking on Serbian local television claimed that the events which were happening in Kosovo were all about "pure acting" for the Cannes Film Festival". In Belgrade, Serbian doctors protested against their Albanian colleagues claiming the Albanian doctors were participating in a "Children Masquerade".Council for the Defence of the H. R. and Freedoms, The mysterious illness in Kosove - Intoxication or not. 1990.
The same point of view was given from the Federal Health Institute on 26 March. Neuropsychiatric clinic chief Voja Trajković gave an alternative explanation. Speaking to the "Vjesnik" newspaper on March 26, he claimed the episode had to do with a " psychogen reaction" or with a "mass hysteria".

Albanian doctors

The chief of epidemiology of Kosovo Jusuf Dedushaj in a letter of 15 August 1990 denied fiercely the fact that the disease had psychic causes. He believed that if the disease had psychic causes then it would have appeared a year prior in 1989 when young Albanians were afraid to be vaccinated from Serbian doctors. Mr. Dedushaj had been invited as an expert to view different surveys in Podujeva and for his objections toward the situation in Kosovo, he was held by police for five days. He also discovered a microphone in his office.
Dr. Besnik Bardhi along with Dr. Slobodan Lang, a professor at the Faculty of Medicine in Zagreb, were the organisers of a symposium which would analyse that this disease. A few days after their plans were published, their phones went through interception and even the family of Dr. Lang received telephone threats. Moreover, Dr. Ali Zatriqi and Dr. Flora Brovina stated their suspicions about the poisoning of the Albanian students. In the 1990s Mrs. Brovina had been taken by the Serbian Police from her working office because of her statements. In 1999 she was sent to prison for some months and was released only after international pressure.

Foreign doctors

In April 1990, the Federal Commission head, Slovenian doctor Anton Dolenc, declared that the incident had nothing to do with poisoning or any epidemic disease but declared a "psychogen reaction" as the only possible explanation. On 1 August 1990, French doctor Bernard Benedetti, in an interview for " The LaCourse" newspaper, claimed that he secretly entered a hospital in Pristina and obtained blood samples from 150 patients. The analyses were done in two laboratories in Paris. According to Dr. Benedetti, those patients were poisoned. When Mr. Benedetti visited Kosovo again in 2000, he confirmed the results of the 1990s tests. According to him, publication of the results was stopped by the French government in an attempt to preserve diplomatic relations with Serbia.

Two British doctors, Alastair Hay and John Fran, found no hints of poison. Writing in ''The Lancet'' newspaper they acknowledged that the only explanation for the widespread symptoms was "mass hysteria".

Another group called the Commission of Geneva was sent in Kosovo. This group was made up of Charles Graves, Verena Graf and Jean-Jacques Kirkyacharian. They didn't take blood analyses but during their trip they interviewed health personnel, children and their parents. They also took detailed notes of the symptoms. They wrote that some doctors had noticed a smell from the students which was similar to "vinegar". According to them, it was possible that the disease was caused from poisoning which might have been in the form of organic phosphates (nerve gas).
The suspicion of nerve gases was reinforced in February 1992 when Aubin Heyndrickx gave a press statement in which he claimed that he had studied all reports and analysis of blood and urine and that he concluded that an organic chemical nerve gas had been used such as Sarin

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