“The only real information provided by the call was, ‘Pack your bags, tell your host family, this will end in evacuation, any questions?’” said a current Peace Corps volunteer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he had been told by the Peace Corps not to talk to the media. “Then every answer to our questions was either, ‘We don’t know at this time,’ or ‘We are waiting on Washington [D.C.].’”

All international organizations have their own protocol for their staff under these circumstances. However, total evacuation is usually only done as a very last resort. Most agencies in Kosovo say they are still running full operations with the majority of staff working from home and only essential staff in the office.

Dinka Živalj, spokesperson for the European Union Office in Kosovo, told K2.0: “The EU Office/EU Special Representative in Kosovo ensures full business continuity. Given the circumstances, the majority of its staff are teleworking. A small number of essential staff is working from the office, in shifts.”

EULEX spokesperson, Ioanna Lachanna, told K2.0: “EULEX has undertaken a series of preventive measures to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, protect the health of its staff and the communities, and maintain its operational capability to the extent possible. Most of our staff members are teleworking from home. All of our staff members are asked to limit their social interaction to the absolute minimum and to practice respiratory and hand hygiene.”

The United Nations Kosovo Team (UNKT) told K2.0 that it has a Business Contingency Plan, where staff members are working from home and only vital staff are in the office to maintain operations.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) told K2.0, “USAID as part of the U.S. Embassy is currently on a telework arrangement and is likewise following the guidelines issued by the Government of Kosovo.”

The U.S. Embassy Prishtina told K2.0 that all staff in Kosovo are teleworking and following Kosovo government advice concerning the COVID-19 outbreak.

K2.0 reached out to the U.S. Embassy about the Peace Corps evacuation and was referred to the main statement issued by Peace Corps Headquarters in Washington D.C. Additionally the Embassy noted that, “it was a global decision, not localized, and not one taken lightly but centered about an abundance of caution. We look forward to welcoming the Peace Corps Volunteers back to Kosovo once the organization deems it safe for them to return worldwide.”

K2.0 tried to reach the Peace Corps headquarters in Washington D.C directly for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

The scramble to leave

On March 13, the government in Kosovo announced the country’s first two cases of COVID-19. The same day, the two villages where those infected people had traveled were put under strict quarantine.

A Peace Corps volunteer was living in one of the villages. According to a volunteer, Peace Corps Kosovo rushed a transport vehicle to the volunteer in the village at 1 a.m. to pick her up before the quarantine entered into practical effect.

Other volunteers were left to their own devices to get to the capital, since Kosovo has also suspended all intercity public transportation as of March 13.

“Everyone is just doing what they can to get to the consolidation site,” the volunteer said after he was told to leave. “There are no busses, not a lot of taxis, so some people’s host families are just cramming as many volunteers as they can into their personal vehicles and driving them to Prishtina.”

As of March 16, the Kosovo government has also closed its borders to foreign nationals and suspended incoming airline flights, except for military and aid transports. Many other countries have also suspended flights or closed borders to deal with COVID-19.

The U.S. has currently banned all flights from the European Union, while the State Department has advised all Americans to return to the U.S. or to stay in lockdown in their country of residence.

“We haven’t been told exactly how we’re getting out of the country yet, either,” the volunteer said. “We may get a chartered flight, or the U.S. military may provide a flight. It’s total chaos.”

In a message to volunteers, Peace Corps said that they would pay for the cost of the airline tickets but volunteers must leave on those flights or possibly lose their right to stay in their host countries.

The U.S. Embassy told K2.0 that the volunteers have now left Kosovo on a commercial flight and that they have returned to the U.S.

Volunteers will be asked to self-quarantine for 14 days upon their return to the United States.[logo]

Feature image: Atdhe Mulla / K2.0.

Peace Corps evacuates volunteers worldwide

Spread of COVID-19 stops the U.S. program.

Josephine Mintel

Peace Corps evacuates volunteers worldwide

Spread of COVID-19 stops the U.S. program.

Josephine Mintel