PSU Magazine Fall 2003

"It was a very fair and well-con– ducted election , from what we could observe," says Kosokoff. " inety per– cent of the population voted, and they threw the Communists out. " That experience helped solidify Kosokoff's and Rogers' desire to live abroad. Rogers left her position as director of Multnomah County Legal Aid Service and signed on with the Central and Eastern European Law Initiative (CEEU), a public service pro– ject of the American Bar Association. CEEU volunteers support law reform in central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union by providing legal expertise in reforming a country's laws and legal systems. I n 1998, Rogers accepted a CEEU posting to Macedonia. Kosokoff, who had taken early retirement in 1997, went too and again served as an election observer, this time with the Organization for Security and Cooper– ation in Europe (OSCE). This election, says Kosokoff, was different from the Mongolian election. In Macedonia, oftentimes a man would come in with several women, and they would huddle together to mark ballots, he recalls. It seemed clear to him that the men were instrncting the women how to vote, but when he mentioned this to election officials, he says, the officials replied that it was "local custom." "We'd say, 'You're not supposed to do this' and the local guy said, 'If we didn't allow it, no one would vote."' All the observers could do was report the situation to the OSCE, but other than this the election seemed, in general, fair, says Kosokoff. Then war empted next door in Kosovo. Three hundred thousand ethnic Albanians 0ed into Macedonia, and as they arrived they reported mas– sacres and other war atrocities occur– ring in Kosovo. The Coalition for International Justice set up an Interna– tional Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (covering Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia). Kosokoff volunteered to help. "I went to work for them ," says Kosokoff, "and l was hooked. lt was the most difficult and interesting period of my life." Ethnic Albanians living in Macedo– nia welcomed the refugees imo their homes, sometimes as many as 60 peo– ple living in two rooms, says Kosokoff. He and other vo lunteers would talk with the refugees to document war crimes that had occurred in Kosovo. "Every clay we would hear the most horrible stories," says Kosokoff. "No matter what you could tell me, I assure you I've heard worse." Although interviewing nearly 100 individuals about their horrific experi– ences was emotionally difficult, Kosokoff says he was able to persevere. "I wanted to help," he says, "and I felt that I was doing something important. " One man Kosokoff interviewed described a massacre of which he was the only survivor. lt was the first the Coalition had heard of the carnage, and later, Kosokoff says, the man testi– fied in the war c1imes trial of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic. In fact, much of the work of Kosokoff and the other interviewers, he says, was used in Milosevic's trial. When the Macedonia assignment ended, Rogers accepted a posting to the Middle East with another human rights group. She and Kosokoff moved to the West Bank town of Ramallah, where Kosokoff volunteered as a researcher and editor for the al-Haq Human Rights Organization investigat– ing Israeli war crimes. After seven months, though, he and Rogers were forced to leave when the uprising of Palestinians known as the Intifada made life too dangerous. T hey returned to Eastern Europe in 2001, seuling this time in Bosnia. Rogers began volunteering again with CEEU. After a chance meeting with the United Nations Com– mission for Human Rights field repre– sentative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosokoff was offered a position investi– gating trafficking in women. Throughout poor regions of the old Communist block countries, false solicitations for babysiuers and other innocuous jobs have delivered young women into the hands of slave traders who transport them far from their homelands, hold them prisoner, and force them to work as prostitutes. Women often disappear from their hometowns without a trace , so girls left behind have no inklings of the danger. Kosokoff was asked to conduct interviews and document where women were being recrnited and how. With that work done , the U could target those regions with information campaigns to warn women. The effort bogged down in political squabbling, however. After several months without progress, Kosokoff was forced to drop the project. He found another assignment with the UN Human Rights Commission, investigating foreign-born Muslims who were being deported from Bosnia under questionable circumstances. Rogers' assignment in Bosnia ended in late 2001, and she was transferred to Serbia. Kosokoff found a position as editor and consultant for the Belgrade Center for Human Rights , where he lectures at work– shops for Serbian judges, teachers, and police about the foundations of international human rights. And he's developing a smaller proposal to counter trafficking in woman by targeting high school girls in Serbia Lo warn them of the danger. A fter more than 30 years in the Speech Communication Department, eight as chair, Kosokoff has many Lies Lo the area. He comes home twice a year for extended stays. Still, he soon feels the need Lo be back doing the work that has him hooked. "I need to be back. I need to be doing the work ," he says. "It's kind of intoxicating, actually . . . l'm sorry I didn't get into this a lot earlier. l loved teaching, but l wish I'd spem more of my life doing human rights work of some kind. I feel that at this time in history, it's more important to teach people about human rights and ensure human rights everywhere. " D (Melissa Steincgc1; a Portland freelance w1itc1; wrote the article "Business Ethics: An Oxymoron?" for the spring 2002 PSU Magazine.) FALL 2002 PSU MAGAZINE 13