'Borders and Balderdash' (a polite way of putting it!).
Challenges and Reflections by Chas Storer, Head of Operations,  on his return to the UK

Well no one ever said it would be easy……………but they never once told me it would get harder every time!!...........I suppose I should have taken more notice of that number 13 shouldn't I? - 13 trucks!! I've decided to put pen to paper to describe some of this autumn convoy's challenges, despite a reticence because of not wanting to alienate those we wish and need to continue to work with, because I feel that it's only by highlighting how increasingly challenging our work is, that we might hope to gain a little more reasoned and sympathetic high level support. The reality is that whilst frustration in the course of dozens if not hundreds of international phone calls often turned to quite forthright and raised voices, we owe a debt of gratitude to many who tried, and did support us. 

There's no doubt in my mind that this was another hugely successful humanitarian convoy; a great team, superb quality and quantity of aid, and excellent, deserving and very needy recipients. We try to improve on every aspect of what we do every time we go, and we achieved that again this time, in so many ways; the warehouse was superb (with huge thanks to Shukri and his family) the hotel was great and close by, support from our in-country sponsors and partners MTS was on-the-ball despite huge logistical challenges for many of them coming from their base in Pristina 2 hours journey, each way, each day, communications were excellent with local mobiles, and Truck and handheld VHF radios for all crews, the distribution arrangements were excellently managed by Steve and Hilary, and Roddy and Dave with help from many others did a fantastic job in getting all the trucks loaded and away on time every day (more or less)……and so much more!

And there were some lovely moments to recount and highlight! - Coxy, with his friends who he'd helped more than a decade ago, and who he'd lost touch with, but who came and sought him out, a wonderful and emotional reunion - Paul with 'Gonzales', and the chap who needed a coat; the really nice coat that was given to him with pockets stuffed with other goodies, and his delighted dancing around the truck to show off his new things - the simple expressions of gratitude from passers by and Fuel Station assistants who knew of what we'd been doing…………and of course so many more incidents.

…….But then there were also the numerous challenges, some of which I'll highlight here………….and the 'balderdash' Question: why is it harder now than in 1996/7 to get humanitarian aid out of the EU and to its destination? If you're a Politician and you're reading this, please take note, and if you can help us, please will you! Don't we all have the same objective of trying to help those that need help irrespective of race, creed or colour? Don't we all want to see harmony and peace, rather than discord and tension between borders? Surely there are people out there with the ability to make practical and common sense decisions when interpreting the written rules which are meant for the guidance of wise men, but the strict observation of those less wise!

Challenge: to fill two 40 ton artics with food aid, in addition to the 10 other trucks that crews would take……….370,000 tonnes of food gets destroyed by the food industry in the UK alone every single year so you'd think that getting 40 tonnes of food to split between two artics shouldn't be that hard? ………don't you believe it……enough said here for the sake of good on-going relations!

Challenge: to get the UK/European Customs Policy machine to understand that humanitarian aid isn't just 'second hand clothes', this being the only computer category now available within the newly improved electronic customs declaration and documentation system that has been implemented across Europe for describing humanitarian aid goods exiting the EU! - Try telling the agitated Customs Officer in Hungary who decides to check the contents of the trucks against the official documents, that your lovely brand new shoes, blankets, toiletries food and much more besides are actually a figment of his imagination, and are in fact just 'second hand clothes'!!

Challenge: a 40 tonne articulated truck that has just shredded its tyre and is now straddling a roundabout in Germany. Special lifting equipment needed to get the wheel off, emergency telephone numbers on web sites that are no longer operating, wheel nuts that are of a non-standard size, and a major part of the suspension system irreplaceable for two days. So much for logistics plan A!

Challenge: 4 'big rigs' stuck on the Serbian border and being denied access because three were carrying food………but how can the last 16 (yes sixteen) crossings made since 1999 over the same border, with food, possibly have been 'a mistake'???

Challenge: to get 3 'big rigs' back into Hungary from where they exited the EU, because now they had NO entry papers having already been 'exited' from the EU.

Challenge: a burly Hungarian Customs official with a personality by-pass who insists that we must use a Spedition office to re-create our EU exit documents that were so wonderfully produced on the all new electronic EU Customs declaration and document system this time with bar codes that would make transit and exit a mere formality, because the Customs officials would now only need to read the bar coding……..well so much for joined up government within the EU!

Challenge: 9 x 7.5 tonne trucks, 8 carrying food, all told again that entry is not allowed - A visit by the Head of Customs from the local municipality brought about a compromise that we didn't have to go back into Hungary, but we did have to drive 50 miles to the alternative northern border crossing at Horgos, with our Spedition friend as an escort.

Challenge: 'the doctor' - actually a pleasant Serbian representative of the equivalent of the Ministry of Agriculture - who requires a 'certificate' that all food is wholesome and fit for human consumption. Our usual quality certificates will not suffice. A written Certification, provided by the donor company Mars Group, after phone calls to Dubai, Belgium, Australia, and not to mention the UK on a Sunday, wasn't acceptable. It must be from DEFRA. Good news, Mars Group can self certificate………..oh no they can't, that wasn't acceptable either. How do we get in touch with DEFRA on a Monday night, and which department? It's not what you know, but who! No, we can't wait the usual 5 days! (Logic test - how can any organisation back in the UK certify the quality of goods that are already sitting on the border 1000 miles away?) DEFRA pulled out all the stops and emailed and faxed Certificate for us on Tuesday morning…...of course an hour behind us……this is not a DEFRA certificate! Well actually it was, but DEFRA is a massive organisation, and the UK certificate looks different to the EU Certificate ……surely we aren't the first and only organisation EVER to export food from the EU into Serbia?

Challenge: Spedition fees, and bank guarantees, 600 Euros for 3 trucks alone, and truck seals that we have to pay for at 5 Euro each! Somebody is taking the Michael!

Challenge: An empty humanitarian aid truck that has distributed its aid, refused entry back into Serbia from Kosovo at the same crossing point that it left Serbia just 3 days earlier, because it's a Sea Container! Its just a big empty box on the top of a trailer……no, it's a Sea Container, and Sea Containers can only enter Serbia via Presevo, which means you must drive south to Macedonia, then east through Skopje, then north to our border 100 miles east of here!

Challenge: The wife of the Sea Container driver is Chinese, and does not have a Visa to allow entry to Macedonia, or Montenegro, and these can only be obtained by application in person at their embassies! Oh and just to add a further complication, her Serbian visa is a single entry visa, so she can't leave, and then re-enter via a different border! William was 'obliged' to cross back to Kosovo, and parked his truck, awaiting the return of a support team from MTS. The Serbian Consul in London made calls and tried his very best to give support, and expressed his hope that a positive answer would be given to us the following morning by 10am (again an hour behind) but William had already endured days on borders and decided he had no choice - he walked back into Serbia, got a taxi to Nis 2 hours away and stayed with Helen overnight in a Hotel, then got a return taxi to the border the following morning and re-crossed into Kosovo, drove his truck c100 miles south to the Macedonian border, and unfortunately, 15 minutes after crossing, I received the all-clear from the London Consul for him to cross at the other border! William re-joined his wife Helen in Nis 12 hours later.

Challenge: Distribution of 92 tonnes of aid in just 5 days, when one truck has an engine problem and won't start, having stopped in a remote hillside off the beaten track - pouring with rain, (as it had been endlessly) Anthony and Bill spent many hours removing and cleaning filters and electronics. On the point of giving up, perversely, it started, for no obvious reason!

Challenge: 12 trucks, now the full remaining convoy, refused entry back into Serbia because 5 of the drivers who had flown into Kosovo to replace 5 of the drivers who had now flown home, had not entered Serbia through a recognised legal border! Consequently they were effectively illegal immigrants. The instruction, (which I refused to comply with) was to turn all trucks around and return through Kosovo, yes you guessed it, down to Macedonia, through Skopje, and back up into Serbia via Presevo, thus gaining a valid Serbian entry stamp in their passports at that border. Surely the last 7 fly/drive convoys to Kosovo, one which included me as a fly in, drive out team member couldn't have been 'a mistake'??? The broken down truck in no mans land between the two borders didn't make life easy, and Vanessa did a great traffic police job, but it did help to block the border for 5 hours while outside temperatures dropped to 3 degrees and all drivers mysteriously lost their keys!

It really shouldn't be like this, should it? Who will pay all our extra phone and diesel/accommodation costs?

All we are doing is driving vehicles full of donated and completely wholesome food and other aid across Europe to give it to the very poorest in Kosovo, be they Albanian, Serbian, Roma, or other. The food comes from supermarket shelves or direct from manufacturers, and if it's good enough for us to eat, why the hell wouldn't it be good enough for others? A Sea container is a metal box! It just happens to have the words Sea Container written on it. It was empty for heavens sake! And our fly drive team flew into an international airport from the UK on an international plane! They aren't illegal immigrants, they like all of us are volunteers who don't get paid to help people, but do it because they/we all feel it's the right thing to do! A blue immigration stamp in Pristina, rather than a black one from a different border…….piffle!

There were some people who sadly did very little or nothing to help us when asked, but happily there were many others who did their utmost to give us support through all this. I have no wish to name individuals but they will know who they are, and my extremely grateful thanks go out to those people who I/we badgered, bludgeoned and may even have raised my voice to on occasion, at the Serbian Embassy in London, the British Embassy in Belgrade, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in Pristina, DEFRA in London, UK Customs, and several more……Sita who provide fantastic support maintaining our vehicles and kept us on the road, the Maidstone Radio Club for keeping our communications going for the whole period,  Mars and Graham, without whom we might still be stuck on some border or other, and my very good friend Charles B who once again came to our help at an unearthly hour! And in addition, of course, a big thank you to all of our supporters who help us fill our lorries, and donate and make items to give out to the under-privileged children; you are all part of the team who work behind the scenes, to help us to help others - thank you!

Clearly, we now have much more work to do, to find a way around these issues before next Easter, because one thing is for sure………..these challenges won't stop us!