Enforcement comes from military

By Greg Rickabaugh

Jan. 30

EDGEFIELD, S.C. -- Fisher Strom went to Kosovo with a yearlong mission to restore law and order to the war-torn land. He has returned home six months later, deflated of energy, shaken by the experience and frustrated with the lack of support by the United Nations.

Now, the former Aiken police officer must decide whether to return and complete the challenge or give up the handsome salary that went along with the job.

"I'm not sure yet," he said Wednesday from his Edgefield ranch, where he was enjoying a vacation from the overseas mission. "The conditions have not discouraged me -- I can do without electricity; I can do without heat; I can do without good food. But just the sheer futility of it, of just going out there every day, seeing the same problems, and no one will address it."

It's far from the adventure he planned.

Lured by the promise of $100,000 in tax-free money to join an international peacekeeping force for a year, the veteran police officer quit his post at the Aiken Department of Public Safety last summer. He went through a vigorous application process that challenged his physical and mental abilities and tested his mental competence to handle conflict. When he passed -- only 100 out of 2,000 applicants qualify -- he underwent a week's training in Texas to prepare.

Then, he stepped off the plane in Kosovo.

"We get over there, and you can see the tracer fire and the grenades going off. I mean, it's still World War III," he said. "You're policing a war is what you're doing. You're policing a civil war."

Officer Strom's original mission was to restore law and order and train the Kosovo police force in law enforcement techniques. But he found it hard to restore law and order without any laws on the books. Kosovo officials and the United Nations have not agreed on basic criminal laws. Albanian prosecutors turn most suspects loose.

"The United Nations has yet to set up the first court to deal with the first crime. What frustrates you is the lack of UN support. You catch a man burglarizing a shop ... You say, `Don't do this anymore.'

"If you come to me and say, `This man broke into my shop and stole 500 cartons of cigarettes,' I can't do anything about it. I can arrest him, but they will turn him loose. So the shop owner looks at me and says, `What good are you?'

"We've arrested 11 murderers in the Podujevo district, 10 of which have been released. They are out on no bond."

The Albanians he was given to train in law enforcement were mostly part of a Mafia organization, known for dealing in drugs, prostitution, car thefts and extortion.

"So what you're doing is letting Al Capone pick the Chicago Police Department. So, all we're getting is these thugs to train," he said.

An average day for the civilian officer consisted of answering complaints of stolen cows to firewood theft to accident fatalities, which are high because of the absence of traffic laws.

The only hope for stopping the chaos, Mr. Strom said, sits with the military forces, who are able to operate under martial law and hold suspected criminals in stockades for specific violations.

"They're the real deal. We're sort of the Mr. Rodgers," he said.

Another negative for Officer Strom: the promise of $100,000 turned out to be wishful thinking. Minutes after his arrival there, Officer Strom was immediately told his salary dropped by almost 10 percent, blamed on cost of living fluctuations.

Aside from the stress of the job, living conditions are tough there. Winter conditions put temperatures in the single digits, and electricity is available in weekly spurts that last only a few hours because of antique power plants.

Communication systems are ancient, and twice-a-month telephone calls home to South Carolina lasted only minutes because of expensive and complicated satellite phone systems. It took two weeks to get a letter home and two more weeks to get a response.

Officer Strom lived with an Albanian couple and their five children, two of which are interpreters who speak English.

The job required him to work 30 days in a row and then six days off. It was demanding, and his police force has only seven cars for 30 officers.

Officer Strom said the violence in Kosovo is overwhelming. For instance, a 16-year-old Albanian boy killed his 14-year-old brother over who would drive a vehicle.

"Everything there is violent," Mr. Strom said. "That's how everything is dealt with. That's just their answer to it."

On Jan. 20, he returned home to his wife, Suzanne, and two children for a two-week respite. As he enjoyed the stay on his 30-acre Edgefield farm and attended Augusta Futurity horsing events daily, Officer Strom pondered whether he would return to complete an impossible mission.

"I kind of feel bad about just going over there for the money. You know, the money's nice," he said. "But we're not making a difference. The police part is just a joke. And, how long do you do this until you finally say, `Why am I here?"'

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