A Casualty Of War
Hundreds of ethnic Albanians have been killed in the seven-month-old crackdown by the Serbs in Kosovo. Hundreds of thousands have been driven from their homes.
CBS News Correspondent Mark Phillips has the story of one man who gave his life for his cause:
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Another crumpled car by the roadside. Another victim killed by a landmine like the ones being disarmed by a soldier of the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army. The man who died was a doctor in a Red Cross vehicle. He might have been just another nameless victim, except this is one we knew.
When we met him last March, Dr. Sheptim Robaj had been treating the Albanian victims of Serb oppression. The Albanians don't trust Serb doctors at state-run hospitals. Especially since all the Albanian doctors were thrown out.
"We were just thrown out from the job altogether, doctors and nurses," Robaj said then.
It was Dr. Robaj's efforts to reach victims in remote areas that got him killed. A Canadian television crew traveled with him through the destruction last week.
He helped in many ways. His family took in refugees. Many owed their safety, even their lives to him. He couldn't save them all, but he was determined to risk his own life trying.
"This is the solution Serbia wants for us, to make all of Kosovo a big concentration camp," he said.
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The diplomatic wheels may finally be turning and the military preparations may be under way, but any strike against the Serbs at this stage would be more punitive than preventative.
The damage has already been done. The dead are dead. No amount of military action now will bring Dr. Sheptim Robaj -- or any of the others -- back to life.
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