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'Safe harbor' for family

A refugee family gets a Habitat home.

By JOSE CARDENAS
Published January 8, 2007

SAFETY HARBOR - As her father sat in the living room last week, 9-year-old Xheneta Xhokli rushed in holding a picture of their old home in Kacanik, Kosovo.

The brick house bore smoke stains on its outer walls. It was burned during the war that forced the Xhokli family to flee to a refugee camp.

Xheneta and her father, Heset, were sitting in the home the family has rented in Safety Harbor for seven years since they came to the United States.

But on Saturday, the family of 11 received the keys to a new, six-bedroom, tan house with a white front porch and a big, grassy back yard on Sixth Avenue N. It was built by Pinellas Habitat for Humanity.

"You have dreamed since you were ripped out of your home in Kosovo," Nancy White, a volunteer on Habitat's selection committee, told the family as about 100 people watched the presentation. "And now it's a reality: the keys to your own home."

The family is expected to move into the house later this week.

The Xhokli family was not chosen to get a house from Habitat because they are refugees.

In this case, however, the organization whose mission is helping people achieve the American dream fittingly will shelter a family that lost their home in war and had to start anew in the United States.

"Everybody has a story," White said. "The story of this family is an incredible one."

Xheneta had shared the family's rented three-bedroom house with her parents and eight other siblings - seven girls and one boy - ages 9 to 22.

On Saturday, the little girl in a pink blouse and purple sandals toured the family's new digs.

"This house was really small and that one is bigger," she had said last week.

The house the Xhoklis received is the 137th that Pinellas Habitat for Humanity has built.

People who apply for a house from Habitat must show, among other things, that they are in need of housing. They must show they are working, though making much less than the median income for the area.

Once approved, they must volunteer at least 400 hours helping build the homes of other people like themselves.

People actually get mortgages from Habitat. Their mortgage payments are below market rate because Habitat does not charge any interest.

This is possible because much of the labor for the homes is donated. In this case, the land was also donated by Safety Harbor. HomeBanc Mortgage was a sponsor that provided funding.

The Florida Center for Torture and Abuse Victims helped the Xhoklis resettle in Pinellas.

After they landed at Tampa International Airport, the family went straight to their rented house on Palm Place, just around the corner from their new home.

"When you first come to the United States, you don't speak English," said Heset Xhokli. "You try to get a job. It's not easy."

White recounted at the ceremony her initial visit with the Xhoklis. "We sat in disbelief hearing how they literally had 15 minutes to leave their home," she said.

In the rush to get out of Kosovo, the Xhoklis had to leave one of their daughters behind.

Emine, now 20, had gone to visit an aunt as her family packed their suitcases. She was reunited four months later.

"I can't imagine what that must have been like," said White, trying not to cry as she told the story.

Heset Xhokli has learned English by practicing with patients at Mease Countryside Hospital, where he is a medical laboratory assistant.

The family celebrates Kosovoan religious and national holidays with other refugees in the area, Heset Xhokli said. All the while, his family is settling into American life.

His three oldest daughters have graduated from high school: Arijeta, 22, is attending St. Petersburg College. Indira, 21, is about to start at the University of South Florida.

When they contacted Habitat, Heset Xhokli said, the family wanted to stay in Safety Harbor where his two younger children are attending the nearby elementary school.

Habitat could not find land it could afford for their house anywhere in Pinellas County.

Meanwhile, Safety Harbor had a piece of land for sale. Since offers were coming in too low, the city donated the land to Habitat.

"We wanted that bigger place to live because we are a lot of people," daughter Arijeta Xhokli said. "We couldn't afford to buy one earlier." Younger sister Xheneta looked up at much taller Arijeta.

"She'll be my roommate," at the new house, Xheneta said. The big sister hugged the little one and kissed her on the cheek.

At the ceremony, Safety Harbor Mayor Andy Steingold took pride that the city has become the Xhoklis' "safe harbor."

One of the gifts White gave the family was the American flag, "to honor this great country that we are all blessed to live in."

Heset Xhokli said after he received the keys: "This house is a dream for me and my family."

[Last modified January 8, 2007, 07:53:07]