NO WORDS FOR FORGIVING; KOSOVARS ADJUST, WITH BITTER EYE ON HOME.

Byline: David Greenberg Staff Writer

The Vlashi family is planning to learn English as they wait for NATO-led peacekeepers to usher the Serbian army out of their war-torn homeland of Kosovo.

But forgiveness is a word that will never be part of their vocabulary.

The same Yugoslavian army in which 59-year-old Hisman Vlashi served in 1962-63, and the same Serbian cement factory machinists he worked alongside, ordered his family last winter to leave the country and never return, he said.

``It's the worst thing that could happen to me,'' Hisman said through his interpreter, his 31-year-old son, Hajrush. ``I feel lots of anger. Friends who I shared daily life with, they told me simply, you have no place here.''

But as much as they long for their homeland, the Vlashi family - Hisman; his wife, Shefije; and their three children - have no plans to return soon to the war-torn region.

Even with North Atlantic Treaty Organization peacekeepers now securing the province, the Vlashi family vowed not to return until Kosovars have political independence and are permanently free of Serbs.

Serbs, who have reportedly massacred an estimated 10,000 Albanians during an ethnic cleansing campaign, have been burning homes in their retreat from Kosovo, according to reports.

``Everything that is valuable to Albanians, Serbs on the way out will destroy it,'' Hajrush said. ``There's nothing to go back to. What Serbia did to us, we cannot live as a neighbor. Somebody has to pay for these mass graves, torture and burning and all the atrocities they did.''

Kosovo, they said, would not be fit for habitation anyway for at least a year because it is too late to begin planting the season's crops.

But life in their new home with Hajrush, his wife, Renee, and their 21-month-old daughter in West Hills has had its own share of difficulties.

Eight people are staying in the three-bedroom house in the modest neighborhood.

While Hisman and his 52-year-old wife, Shefije, remain home in forced retirement, daughters Nazife, 25, and Sevdije, 17, and son Ahmet, 10, will begin school this summer, focusing on English as a second language classes.

The daughters will also take some vocational training with the hopes of finding work, possibly in a trade or as child care providers, a requirement for long-term temporary residency in the United States.

Ahmet, deemed by his parents to be too young to discuss the war, sees the bright side of their new home. He dreams of returning to school for the first time in months and owning a bicycle to pedal over the Santa Monica Mountains to the ocean.

``I like swimming, the beach, the sand,'' he said. ``And I can't wait to go to school. I'd like to learn the English language.''

Money is extremely tight: Hajrush, who has lived in the United States for eight years, is a Studio City waiter, and his wife, Renee, is finishing up her master's degree in computer animation at California State University, Northridge. Renee was to seek a job in the entertainment industry this summer, but those plans are on hold.

``I don't have the time,'' she said. ``There's too much to do, getting the family settled and into schools.''

There is barely enough money for basics, such as underwear, the family said, let alone to take care of broader concerns, including the dental problems facing the family that has gone without dental floss or fluoridated water in Kosovo.

``We need dentists,'' Renee said. ``Everybody has dental problems.''

Nearly four months ago, Serbs stormed into Hani-Elezit and began planting land mines in the wooded areas surrounding the small town where Hisman and his five brothers' families lived on the same block.

When the army presence turned into a police action on March 25 and homes were torched, the family sped on foot about three miles across the Macedonia border, Hisman said.

They had little more than the clothes on their backs and a pocket-size album of family photos Hisman's daughter, Sevdije, grabbed on the way out the door.

``I told my family, I will lead, and slowly all you follow me. If I step on a mine, at least all of you will be safe,'' Hisman said.

After staying with relatives in Macedonia, where his daughters Hisnije, 27, and Hasije, 33, remain, the Jewish Federation arranged for five family members to immigrate to an uncertain future in West Hills.

Hisman's 21-year-old son, Husein, joined the Kosovo Liberation Army in its war against the Serbs, while a 23-year-old son, Hajriz, fled to Germany two years ago to avoid getting drafted in the fight against his own people.

``If I didn't have this responsibility over here, I'd be back (fighting) over there,'' Hajrush said.

A planned family reunion in Kosovo - whenever that takes place - will not be complete. Hisman has already decided to leave Ahmet behind with his American relatives.

``It's a little bit difficult,'' he said. ``But I'm happy for his future. He has schools, language, his brother. It's a better place to be.''

HOW TO HELP

Kosovo refugees and their host families need money, dental care, vans and housing in the west San Fernando Valley. To make a donation, contact Barry Smedberg, executive director of the Valley Interfaith Council, 10824 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Chatsworth, CA 91311, or call [phone].

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Box

PHOTO (Color in Conejo Edition only) Vlashi family patriarch Hisman, 59, sits with children Sevdije, 17, left; Ahmet, 10; and Nazife, 25.

Michael Owen Baker/Daily News

BOX: HOW TO HELP (See text)