In the biggest refugee exodus in Europe since World War II, UNICEF has joined other humanitarian agencies in providing emergency assistance 

© UNICEF/HQ99-0008/Mia Brandt Report from Macedonia

to tens of thousands of people, including many women and children. 

The refugee count from Kosovo has reached 523,700: 

• 314,300 into Albania; 

• 116,500 into Macedonia; 

• 65,500 into Montenegro; 

• 27,400 into Bosnia. 

"If ever a conflict had a human face –– scarred, tortured, but still human –– it is this one,” said UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy. “These human beings, transformed overnight into refugees and the internally displaced, defy the anonymity of numbers." 

About half of the more than 500.000 Kosovar refugees who have poured out of the province in the last three weeks are children under the age of 15. UNICEF is providing clean water, blankets, essential drugs, and baby care supplies. Emergency medical supplies have been delivered to treat respiratory illnesses and diarrhea, the world's biggest children killer. A UNICEF-supported immunization campaign against measles, polio, and other diseases has been launched. In addition, UNICEF has created mobile health teams equipped with essential drugs and medical supplies. 

The Shala family in their tent in a refugee camp near Tetovo, Macedonia. From left to right: Fikrije (the mother, holding an identification card), Valmira, 11, Valon, 9, Rexshep (the father), and Gentian, 5. Mr. and Mrs. Shala's seven- year-old daughter, Gentiana, and an aunt became separated from the family by Serb soldiers before crossing the border from Kosovo.  © UNICEF/HQ99-0010/Mia Brandt

The mass movement of families has led to many being split up. UNICEF is working with the Red Cross to identify families who are in this desperate situation. Six reunification centers are now operating in Skopje to help children who have been torn apart from their families. So far, UNICEF has helped reunite 150 unaccompanied children with their loved ones. 

Bellamy said some of the most important, long-term work is in programs to help children cope with emotional stress through play and educational activities. In Macedonia, tent schools are being created to serve refugee children and local teachers and counselors are being trained to cope with the special psycho-social needs of refugee children. In Kukes, northern Albania, UNICEF is supporting a network of local trauma counselors to create 

This is an identification card for Fikrije and Rexshep Shala's four children. Their daughter Gentiana is pictured in the lower left corner. © UNICEF/HQ99-0011/Mia Brandt

a positive environment for young children through the organization of play groups.

"Bringing education and creative play back into children's lives provides them with a much-needed routine at a time when their lives have been so shattered," Bellamy said. "Our hope is to engage them, to help them cope with their distress by getting them to draw, play soccer, read books and to do, as much as possible, what normal children do." 

Months before NATO launched air strikes targeted against the Government of President Slobodan Milosevic, fighting between Serbian government forces and the Kosovo Liberation Army forced tens of thousands of refugees to flee from their homes for the relative safety of the rugged mountains and dense forests of southern Kosovo. Forced to live in harsh conditions without shelter or a steady supply of food, the refugees also lack health care, potable water, hygiene, adequate clothing, and fuel. Dehydration and diarrheal diseases are becoming increasingly prevalent. Education for a majority of these refugee children is nearly nonexistent. 

"What is happening in Kosovo is beyond words," Bellamy said. "The people of Kosovo are now subject to the worst violations of body and soul that can be described.” 

Please join the U.S. Committee for UNICEF in helping to provide urgently needed assistance.