Regional: Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Kosovo

Albania

• The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) headquarters estimates that there are 442,400 refugees in Albania. On May 31, 290 refugees entered Albania from Kosovo. No refugees entered Albania from Macedonia and 20 entered from Montenegro on May 31. No refugees entered Albania on May 30.
• Throughout Albania, the Government of Albania (GOA)/Emergency Management Group (EMG) estimates that 81,522 refugees are in tent camps, 96,301 in collective centers, and 286,391 living with host families and in other accommodations.
• In Kukes Prefecture, the GOA/EMG estimates that there are 35,550 refugees in tent camps, and 2,324 in collective centers.
• The GOA/EMG reports that 1,047 refugees were transferred out of Kukes prefecture to southern and central Albania in the last 24 hours.
• The Government of Albania signed a protocol with UNHCR, the International Office of Migration, and the Council of Europe for the implementation of the Refugee Registration Program. Local staff are being hired at the prefecture level to carry out the refugee registration process. Registration will begin any day, and is anticipated to take three months before completion.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) team that deployed to Kukes prefecture last week to investigate a possible outbreak of Shigellosis has determined that no outbreak exists at this time.
• UNHCR reports that it has capped camp capacity at 20,000 because it feels that camps larger than this will be too unwieldy to manage.
• As of June 1, Camp Hope had a registered population of 2,999. UNHCR has requested CARE to intake only 50 refugees from Fier prefecture per day until June 3, when the third section of the camp opens, thus ensuring available space for refugees relocated from Kukes prefecture.
• CARE reports that by June 15, it will have tents erected for the total Camp Hope population of 20,000. However, the camp may not necessarily be filled by that date if water and sanitation services are not available to sustain the expected need.
• Fire control is one of the urgent issues currently being addressed at Camp Hope. CARE is actively procuring sand/water buckets, axes, and picks to prepare the camp against a fire emergency.
• WFP reports that progress has been made in the re-negotiation of its Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Red Cross. With direct input by the Chairman of the Emergency Management Group (an Albanian government representative), a new MOU redefining WFP and Red Cross responsibilities is to go into effect August 1. Among the major differences between the new MOU and the current WFP-Red Cross agreement is that the World Food Program (WFP) will provide commodities for refugees in host families as well as refugees in camps and collective centers, and the Red Cross will limit its distribution of food parcels to host families.
• WFP reports that it currently has 70 bakery agreements and 2 WFP mobile bakeries operating in Albania. The second WFP bakery came on line in Kukes last week.
• WFP reports that preliminary findings of a survey carried out by Action Against Hunger (ACF) in Kukes indicates that while various food assistance programs are providing most refugees with rations that are sufficient calorically, refugee micronutrient intake is deficient.
• WFP continues to feed refugees in host families in all but four of the twelve prefectures in Albania. WFP supports more than 35,000 refugees in host families with basic rations and 109,000 refugees in host families with bread.
• The Department of Defense (DOD) reports that Camp Hope capacity is 14,868 with a population of 2,990. Plans for possible camp expansion to support 25,000 to 30,000 refugees are continuing. Final selection for Camp Eagle (second U.S.-funded camp) has been made 15km east of Fier. Site preparation commenced on May 31 with plans to accommodate 10,000 refugees by July 17. The first refugees are expected to move in on July 30. Several site options are being considered for Camp Liberty (camp #3). As Part of the site search, a site survey of Elabasan location (estimated 7,000 capacity) will be completed today, and a survey of the Kurjan site (estimated 7,000 capacity) will start today.

Date: May 22, 1999

Macedonia

• UNHCR headquarters estimates that there are 249,300 refugees in Macedonia. Approximately 330 refugees entered Macedonia in the last 24 hours. On May 31, there were 1,102 refugees transferred by air to third countries. UNHCR reported that on May 31, no refugees were transferred by bus from Macedonia camps to Albania.
• UNHCR Skopje reports that 110,800 refugees are living in camps and transit centers, and the Macedonian Red Cross estimates 108,600 refugees are registered as living with host families. The Government of Macedonia (GOM) estimates that more than 30,000 refugees are unregistered and living elsewhere in Macedonia.
• On May 31, UNHCR reported that most of the refugees arriving over the weekend came on foot, including more than 200 who traveled for 30 hours through the Kacanik mountains to reach the Macedonian border town of Jazince.
• According to UNHCR, the Serbian border police are only permitting refugees with valid documents to cross into Macedonia. As a result of this new policy, on June 1, Serbian police turned back 64 refugees who arrived at the Jazince border crossing.
• UNHCR staff in Skopje continue to draw up contingency plans for a winterization program in Macedonia and for the return of refugees to Kosovo. Planning consultations are being held with major donors and NGOs.
• UNHCR reported on May 31 that a total of 12,450 refugees have left host family accommodations and relocated into refugee camps. Camp managers have explained to the Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) that the reason for the influx is the refugees' desire to participate in the Humanitarian Evacuation Program (HEP) to third countries.
• Phase II of the expansion of the Senokos is scheduled for completion during the first week of June. The expansion has been under construction for more than one month and once completed, Phase II is expected to hold 1,500 refugees. On May 28, the DART observed between 20-30 tents and 30 latrines completed in this section of the camp, but running water had not yet been installed.
• According to the DART, work is scheduled to begin at the new campsite at Vrapciste later this week. An agreement was reached with the Ministry of Urban Planning and Construction to develop 24 hectares three kilometers west of Cegrane. Work will proceed in three phases. Initial construction will include camp roads and latrines and the setting up of water bladders and 50 tents. The camp is expected to accommodate up to 6,000 refugees.
• On May 29, WFP reported that it had 4,844 MT of wheat flour, 620 MT of pulses, and 50 MT of vegetable oil available in Macedonia. The wheat flour and pulses are sufficient to feed more than 300,000 refugees for one month.
• DOD reports that 159 refugees at Ft. Dix, New Jersey are scheduled to relocate with host families throughout the United States on June 1. A total of 3,748 refugees remain at Ft. Dix.

Date: June 1, 1999 8:00 am GMT

Source: UNHCR Skopje.  

(Source: UNHCR/Geneva)

Montenegro

• UNHCR reported on May 31 that it transported 180 people over the weekend from the border town of Rozaje to Ulcinj in an ongoing effort to relocate new arrivals because of security concerns over increased military activity in Rozaje. Many of the new arrivals came from Kosovska Mitrovica region.

Commodities

• No new information.

Financial Support

• To date the USG has provided over $210 million in response to the Kosovo crisis since March 1998.

USAID/BHR	$95,628,821
State/PRM	$69,779,500
DOD	$45,281,000
TOTAL	$210,689,321

Background:

• In late February 1998, following an unprecedented series of clashes in Kosovo between Serbian police forces and members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), Serbian police raided villages in Kosovo's Drenica region, a KLA stronghold. The police reportedly burned homes and killed dozens of ethnic Albanians in these raids. Thousands of ethnic Albanians in Pristina protested Serb police actions, and were subsequently attacked by the police with tear gas, water cannons, and clubs.
• As a result of the fighting, thousands of Kosovar Albanians were displaced from their homes, many taking refuge with host families, while a smaller proportion (several thousand) took to the hills and forests.

Public Donation Information:

• In the interest of effective coordination of such public response, we encourage concerned citizens to provide monetary donations to appropriate organizations. USAID encourages the public to contact directly those private voluntary organizations (PVOs) currently working in the region to provide monetary donations. A list of those PVOs may be obtained from the USAID website at www.info.usaid.gov. The list is composed of PVOs that are registered with USAID and/or listed by InterAction, a coalition of voluntary humanitarian and development organizations that work overseas; InterAction can be contacted at 1-818-502-4288, or via the Internet at www.interaction.org. Those interested in providing specific technical relief services or commodities should contact Volunteers in Technical Assistance's (VITA) Disaster Information Center for information and guidelines (703) 276-1914.
• For more information, please contact the public donations hotline at 1-800-USAID-RELIEF, which is staffed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). On May 28 (date of the last report), 48 calls were made to the public donation hotline. Since April 6, a total of 49,155 calls have been received by the hotline.
• Past USAID/OFDA Factsheets can be obtained from the USAID web site at the following URL: http://www.info.usaid.gov/ofda/situation.html.