a hard call it seems. The people of Kosovo want to remain close so that when the conflict ends, they will be able to go back (even if there's not a whole lot standing to go back to) At the same time, it's difficult to protect a people when they remain on unfriendly/dangerous territory...

isn't the red cross in on this? i know there are relief sites located across the border but i don't know who runs them.

It is a bad situation. Serbian forces drive everybody out of their villages, and towards the border. The border is basically closed off by them; this means the refugees are stuck in a Serbian controlled area for days. Without food and water supplies, mind you. Hundred thousands. Eating gras, as the German Defense Secretary reported. (Nato advises that supply from air would be technically possible, but not an option in this case, as Serbian anti-aircraftguns would have easy targets in the low-flying, slow cargo machines.) Occasionally, the border is open - sometimes a small corridor (yesterday's newspaper described an incident in which a refugee's tractor drove on a land mine...). Then, ten thousands come over the border in hours. Others are herded together in the inland of Kosovo province. There are reports of Kosovo Albanians having to dig their own graves, also of mutilations. It's the Bosnia-experience all over again - perhaps even more systematic, as this time army, police and militias cooperate. On the opposing side, Nato has received much critique for missions turned bad, also on the selection of some targets. It also seems to be that the ethnic cleansing got much worse after the attacks started three weeks ago. The only group taking action in the region on the ground in direct contact with Serbian forces are Kosovo-Albanians in the UCK milita. Many young men from all over Europe enlisted with the UCK, and were bused to Italy, to set over by ferry, and get basic training in Albania or somewher in that area, before going into Kosovo. The Camps are run by whoever is around - German Bundeswehr, Red Cross, EU, Macedonian government, Albanian government (and these are nations who don't even have a lot supplies and infrastructure for their own citizens). There is a severe shortage of supplies in the camps. Yesterday, they showed a camp on tv where they opened a school for the kids - 2.000 children in that camp; imagine how many people that must be overall. These places are fenced in, so nobody can sneak in and steal supplies. Also, this means nobody can get out. Other refugees walk to the fences, and tell the "inmates" who've they met, and where they've been and where they'veb trecked through, and they "compare notes", and try to find out, if somebody has seen family members or heard of their whereabouts.

Refugees have reached my county, and have been taken up in modest quarters. At least what was left of their families has not been separated here. In yesterday's regional newspaper was an article on refugees meeting local press for the first time. There was a professor for history and geography from Pristina who told his tale by help of a translator. Of course would he like to return to his home, should this ever be possible, but he doubts that living together with the Serbs would be possible at all. One could never forget the massacres and gruels committed on the Albanians of Kososvo. When he had been thrown out of his house by Serbian police on APril 6th, nothing was left to his family but what they wore. According to the journalist (well known to me), he described the events calm and with good composure. His son was mutilated by Serbians and then killed. He saw Serbian police abuse people, cutting eyeballs out. He says the displacing and mistreatment of Kosovars have become much worse since the NATO-attacks began, but he does see - as many Kosovars, he says - only in a ground war adequate means to get Milosevic and the Serbians to give up. He's made it to our area together with his wife, two daughters and two grandchildren. One son-in-law, who studied in Zagreb, is still in Jugoslavia; they hope to get him to Germany through the Red Cross. No news of other family members, however. Our county has taken up approx. 50 refugees by now. Officials ask people not to give to the refugees, as they are well supplied by social care agencies, but to rather give freely to non-governmental help organizations (NGOs) to help people in the refugee camps on the Balkan. Rough Summary from Wetterauer Zeitung, Friday, April 23rd 1999, No.94, p.26.