(15 May 1999) Eng/Albanian/Nat
Few of the 100-thousand Kosovar refugees in Kukes are leaving camps there, despite efforts by the U-N-H-C-R to persuade them to move to safer areas away from the Kosovo-Albanian border.
Officials say a lack of coordination between aid groups, NATO and the Albanian government has undermined efforts.
The U-N refugee agency says only a fraction of the refugees are prepared to move, with the vast majority choosing to stay close to their homeland in the hope that they can return soon.
Those who are leaving are only doing so because they're unable to find a place to stay in the overcrowded camps.
The United Arab Emirates' army has set up facilities nearly on a par with a military operation.
This camp is widely regarded as the best-run in Kukes.
But newly arrived refugees can still spend days milling around the streets of Kukes and sleeping in the wagons hitched to their tractors before they can find decent shelter.
Aid groups, NATO and the Albanian government all want to move 100-thousand Kosovo refugees away from this overcrowded border region.
Officials say a lack of coordination has undermined the effort.
The U-N High Commissioner for Refugees is supposed to be the overall coordinator for the 780-thousand Kosovo Albanians who have fled their embattled territory inside Yugoslavia.
More than 400-thousand have come to Albania.
But in reality, humanitarian groups, NATO troops and the Albanian government often seem to be operating independently, with no one in charge.
The confusion among the organisers has also left some refugees bewildered and hesitant to leave.
U-N-H-C-R launched a tent-to-tent information campaign this week to persuade refugees to leave the camps in the northern town of Kukes for safer, less congested regions further south.
The 100-thousand refugees in Kukes represent by far the largest concentration in any one area.
But most of them want to stay close to the border, clinging to the hope that NATO troops will soon be inside Kosovo to guarantee their safety from the Yugoslav security forces.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"All these (people) are thinking about how and when to come back to Kosovo. "
SUPER CAPTION: male refugee
A successful day is when refugees departing Kukes outnumber those arriving across the nearby frontier with Kosovo.
The scorecard on Wednesday: 5,475 left, 3-thousand-9-hundred arrived.
But it's not enough.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"We are trying to convince the people to leave but unfortunately we couldn't succeed so far. The number wanting to leave is very few compared to the people staying at this camp. And we are coordinating, obviously, with the UNHCR and the Albanian government in order to evacuate this area, but we are suffering a little bit from the people because they don't want to go further than this area."
SUPER CAPTION: Colonel Obaid Ketbi
In fact, a U-N-H-C-R survey found that of the 8-thousand-5-hundred refugees at this camp, only 3-hundred were willing to leave.
For those that do, it's an emotional wrench.
Many of the them leave only because they are unable to find shelter at the overcrowded camps here.
But some do say they will be safer elsewhere.
SOUNDBITE: (Albanian)
"This is not a good place to stay. They're moving us to a more secure place."
SUPER CAPTION: Savete Musad, refugee
These people are headed to Vlore, and hopefully a safe shelter.
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Негізгі бет ALBANIA: KOSOVO: REFUGEES REFUSE TO LEAVE CAMPS
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