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Date: Fri, 30 Apr 1999 19:33:52 -0400
To: kan-l at alb-net.com
From: Alooscnon at aol.com (by way of Teresa Crawford <tmcrawfo at mailbox.syr.edu>)
Subject: [kan-l] KAN: Sample Letter: Refugees
Cc: ALBANEWS at LISTSERV.ACSU.BUFFALO.EDU
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**** Kosova Action Network Discussion List ****
********************Sample Letter: Refugees*******April 30, 1999*************

Below is a sample letter to Julia Taft in the US State Department.  Similar
letters can be written to representatives, parliamentarians etc.  The
refugee issue is complex but is being framed simplistically in some
circles.  Attention to the goals of keeping families together may seem
simple in a nuclear family kind of scheme but there are many definitions of
what constitutes a family.  Other refugee concerns are that other ethnic
groups such as Serb, Roma and Turks who are fleeing the fighting are not
being considered for refugee status. This too must be addressed.  

Below is a sample letter re: the refugee situation.


Dear Ms. Taft--
I am writing to you as coordinator of the Kosova Action Network with some 
grave concerns about the refugee situation, which I am sure you share. At the 
moment, I am addressing the issue in Macedonia, where the US has agreed to 
sponsor 20,000 temporary refugees to come to the United States.

As you know, the conditions at the two Stenkovic camps near the border 
entrance are horrific. After weeks of terror and malnutrition within Kosova, 
families (that I know personally) as well as thousands of others, find 
themselves placed there in chaos and filth. The fear of disease is rampant. 
Unaccompanied women and girls feel shamed. Every new wave that crosses the 
border adds to the chaos.

One reason people feel compelled to stay in Stenkovic and do not try to 
improve their situation is that an unsubstantiated rumor widely believed to 
be true is that to be reunited with US family members, who may be trying to 
file papers on their behalf, is that they have to stick it out in Stenkovic. 
Authorities here say that the waiting period for processing a family refugee 
claim will be at least thirty days, and then there is no way of knowing if 
they will be chosen. In the meantime these same individuals face physical and 
emotional collapse. They feel coerced into living in this inhumane and 
unsanitary situation, becoming not only physically and psychologically 
weaker, but taking up much needed camp space that could be turned over to new 
arrivals who have not had a chance to marshal their resources.

This only adds to the tension, fear, and hysteria of camp members I have 
spoken to.In addition, Albanian American family relatives here are receiving 
wildly contradictory reports from their local IRC offices as to what 
constitutes a family. Yesterday's rumor was that Albanian Americans can only 
send for their spouse and children, that it is not possible to send for one's 
parents and siblings. Yet the local office in Maine totally disagrees that 
that is the policy.

What is sad about all this is that it seems that once again, the American 
administration is once again way behind the eight ball with the way it is 
treating this population. I am advising with the setup of a refugee camp for 
Kosovars in New Brunswick, Canada, and the process there is progressing 
swiftly, with every possible consideration for the care and well-being of 
this fragile population.

I hope you can advise me on what the rules are for Kosovars in the camps. If 
you are willing to clarify these rules, you may suddenly find much more space 
in the camps as people are allowed to arrange for other temporary shelter. 
Albanians are masters of networking and helping themselves. They should be 
supported in doing this and not penalized for it.

Sincerely,
Alice Mead
Kosova Action Network coordinator
alooscnon at aol.com

598 Shore Rd
Cape Elizabeth, ME 04107
207-767-7289







------------------------------------
Submitted by: Alooscnon at aol.com (by way of Teresa Crawford <tmcrawfo at mailbox.syr.edu>)