TALKING IT OVER
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
May 5,
1999
"I'm writing because the faces on the news of the frightened children
fleeing the war in Kosovo are haunting," begins a letter to the White House
from Port Jervis, N.Y. "Our country MUST help these people, and soon."
Here are some of the other letters the President and I have received
about the refugees from Kosovo:
A woman in Pleasanton, Calif., wrote: "Can you tell me what it takes
for a community (like my church) to sponsor a family from Kosovo? I can only
imagine what it must be like for a family with nothing left, in the cold,
hungry and forced to go to a country where they are unfamiliar with the culture
and have no human ties. We can make it better for at least one family."
This from Sandy, Utah: "We have two extra bedrooms in our home and are
willing to help house a refugee family. We support what you are doing and want
to help in any way we can."
And finally, one from San Diego: "On behalf of my family, I would like
to extend an invitation to host a family from Kosovo. We have been watching the
news almost around the clock and feel compelled to help in some capacity.
Macedonia has been sending refugees to homes inside their country, and we would
like to provide the same. We believe that humanitarian efforts must start with
the individual. We are hoping that other households will help in the same
manner."
These letters represent just a fraction of the outpouring of support
for the refugees that has come to the White House, and they remind me of one
reason I'm proud to be an American: Whenever and wherever people are in need,
Americans stand ready to help.
This week, I traveled to Fort Dix in New Jersey, to represent the
President and the people of the United States in welcoming the first group of
Kosovar refugees from Macedonia arriving in our country. Like hundreds of
thousands of others, they've witnessed appalling atrocities.
In Djakovica, in Kosovo, 19 people -- members of three families -- who
were hiding in the basement of a house were discovered by Serbian authorities.
All were shot, and the house was burned. Bodies littered the streets of Meja,
where the killing of scores of men was reported several days ago. One woman
said, "I have seen so much horror, I just close my eyes."
Everywhere, refugees search for lost loved ones. One desperate, young
couple frantically sought news of their 17-day-old infant, left behind in the
intensive care unit of a local hospital when Serb forces drove them from their
home. The plight of a 10-year-old girl, who is caring for her infant brother
while authorities try to locate their parents, is not unusual.
In one 24-hour period earlier this week, more than 11,600 Kosovars
arrived in Macedonia, bringing to nearly 700,000 the number of refugees and
displaced persons who have fled the terror that Slobodan Milosevic and his
regime have inflicted on the ethnic Albanians living in Kosovo. The burden on
the refugee camps in the area is overwhelming, and many countries have
responded by agreeing to house those who are most vulnerable or have family
members to welcome them.
Some of those coming to the United States have relatives anxiously
awaiting their arrival. Families, churches and agencies around the country will
sponsor housing for others. Literally tens of thousands of Americans have
offered help of some kind. Here's what you can do:
Because of the cost of transporting, storing and distributing
unsolicited goods, clothing and services, relief agencies prefer monetary
donations. For a list of those accepting contributions, you can call this
toll-free number: 1-800-USAID-RELIEF (1-800-872-4373). Since this hot line was
set up on April 6, operators have fielded 43,631 calls. You can also get the
list at this web site: www.interaction.org.
If you have relatives in the camps in Albania and Macedonia and you
want to bring them to this country -- or for information about local refugee
resettlement agencies in your area -- you can call this toll-free number:
1-800-727-4420 or e-mail kosovo@interaction.org.
Every offer of help is an offer of hope. The people of America are
sending the people of Kosovo a very strong message: You are not abandoned. You
are not forgotten. Slobodan Milosevic has not succeeded in erasing your
identity from the pages of history, and he will not succeed in erasing your
presence from the land of your parents and grandparents.
We can provide temporary help, but we know that what the refugees want
and need most is to be able to return to their homeland. That goal is the
reason the United States and its NATO allies remain committed to the mission
they have undertaken.
COPYRIGHT 1997 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
| 
