the kosovo crisis

Refugee in Macedonia
by Karen Robbins

Arife Gashi, 57, is a refugee from Kosovo's capital city of Pristina. Traveling with her six brothers, their wives and some of their children and grandchildren, the group first hitched a ride in the back of a truck, but finished the cold, windy trek to the Macedonian border on foot. After crossing the border, they were sent by bus with hundreds of other refugees to a registration center in Skopje.

"We just arrived today," Arife explains to a CARE staff member. "I am worried because we don't have a place to stay. The children are crying because they are all hungry. We did not even have time to pack food for the trip," she says, as she clutches her small bag of clothes and other personal items tightly. Like many, Gashi is carrying all that she was able to salvage from her home before fleeing.

Despite their terrible journey, Arife and her family are lucky. The registration center, run by a local charitable organization, will arrange accommodations for them and provide them with food until they can get back on their feet.

However, the influx of refugees is threatening to overwhelm the capacity of theMacedonian government and local aid organizations to respond. In response, CARE is working with other organizations to buy and distribute food, as well as other items such as blankets, soap and diapers.

Arife says, "We must start our lives all over again. We have nothing now."