I thank you for allowing me to raise the matter of the need for the Government to speed up the admission of Kosovar refugees and to broaden the criteria for their acceptance to include not only those in refugee camps but also those who have been accommodated in the homes of people in neighbouring states.
The war in Yugoslavia and Kosovo seems very distant when one sees accounts of it on television or in the other media. However, when someone who lives in one's own county describes a first hand experience of the problems caused by the conflict ones sees it in a different light. Hence my interest in the subject.
Three weeks ago, a constituent came to my office, explaining that she had fostered two Albanian teenagers a number of years ago – I was reminded that the Kosovo conflict has been going on for ten years. The boys had left their country a number of years ago, were fostered by a very generous family and, thankfully, are doing well. Due to the recent conflict, their families in Kosovo became displaced and they have had a period of great anxiety and worry. They had to establish whether their relatives were safe and well and where they were, and then try to help them in a practical fashion.
One of the boys found that his family had moved to Albania, has been accommodated by distant relatives and is happy there for the moment. The other found that his family had fled from Pristina into Macedonia. Ten members of his immediate family circle are alive. One brother was taken by Serbs, held and beaten for a number of days and due to the intervention of a middle man who received payment, his release was secured. He too has escaped to Macedonia. The boys' foster parents approached me to see what advice they could get about reuniting them with the family members in Macedonia.
I contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs and I am grateful for the assistance I received from staff of the development co-operation division of that Department. As in all such cases, we have encountered bureaucracy. I regret the delay in Ireland in preparing for the reception of Kosovar refugees. It is unfortunate that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mrs. Robinson, and Richard Gere, who is working with the UN effort in Macedonia, could say this week that Ireland has not yet begun to take in refugees. I know that the Government has begun to address this problem and I hope that admissions can begin next week.
There will be a particular difficulty if the admission of refugees is confined to those who are in refugee camps and registered with the UNHCR. Because of the delay in establishing refugee camps, many refugees have been generously accommodated by ethnic Albanians in Macedonia and in Albania itself. These people are opening their homes and, in some cases, taking in dozens of refugees. They receive no official aid from the United Nations although Trócaire and some other agencies are trying to help. It is not officially admitted that these people are refugees. They have lost their documents and, on leaving Kosovo, their passports were taken at gunpoint by Serbs. The UNHCR will not admit them to the camps, nor should it. They are not registered as internationally recognised refugees. I appeal to the Government not to be bound by the UNHCR terms but to make a special effort to reunite those families which have found refuge here.
I have given the details of the family concerned to the development co-operation division of the Department of Foreign Affairs and been advised that, as it does not appear to qualify for admis sion, it will have to apply for a visa to the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. There are a number of practical difficulties. I will read the latest correspondence I have received in this regard:
Here is the latest from Macedonia: it seems that the UNHCR are not going to deal with refugees outside camps. Camps are now full and, in any case, a last resort. In all honesty, I could not encourage these people to expose the very young, infirm and very old to the health risks now reported in the UNHCR camps in the region. Even at 25 to a room in a private residence, they would be better off where they are in the short-term.
There is a bigger picture here. Many thousands of refugees are managing to avoid camps by living in private homes, camping rough and travelling across Europe under their own steam. These are often those who have had their papers stolen and are simply too terrified of anyone in authority to go near a camp. If the Irish Government will only take programme refugees from the UNHCR list, then the people outside camps are going to have to rely on asylum procedures, if they manage to get here at all. [Given the previous debate, I am aware of the difficulties they will encounter in that regard.]
There is no need to reiterate the differences in rights and treatment between programme refugees and asylum seekers. [The people concerned would be denied the support of the Refugee Agency which has done good work with Bosnian refugees. Those admitted from Kosovo should also be able to avail of its services.] If it is just a question of the UNHCR giving priority on flights to ease pressure on camps, then we should look at other means of getting them here with visas but under programme status which, after all, is in the gift of the Irish Government, not the UNHCR. I am getting very worried as the situation in Macedonia is clearly worsening by the day. Their situation is becoming increasingly precarious where they are.
The family is known to the Irish authorities and every effort should be made to admit it. The Government should, as a matter of policy, state that it is prepared to accept, with programme refugee status, refugees from outside the camps in Kosovo and Albania so that they can be reunited with their families here.
One of the family members traced in Skopje tried to get to the British Embassy in the last few days to receive advice on how they might they get to Ireland. They were prevented by the Macedonian police from getting to the British authorities. We managed to make telephone contact with them and established that the Irish consular mission in Berne, Switzerland, is responsible for Macedonia. Its officials were extremely courteous and helpful on the telephone but the question was asked how would the individuals concerned get to Switzerland without documents and without help and the sympathy of the Macedonian authorities – I understand their predicament – to seek permission to come to Ireland.
In the initial stages of the Bosnian crisis there was bureaucracy but flexibility was introduced within a short period by Government agencies. Should the conflict spill over, as is feared, into Macedonia, because of an over-bureaucratic approach on the part of the UNHCR and the Irish authorities, the family may find itself on the move again. Given the information available, it would be a denial of our humanitarian obligations if we fail to assist it and others. I appeal to the Government to respond positively.
