From YOUNGK@unhcr.ch Tue Dec 12 04:04:32 2000 Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2000 13:00:59 +0100 From: Kirsten Young To: dastow@vcn.bc.ca Cc: CRISP@unhcr.ch Subject: Your query -Reply Jeff Crisp asked me to get back to you regarding your query about displacement from Kosovo prior to March 27, the date of the very large refugee movements into neighbouring countries. Prior to the NATO airstrikes, there was already a significant number of Kosovars who had been displaced by the conflict between Serb security forces and the KLA. As at 23 March 1999, UNHCR estimated that there were some 260,000 Kosovars internally displaced within Kosovo, some 69,500 refugees or internally displaced in immediately neighbouring countries/provinces (this accounts for the figures you obtained from the OSCE, which are reflected in the attached chart), together with some 100,000 Kosovo Albanians who had applied for asylum in European countries. Once the airstrikes began on 23 March, the movements to neighbouring countries/provinces did not entirely cease, but did abate somewhat -- probably due to the dangers of travelling, the expectation at the time that the whole thing would probably be over in a matter of days, and the fact that the Serb regime had not yet begun its intensive deportation campaign. March 27 was the date when the very large movements of started, in particular to Albania. I hope that this answers your question satisfactorily. Best regards, Kirsten Young Snr Liaison Officer South-East Europe Operation >>> David Stow 11/30/00 08:34pm >>> On Tue, 28 Nov 2000, Jeffery Crisp wrote: > Thanks for this. I asked our Balkans unit to chase up the figures for > you - have they been in touch? > I haven't received anything from them yet, but I did read the evaluation of UNHCR's preparation for and response to the Kosovo refugee crisis (http://www.unhcr.ch/evaluate/kosovo/toc.htm). Like Chomsky's citation, this report indicates that "Day One" of the refugee crisis was March 27 1999. I still don't know how to reconcile this with the OSCE table (http://www.osce.org/kosovo/reports/hr/part1/ch14.htm), which relies on UNHCR data to show 69,500 refugees displaced from Kosovo as of March 23 1999.