Because if it's really bad, it will be something like this in a lot of places.

LPL ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Humanitarian workers overwhelmed by needs in Kosovo

Copyright ) 1998 Nando.net Copyright ) 1998 The Associated Press

ISTINIC, Yugoslavia (September 11, 1998 4:37 p.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) -- Aid workers trickled into a teeming village in Kosovo on Friday and were immediately overwhelmed by the misery of thousands of refugees, many ill, wounded and shell-shocked after fleeing homes under a Serb siege.

A half dozen humanitarian workers arrived in Istinic, in southwestern Kosovo, where an estimated 20,000 ethnic Albanians have been camped out for days. They quickly found themselves besieged with demands for medical attention and food.

"This is the worst I've seen," said Terry Heselius, an American who has been helping out in refugee crises in the region for about five years. He represents the Oregon-based Mercy Corps, whose role in Istini is to provide food.

As he spoke, dozens of refugees crowded around him to tell tales of fear and hardship.

The other group represented Friday, the French organization Doctors Without Borders, set up a makeshift clinic that was soon surrounded by about 150 people, many of them children.

Some of those waiting had festering wounds. Others appeared feeble after nights sleeping on damp fields with little food and no clean water.

"There is too much work for us to do," said one nurse, who did not want her named used for fear of repercussions from Serb officials. She said most of the children were suffering from diarrhea, and that infections were widespread.

Most refugees fled to Istinic, 45 miles west of the provincial capital of Pristina, from areas to the north and south. Those villages were targeted by a Serb military offensive that ousted the secessionist Kosovo Liberation Army from one of their last strongholds almost a week ago. Dozens were wounded and several killed by mortar shells and bullets.

Many had already spent weeks in other refugee pockets where they fled earlier fighting in the six-month-old conflict that has killed hundreds and left more than a quarter of a million homeless in Kosovo.

The province is 90 percent ethnic Albanian, who overwhelmingly seek independence from Serbia, the dominant republic in the Yugoslav federation.

Tractors and trailers loaded with hastily packed belongings jammed farm fields for miles around Istinic on Friday. Refugees cooked what little food they had on open fires.

In one crowded field outside Istinic, a boy in his early teens lay on his family's meager pile of clothing with a bullet in his groin. A relative said the boy was shot when police attacked his village several days ago.

Aid workers, however, said the supplies that were expected Friday and Saturday may be meager because of the need to care for tens of thousands of other refugees elsewhere in Kosovo.

Serb police officers patrolled the roads around the town Friday, saying they were trying to escort the refugees safely back to their villages, many of which have been reduced to rubble. One senior officer said thousands of refugees had already returned, and by some estimates the refugee population had dwindled in recent days.

But several refugees said police loaded only six buses with men, women and children and refused to allow others to leave. Others said they were afraid to leave the refugee camp for fear of being arrested by the Serb police.

The growing refugee flow has alarmed international refugee officials. John Shattuck, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights, has warned that Kosovo is headed for a humanitarian catastrophe as the harsh Balkan winter approaches.

By ADAM BROWN, Associated Press Writer

Copyright ) 1998 Nando.net

-- Lee (NC) (lplapin@hotmail.com), September 12, 1998

Answers

Add to the list of countries at risk WHICH ARE RIGHT NOW EXPERIENCING STARVATION, CIVIL DISRUPTIONS, LOSS OF CURRENCY VALUE: North Korea Russia Malaysia

We all need to understand that the U.S. is NOT invulnerable to same, with or without Y2K. The operatives that caused these countries to go belly up can work the same way here.

-- Goldi (goldilucks@yahoo.com), September 13, 1998.

It is possible, TODAY, to move to a rural location. It is possible, TODAY, to buy a year's supply of food (though I understand it now takes something like 4 months to get delivery; was only 6 weeks at the beginning of the summer). It is possible, TODAY, get get cash, buy gold and silver at low prices. It is possible, TODAY, to prepare. Now, if you really want to know WHY, I suggest you re-read the very article that you posted!!!!

-- Joe (shar@pei.com), September 13, 1998.

GOOTCs (Get Out Of The Cities, or "goot-sies") of the world, unite!

-- ParkTwain (ptwain@ibm.net), September 14, 1998.

To answer your question with a question: Where will the refugees go to in North America? And who will send AID? That's why.

-- Tricia the Canuck (jayles@telusplanet.net), September 18, 1998.