Australia Up Close Australia Lends Helping Hand in Kosovo Crisis By DARREN McLEAN	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
コソボ難民に手を差し伸べる豪 先月3日、ミロシェビッチ大統領は NATO との和平案を承諾。2ヵ月あまり続いたユーゴ空爆は終了しました。しかしこの戦争で、70万人を超えるアルバニア系住民の難民が発生したため、オーストラリアは人道的理由から難民の受け入れを積極的に進めました。

Watching the Kosovo crisis, the most distressing pictures I see are of the thousands upon thousands of ethnic Albanians forced from their homes into temporary refugee camps. Most have already lost everything they own. Even as the dust settles and refugees return home, many are finding their homes a mass of rubble.

The Australian government answered the call from the United Nations to ease the burden on the overcrowded refugee camps by giving 4,000 Albanians temporary safe haven in Australia.

On May 7, a special Qantas flight picked up the first group of 410 Albanian refugees in Rome and transferred them to army barracks in Sydney.

The remaining refugees arrived at other havens set up at army barracks in Melbourne, Newcastle, Adelaide, Tasmania and Western Australia. Members of Australia's police force, military, government, the Red Cross and the Salvation Army have worked tirelessly to provide the refugees with the basics of life and, most important, a feeling of security.

Australia's Prime Minister John Howard has emphasized that this is a special, temporary measure and should not be considered part of the government's normal immigration program.

"Our main aim is to see these people returned to their homes, their villages and hamlets in Kosovo as soon as possible," he said.

The refugees will be accommodated in Australia for an initial period of three months, but extended visas may be granted if the situation in Kosovo doesn't improve. The government has warned that if the Kosovar Albanians are allowed to stay in refuge for longer than six months, it would be detrimental to their long-term recovery.

Australia's immigration policy has been a major topic of debate for several years, but the government's decision to allow refugees into Australia received immediate bipartisan and public support.

Margaret Piper, from the Refugee Council of Australia which is a non-governmental organization, said if the refugees' stay is extend ed, the government will look at allowing them to join the community and find work to build their self-esteem.

"Many of the people arriving are educated and proficient in English, and should be encouraged to become part of the wider community," said Piper.

The government is also considering letting resident Albanians, some of whom have relatives who are refugees, assist the refugees. In turn, refugees can give some of their language and culture to Australia's Albanian communities.

Refugee children, who appear the most upset and bewildered by the ordeal, have received special care in Australia. All shelters offer child-care facilities as well as temporary schools to teach English language and Australian culture.

Australians have been lending a helping hand in Yugoslavia as well. Australia's humanitarian aid agency CARE is providing emergency aid to 100,000 ethnic Albanians who stayed in Kosovo, as well as to thousands stranded in Macedonian refugee camps.

Two Australian CARE workers found themselves victims of the political war when they were ar rested by Serbian police March 31.

Steve Pratt, head of CARE's operations in Yugoslavia, and co-worker Peter Wallace were accused of collecting intelligence data on the movements of Serbian military in Yugoslavia before NATO bombing began. They were recently sentenced to jail terms of eight and four years.

Australia's foreign minister traveled to Yugoslavia last month in an attempt to free the aid workers, but failed to meet with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic or secure their release.

With increasing pressure from the international community, including U.S. human rights activist Jesse Jackson, Pope John Paul II and the United Nations, Yugoslav officials may soon allow Pratt and Wallace to return home.

It seems ironic that I can sit back, safe and secure, in my armchair at home and watch this terrible conflict develop. On the bright side, however, it is pleasing to see so many nations helping to ease the suffering of the thousands of innocent victims of the war.

Shukan ST: July 9, 1999

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