Many returned a few hours later, and by midday, vehicles carrying families began to arrive. Wednesday, lines of cars and tractors snaked 14 miles from Kukes, Albania. Cars and tractor-trailers were stacked high with mattresses, plastic sheeting for makeshift tents, boxes of food and bottled water and blankets. Just before the Albanian border post, aid workers handed out leaflets warning of the dangers of mines and unexploded ordnance. Occasionally, they tried to dissuade families from returning, though the stream of people was so heavy it had little effect.
Nobody has a clue how safe the rural areas are.
But the emotional pull is overriding everything at the moment. On the Yugoslav side of the border, a mine clearer for the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army stood guard and tried to warn families of the perils of war paraphernalia. But we can't stop them. All we can do is tell them to be careful and cautious, and not go in their homes. There already have been several unconfirmed reports of casualties from land mines.