But on Wednesday, the sun rose over a desolate wasteland. Gone were the teeming masses of desperate refugees, huddled against the rain and cold, collapsing from exposure and disease. In their place stood mountains of trash, mud, and human waste. Most of the refugees were moved to a gleaming new NATO tent city in Brazda, and thousands of others found temporary new homes at other relief camps nearby. NATO officials said the Brazda camp could hold up to 60,000 people, and that six other tent cities were being constructed and supplied in advance of the arrival of additional refugees.
Refugees have access to food, shelter, clean water, and medical care.
Of serious concern to NATO leaders, however, is the fate of the tens of thousands of refugees who had been waiting to enter Macedonia from the Kosovo side of the border. Relief officials in Albania and Macedonia expressed concern about the fate of the Kosovars, questioning whether the Serbs might use the refugees as human shields to deter NATO bombing attacks. The move to NATO and other relief camps means refugees no longer will have to sleep in the mud. They left the problem for Macedonia. All that remains in Blace is a vast field of garbage and mud.