I am told by the distinguished Ambassador from Macedonia that some 16,000 other Kosovars are living in the homes of people in Macedonia. In total, there are some 120,000 Kosovars in that one small country, geographically the size of Vermont, with only 2 million people. To put it into perspective for Americans, this is equivalent to 5 million people arriving on our shores to seek asylum in a 72 hour period. This influx of refugees represents a tremendous disruption in the economic life of Macedonia as it has in Albania. Mr. President, as I spent 4 hours or so wandering through the refugee camp walking by rows and rows of families huddled in tents or standing in lines to receive food and water, I noticed on every single tent a homemade sign written on cardboard with ballpoint pen or lipstick or whatever else that family could use.
People wander by reading the signs, trying to find members of their own families.
Teenagers are caring for small children who have been separated from their parents. As people cross the border they tell the stories of being brutalized by the Serbian military and police forces in Kosovo. These stories of what they had to endure, how they were evicted from their homes, and separated from their families, Mr. President, are haunting and shocking. I have seen a lot of hardship in my years. I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Latin America during the 1960s.