July 25, 1999
12 Av 5759
JerusalemKosovo Refugees Return Home Tomorrow
At 6:00 AM, the Jewish Agency will hold a farewell ceremony for the 145 refugees who are returning to Kosovo
At 9:AM they will depart Israel on a special flight to Skopje; from there they will go by bus to Kosovo
Please note: the times of the farewell ceremony and flight are subject to change in accordance with last-minute arrangements now being conducted with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.
Tomorrow, July 26, the Jewish Agency for Israel will help 145 of the 217 refugees who came to Israel in recent months return to their homeland. In coordination with the Foreign Ministry and other international organizations, the refugees will be flown to Skopje. From there, they will be taken by bus to Kosovo. Prior to their departure, the Jewish Agency will hold a farewell ceremony at the Lod Absorption Center.
The campaign to help the Kosovo refugees began during Pesach at the initiative of the Chairman of the Jewish Agency Executive, Sallai Meridor. At that time, the Jewish Agency sent an airlift comprising twelve airplanes carrying more than 120 tons of humanitarian aid.
In accordance with a Government decision, the Jewish Agency brought in the first group of 177 refugees, who arrived on April 12, 1999, to Ma’agan Michael. A second group of 98 individuals arrived on May 27, 1999 and were housed on Kibbutz K’ramim. During the time the group was in Israel, two "sabras" were born, one at each of the kibbutzim. Sixty-eight of the 178 refugees on Ma’agan Michael are returning home tomorrow; out of the 99 at K’ramim, 77 are also returning home.
At 6 AM tomorrow, the Jewish Agency will hold a farewell ceremony for the Kosovars who are returning home at the Lod Absorption Center (King David Street 9, opposite the old municipality building; a map is attached). Participants will include Director-General of the Jewish Agency, Aaron Abramovich; Director-General of the Immigration and Absorption Department, Mike Rosenberg; the Albanian Ambassador to Israel, Dashnor Darvishi; and a representative of the Foreign Ministry.
Each family will receive a cash allotment to help in their resettlement, after their homes were destroyed or looted.This decision was taken by the Jewish Agency, in accordance with the practice in other countries that take in refugees. The funds will come from the money collected in the campaign to help the Kosovo refugees. Adults over 18 will each receive $200; children and youth, $100; and children under the age of 3, $50.
At 6:30 AM, after the conclusion of the ceremony, the refugees will be taken to Ben Gurion Airport, and at 9:00 AM local time, they will fly to Skopje, the capitol of Macedonia. There they will be greeted by representatives of the International Organization for Migration, and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. The international organizations will take them by bus to five central cities in Kosovo, from where every refugee will be able to proceed to his own home.
During their stay in Israel, the Jewish Agency organized a variety of cultural and social activities for the refugees. They visited various sites throughout the country, worked on kibbutz, and studied Hebrew on ulpan. The children enjoyed enrichment activities. Seventy-two of the Kosovo refugees plan to stay in Israel until the end of the six-month period granted them by the Government of Israel. They are scheduled to go home in October 1999.
For further details, contact:
Hagit Haleli
Office of the Spokesman, Jewish Agency
Mobile: 972-53-467053
Roni Winikov
Office of the Spokesman, Jewish Agency
Mobile: 972-53-847492