33 Countries of Origin’ Profiles

19 Moving Kosovars out of the region proved to be problematic. On April 4, it was announced that 100,000 Kosovars would be airlifted to temporary safety, including 20,000 to the US and to Turkey; 10,000 to Germany; 6,000 to Norway; and 5,000 each to Austria, Canada and Greece. There were calls for each EU nation to accept a quota or share of the refugees, but Great Britain, France and Italy opposed such a quota scheme. As they registered in the refugee camps, Kosovars were asked where they would like to be relocated; most chose Germany. Countries accepting Kosovars set up screening procedures, determining who had education, relatives and financial resources or was in greatest need of resettlement; the informal goal was to relocate 1,500 Kosovars a day. Many European countries are reluctant to take the entire contingent they promised to accept until other countries accept refugees, and Sweden noted that it was reluctant to accept extended families as part of the 5,000 refugees that it agreed to accept because, with no relatives left behind, Kosovars may be reluctant to return. Smugglers are reportedly active in the refugee camps in Albania and Macedonia, promising to take people to the European country of their choice for $5,000. In many cases, the smuggling fee is paid by relatives in the destination. In a few cases, Macedonians have been caught coming into refugee camps to register as refugees in order to get relocated to Europe. By the end of April 1999, about 10,000 Kosovars had been flown to Germany. Once in Germany, Kosovars are treated like asylum seekers, provided with accommodations and meals and DM80 a month for adults and DM40 a month for children. The cost of caring for the Kosovars was put at DM1,000 a person each month, divided equally between the federal and state governments. There are about 300,000 Kosovars in Germany, including 100,000 who are under orders to leave: Germany has stopped