Sir, - I would like to endorse fully the recent demands of Minister Liz O'Donnell and Mr Peter Finlay of the Independent Appeals Authority for a humanitarian response to the needs of refugees and asylum seekers in Ireland.
In the case of programme refugees, over 800 Kosovars were warmly received in our country. Unfortunately, in the rush to evacuate desperate victims of the Serbian onslaught, a number of deserving relatives were left behind. Further, a small number of Kosovars, having returned from Ireland to their homes, now find that life is unsustainable in their own country. I would urge the Irish Government to be as generous in these cases as they were to the relatives of Bosnian refugees who came here.
In regard to Kosovar asylum seekers who did not form part of the programmed evacuation, very serious difficulties exist. Official procedures do not recognise the complexities of their problems and the traumas they have experienced in the past. A number of them fall within the category described in your editorial as "waiting here for years, because of a failure to process their applications" (December 15th). (Needless to say, I support the claims of all other asylum seekers who also fall within this category.)
Apart from the sub-human living conditions experienced by many Kosovars (as I witnessed myself on a visit to Kosovo last month), the security situation continues to be very dangerous in many parts of the country. This assessment was confirmed by the UNHCR: "The situation remains violent and insecure." (UNHCR Recommendations as regards Returns, October 1999.)
At the end of this century, when our own country has suffered so much from political violence and involuntary emigration, surely it would be appropriate for our Government to take immediate action to facilitate the small number of Kosovars who seek asylum in Ireland. Our response to the calamities which befell Bosnia and Kosovo was a relatively very small gesture in the face of such massive tragedy.
We should have the generosity of spirit to guarantee the immediate wellbeing of those Kosovars who now seek to live with us. - Yours, etc.,
Valerie Hughes, Rathmines, Dublin 6.