Sir, - I visited Montenegro last week to see the refugee situation at source. Like so many others, I have been grappling with my conscience and prejudices at the sight of Romanians begging on our streets and at traffic lights. Montenegro is part of Yugoslavia and next to Kosovo. It is one of the poorest countries in Europe. Consider these facts in the context of Ireland's reaction to the influx of refugees: Montenegro is one-fifth the size of the Republic of Ireland with a population of 630,000. The unemployment rate is 90 per cent and there is no social welfare system.
It has accepted 60,000 refugees.
I visited three camps, which are home to 500 people living in emergency shelter and makeshift settlements along the coast, mostly Romas displaced from Kosovo by the returning Albanians. (The Romas were a settled peaceful people but were labelled as collaborators as the Serbs had used them for menial labour.) One of the camps was sited on the town dump.
This was the first time I had come across Refugee Trust Ireland, which provides emergency assistance to the camps, including basic foodstuffs and weekly deliveries of fresh water by tanker. If your readers are grappling with their consciences, perhaps they would consider making a contribution to the problem at source. Refugee Trust Ireland, 4 Dublin Road, Stillorgan, needs money to provide a future for these destitute people. Very little money goes a long way in Montenegro. - Yours, etc.,
Robert Neill, Killegar, Enniskerry, Co Wicklow.