Las Vegan gets firsthand look at Kosovo refugees

Wednesday, June 2, 1999 | 12:09 p.m.

Las Vegan Kathy Risdon has watched hundreds of refugees from Kosovo arrive at Fort Dix, N.J., in the past few weeks.

As they left the planes, most of them were malnourished, confused, frightened, overwhelmed by the war that drove them from their homes into exile in neighboring countries and finally to America.

After a few days in the camp, Risdon said, the transformation was phenomenal.

"They were all smiles. Everybody waves at you," she said. "They were so pleased with anything we did for them. It was incredible."

There are more than 3,000 refugees at the Fort Dix army base, a sprawling compound that was almost a ghost town before it was converted into a refugee camp.

Ultimately, between 40,000 and 80,000 Albanians from Kosovo will have passed through the base, where they receive a wide range of medical help, all the food they want, clothing and a chance to begin a new life.

Risdon, a Red Cross volunteer who works full time as an employee assistance specialist for the Clark County Fire Department, said the refugees are just beginning to be placed.

Organizers now know how many refugees will end up in the Las Vegas area, but the U.S. government, fearful there could be a public outcry against the refugees, has kept publicity at a minimum, Risdon said. Only a day or two notice is given before refugees are sent to their new homes.

Those who come to Southern Nevada will be helped by the migration and refugee services of Catholic Services of Southern Nevada.

The first week about 50 were sent to their new homes. Last week another 100 left the camp at Fort Dix.

"The goal is to have 200 people per day leave," Risdon said.

Each plane load brings in between 450 and 485 people to the army post. The first group took 15 hours to process. Now it takes between three and four hours to process each group.

When they arrive their only baggage is emotional, said Risdon, a licensed clinical social worker.

Most have witnessed or experienced unspeakable violence, then were uprooted from their homes and sent to another country.

"There are a lot of horror stories, but there is a lot of resilience," she said. "They know they need to make a new life."

Among the horror stories are a few pleasant ones, such as the Red Cross tracing unit that located a woman's husband and daughter who were still in a refugee camp in Macedonia.

Risdon said the atmosphere at the New Jersey camp is relaxed.

"They aren't pressured to do anything," she said.

The refugees have left behind them a world filled with chaos and have entered a world where everything is neat and orderly.

Children play and try to learn English. Mothers watch the children. Men play chess.

People receive whatever assistance they need, whether it is medical or counseling.

"I was there for several reasons," Risdon said. "I supervised other Red Cross workers in child care services ... and I worked with social workers to decide what mental health needs there were for the refugees."

Families are assigned rooms in barracks.

Close attention is paid to cultural issues -- there are prayer rooms for men and prayer rooms for women, as Kosovars generally segregate themselves by gender.

The refugees cover the range of the social-economic strata of Kosovo, she said.

"There are all ranks," she said. "There was a civil engineer with two master's degrees, and then there are those with limited education."

During the two weeks Risdon spent at the refugee camp she became very close to the people there, especially the translators she routinely associated with.

"It was hard to say goodbye," she said. "It was a very emotional experience."

Risdon said she was proud and honored to have been selected by the Red Cross to work with the refugees.

"And I was proud to have been some small piece of a world situation and made something better for someone," she said. "It was such a great honor to meet these people."