View Header

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary


For Immediate Release April 21, 1999

April 21, 1999

MEMORANDUM FOR ALL FEDERAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

SUBJECT: Humanitarian Relief for Kosovar Refugees

As you are no doubt aware, Slobodan Milosevic's ethnic cleansing of Kosovo has resulted in a grave humanitarian disaster, the displacement of almost 1.4 million Kosovar Albanians, and the slaughter of thousands. The refugees now in Macedonia and Albania, and those who continue to arrive each day, are in urgent need of food, shelter, and clothing. Relief organizations are working around the clock to provide this assistance, but these organizations and the refugees they serve need support from all of us.

I have heard from many Federal employees who want to know what they can do to help in this time of crisis. We can best help alleviate the suffering in the Balkans by providing financial support to relief agencies on the front lines. The Federal Government has established a toll-free telephone hotline, 1-800-USAID-RELIEF, that you may call to be referred to a number of private humanitarian organizations that are providing vital relief. The organizations are also located on the USAID Internet website, www.info.usaid.gov, under the listing for Kosovo. The organizations are on site, they know how to deliver the relief, and they need financial support.

Together we can provide the humanitarian assistance that the people so urgently need, while we work with our NATO allies to create the conditions that will allow them to return safely to their homes and rebuild their lives.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON

# # #