[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 16 (Monday, April 26, 1999)]
[Pages 690-691]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Memorandum on Humanitarian Relief for Kosovar Refugees

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

Note: An original was not available for verification of the contents of 
this memorandum.

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