Kosovan refugees in Ireland have reacted angrily to a Government decision to repatriate them next month.
The refugees, who were offered shelter from the war in Kosovo last summer, are to be sent back from mid-June as their 12-month protective visas expire.
Applications to remain will be considered on an individual basis but granted "only in exceptional cases", the Department of Foreign Affairs has said. Financial hardship or lack of employment opportunities in Kosovo will not be considered grounds for remaining.
Families who are allowed to stay will be required to move out of the reception centres which house them and find their own accommodation.
It is expected that the centres, once vacated, will be used to house asylum-seekers. A Department of Justice spokesman said this was "not being considered at this stage". It could not be ruled out in the future, however.
There are 850 Kosovan refugees staying at reception centres around the State.
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ms Liz O'Donnell, said yesterday all applications by families wishing to remain would be handled "separately and compassionately". Careful consideration would be given to each family's circumstances.
"Preliminary consultations are just beginning and the Department will be in touch with further information through managers of the centres," she said.
Refugees expressed dismay at the decision. Mr Isak Berisha from Lipjan, near Pristina, said he would have to live in a tent with his wife and three children if repatriated. "My home is burnt. If your Government thinks it's OK for me to go back to nothing, then so be it." Mr Berisha is one of 129 Kosovars living at a reception centre in Waterford.
"We are not like other refugees,' said another resident, Mr Ejup Pllana from Pristina. "We were invited here by the Irish Government and now we are being told we must immediately go back. We have no homes (in Kosovo) and the areas where most of us come from have not been checked for mines or bombs."
Another refugee, Ms Aferdita Berisha, said 26 of the 29 families at the Waterford centre wished to stay for another year, while three would return voluntarily in June. About 12 of the adults were in full-time employment, 48 worked part-time and 22 were taking education courses run by the local VEC. Seven of the children were in secondary school and 20 attended local primary schools.
Ms Valerie Hughes of Kosova Ireland Solidarity said the refugees were "very, very shaken" by the development and felt they had been "totally betrayed".
Refugees were told of the Government's decision, which is in line with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees policy, at a meeting with Ms O'Donnell last week. A document circulated by her Department to Kosovan refugee centres after the meeting said the Government's position was that the humanitarian evacuation programme from Kosovo was "always intended to be temporary".
The UNHCR had said most Kosovo Albanians remaining in asylum countries no longer had immediate protection needs and should be able to return home safely, the document added.
It said the Government was willing to offer financial assistance to families returning to help them rebuild their lives and homes. Return flights to Pristina would be organised from the middle of June onwards.
Ms Mary Lawlor of Amnesty International said the Kosovars should have been given full refugee status under the Geneva Convention, and not the limited protection offered.
