War in Europe: Yes minister, they do want to come here

THEY HAD never heard of Clare Short, but they knew enough about the UK to know it was a better place than the camp they call Stenkovec 1, so they formed a queue to sign up.

First a handful, and then dozens of refugees came forward to express the desire to come to Britain, something Ms Short, the Overseas Development Minister, had said they did not want to do.

Yesterday, she was proved wrong. At the refugee camp near Skopje were 30,000 Kosovar Albanians all languishing in appalling conditions, surrounded by guards and fences, a place described by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees as ripe for a cholera and dysentery outbreak.

In response to criticism that Britain had accepted only 330 refugees, the minister told the House of Commons on Thursday: "It's not the case that Britain is not accepting them. Most people don't want to come here."

The truth, however, is that the refugees are being told Britain does not want them. The Independent on Sunday asked dozens of refugees in Stenkovec if they would like to go to the UK; almost all said yes. We put down a piece of paper asking all those at the UNHCR registration centre to sign if they wanted to be airlifted to the UK - and it was filled in less than 10 minutes.

The refugees were told it was simply a journalistic exercise, but the most disturbing aspect was the fact that the first people to sign were the agency's volunteers themselves. Wearing UNHCR caps and vests, the volunteers, mostly Kosovar students, said they had been led to believe that Britain was simply not an option - so many who had wanted to go to Britain settled for a different destination.

As each refugee registers, a form is filled in stating possible temporary destinations. Host countries listed are Albania, Austria, Germany, Israel, Norway, Poland, Turkey and Sweden. Britain is not on the list.

"There is a space in which they can put any country," said a 22-year- old wearing a UNHCR cap and bib. "Officially, we tell them they can put England - but we tell them not to bother. The UK only wants special cases."

As soon as the volunteers and people queuing in the registration tent were told of Ms Short's words, they all said they intended to apply to be evacuated to Britain. Among those who signed our paper were: Ejup Begini, tent B-230; Iljaz Prokshi, 50, tent C-120; Fatlind Sadriu, tent D-268; Valmiri Abazi, tent D-167; Nexhmiye Shatri, tent D-235; Ardita Kalijanaj, tent B-73; Halil Bajraktari, tent C-215; Muharrem Xhaka, tent C-294. There were many others who wanted to sign.

In the tent of the International Organisation for Migration, volunteers also believe Britain is reluctant to take refugees: "We have had contact from many countries so far, but we haven't heard a thing from Britain."

Lars Fransen of the Swedish Immigration Mission, has been co-ordinating the selection of 5,000 Kosovars to be evacuated to his country. "I have met colleagues from Norway, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Finland and Austria, but I have seen no one from the UK... We are all raising our eyebrows a bit." UNHCR volunteer Florim Mustapa, 20, signed up to go to Sweden because he was told Britain was not an option. "I have been telling people the same thing. We thought Britain didn't want us. I'm going to change my application immediately." He and his father, mother, brother and three sisters live in tent C-172C.

In the queue outside, a ripple of excitement spread as Ms Short's comments were passed on. Bekim Jakudaj, 21, said he and 15 other members of his family wanted to come to Britain, but were told it was not possible.

"Of course we want to go. Have you seen this place, the overcrowding, the conditions? If we stay, we will die. When they asked me where I wanted to go they said only Poland, Germany, Norway and Austria were taking people. Now I am going to sign up for the UK immediately."

Clare Short can find Mr Jakudaj and his family in tent F-78, one of thousands on a strip that used to be an aerodrome. Here, families are sleeping up to 100 at a time in dormitory-style tents. They eat only bread and cold tinned food; they have insufficient sanitary conditions.

Macedonia is now host to 173,000 Kosovar refugees. That figure is increasing by 5,000 a day. Fewer than 1,000 a day are being flown to other countries.

"This is intolerable, inhuman," said Dr Thei Haumann, a paediatrician with Medecins sans Frontieres. "There are three times the number of people here that the sanitation facilities can take. We are seeing about 700 people a day with chronic problems, hypertension, stress... We have to get these people out of here. This is disastrous for them."

During his expected visit to the region this week, Prime Minister Tony Blair will discover that Britain is widely considered not to be pulling its weight.