MACEDONIA: SENOKOS: BIANCA JAGGER VISITS REFUGEE CAMP

(12 May 1999) English/Nat Ethnic Albanian children at a refugee camp in Macedonia have been treated to a picnic in the park, courtesy of a well known representative of the World Food Programme. Bianca Jagger, international socialite and ex-wife of the front man of the Rolling Stones, handed out sweets and played with the children during their short break from the enclosed camp. 70 kilometres south west of the Macedonian capital Skopje, the Senokos camp is home to thousands of refugees. World Food Programme representative Bianca Jagger tours the camp, speaking to refugees and aid workers, and visiting the medical centre and other facilities. Normally the refugee children are kept shut in by high fences, but Jagger helps them forget - if only for a little while - about tents and barriers. She leads a crowd of children as they run around in grassy fields nearby. Handing out sweets, talking and listening to the children's stories, and playing games. SOUNDBITE: (English) "I'm here with the world food programme because it's important that we remember that food is an essential need for refugees who have been massively expelled from Kosovo." SUPERCAPTION: Bianca Jagger The children obviously enjoy the change of routine and are thankful to their new visitor. More than 700-thousand ethnic Albanians have fled their homes in Kosovo since the Serbian crackdown began. With NATO have just launched more than 300 airstrikes in a 24 hour period, a record number since the campaign began 50 days ago - sadly, the chance of refugees leaving these camps to return home seems as distant as ever. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...