19,250 REFUGEES RETURN TO THEIR HOMES IN VUKOVAR COUNTY BY MID-JUNE

VUKOVAR, June 27 (Hina) - A total of 19,250 refugees returned to their homes in the Croatian Danube River region by mid-June, which is 37.8 per cent of the total number of those exiled in 1991. The lowest number of refugees - 3,278 or 15.1 per cent - returned to the town of Vukovar. According to the regional Office for Displaced Persons and Refugees in Vinkovci, the main reason for the low return rate in Vukovar is the lack of jobs and the fact that other refugees are still occupying the flats of exiled Vukovar residents. The Office's head Ante Drmic said that during the registration of displaced people on July 31, 1998, there had been 1,490 displaced families in Vukovar, and their number in the whole county had been 2,070. Of the total number of displaced families, 712 families in Vukovar have permanent residence in the county, but during the occupation of the area, for some reason, mostly because of separation from parents, some persons had illegally moved in the displaced persons' apartments. According to Drmic, teams of the regional office for refugees have been visiting those persons for some time in order to establish their exact number. It is expected that the return would intensify once the school year ends, but this will also depend on the start of this year's reconstruction cycle and its financing. (hina) jn rml