Op PARASOL
As the program to bring Syrian refugees into Canada gains momentum, it is worth remembering that the CF and the Logistics branch have always had a vital role to play in these kinds of operations, whether the Vietnamese “boat people” in 1978 or the expulsion of East Asians from Uganda in 1972. A more recent example was Op PARASOL in 1999. An increase in Serbian aggression towards the Kosovar population in Albania, together with the failure to negotiate a truce and the threat of imminent military by NATO, had forced the United Nations to shut down their Kosovo Verification Mission (KVM). When NATO ultimately launched its Operation ALLIED FORCE against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) on 24 March 1999, hundreds of thousands of Albanians were driven into Macedonia, Albania, and Montenegro. With nearly 1 million Kosovar refugees in neighboring countries, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) appealed for international help and humanitarian assistance. The Canadian Government responded by agreeing to resettle some of the refugees, and the CF was asked to help, thus Operation PARASOL was launched. On 6 April 1999 Canadian Forces Bases (CFBs) Borden, Trenton, Kingston, Petawawa, and Meaford were put on 72 hours’ notice to receive and house up to 5000 refugees for up to six months, with CFB Valcartier as a backup site. Three days later everything was ready, and CFBs Greenwood, Aldershot, Gagetown, and Halifax were added to the list of sites. Under the overall leadership of Citizen and Immigration Canada (CIC), the CF provided transportation, accommodations, food, and medical services, with the first of what were to become daily flights of chartered A310 Airbuses arriving in Canada on May 2nd. The flights alternated between CFBs Trenton and Greenwood, where they were met by Red Cross volunteers, the Salvation Army, various members of the local community, and, of course, CF personnel. After initial assessment the refugees were transported to accommodation, either on the base where they had landed or on one of the other support bases. After about two months on base, the refugees were moved to cities across Canada where they could establish themselves either temporarily or permanently with the help of a sponsor, they then had the option of relocating back to Kosovo within 24 months of their arrival in Canada. Once peace and stability eventually returned to Kosovo, about one third of those brought to Canada as refugees chose to return home, while the rest started a new life in Canada. The CF processed more than 5500 Kosovar refugees before Operation PARASOL was officially terminated on August 31st 1999.