A month after fleeing battered and bloodied Kosovo, Yugoslavia with nothing but the clothes on their backs, Qemal Sefa and his family arrived at their new home in Winnipeg, Manitoba last night .

Looking tired and anxious after days of travel, Sefa, his wife and four grown children greeted members of their extended family - many of whom they had never met - at the airport with shy smiles, hugs and kisses.

Speaking through an interpreter, Sefa said he was happy to finally be in Winnipeg and offered his thanks to the Canadian people for opening their doors to him and his family.

The six ethnic Albanian refugees - the first to make their way to Western Canada - will be staying with Sefa's brother Esat and his son Haki.

"This last month has been rough," Sefa said. "We were not happy to leave our home, but we are glad to be here and safe."

A month ago, Sefa, 59, and his family were given less than five minutes to leave their home in the town of Gjakov by Serb forces who ordered them out of Kosovo.

The family took no clothes, mementos or household items with them and walked about seven kilometres to the Albanian border.

While most of Sefa's family made the trip to the Albanian capital of Tirana safely, his youngest son, Orland, 23, never showed up.

"We don't know if he's alive or dead," Sefa said.

Esat Sefa said he has been wanting to bring his family to Canada ever since fighting erupted in Kosovo.

He said he often tried to send money and supplies to them but shipments were regularly intercepted by Serb forces who kept the money and goods for themselves.

Sefa and his family will receive support from the federal government for up to two years, during which time they can apply to stay in Canada permanently.

But Sefa - who recently retired from his job at a theatre after 45 years - said last night it may not take that long for him to decide where to make his new home.

"Maybe we stay here," he said as his wife gestured with a nod.

Another 10 Albanian refugees will head north to Thompson, Manitoba today to be reunited with family members there.

Ninety more refugees with relatives in Manitoba are expected to make their way to the province over the next month. At least 700 more ethnic Albanian refugees are expected in the coming weeks .

Hundreds of thousands of refugees are now living in camps just outside of Yugoslavia. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees says those camps are almost full. Aid workers are doing their best to shepherd the refugees to camps that have space.

Canada originally planned to take in 5,000 refugees and house them at Canadian Forces bases. But the UN decided it would be better to keep refugees closer to home to ease their return when the war ends.

NEWS FLASH

The federal government has reopened its plan to airlift 5,000 Kosovo Albanians to refuge in Canada.

Canada put the airlift on hold three weeks ago when the UN decided it was better to keep ethnic Albanians driven from Kosovo by Serbian forces close to home.

At that time , the UN figured it would be easier to resettle them when a peace deal is reached with Yugoslavia.

Immigration Minister Lucienne Robillard says she was asked today to ``reactivate'' the plan by the United Nations agency responsible for refugees.

And Ms. Robillard responded that Canada will do so.

The minister says the refugees will begin arriving Monday. Ms. Robillard says 300 people a day will be airlifted to Canada for about two weeks.

1. Whom or what last night did Qemal Sefa and his family a month arrive at their new home in Winnipeg, Manitoba?