(23 May 1999) English/Nat
America has agreed to accept 20,000 Kosovo refugees.
They are the latest wave of immigrants to join a country of immigrants.
The Kosovos will land at Fort Dix and stay in dormitories until they find accommodation elsewhere.
At the turn of century, millions of Europeans and Russians entered the United States through Ellis Island.
They were either processed and sent on their way, or they were detained for legal or health reasons.
If they were sick they were sent to the Island's once impressive hospital which is now falling to pieces.
Groups are trying to save the dilapidated buildings but it may be too little too late.
Every week more Kosovo refugees arrive in New Jersey to find a world foreign to anything they've known in their war torn homeland.
Their future is unsure and each step is a step into a new unknown territory.
They are not the first to flee a hostile environment, nor will they be the last.
Refugees have turned to America for help since the founding of the country.
Each year five (m) million people visit Ellis Island, to better understand the experience of immigration and emigration.
Just ten years ago the refurbished main hall was reopened to the public.
Glistening towers greet boat loads of history enthusiasts.
Everything from architecture to personal items have been meticulously cared for and displayed to recapture the past.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"One in 10 living Americans can trace roots through Ellis Island and people around the world have relatives who came through Ellis Island and it's a proud moment in American history. It shows America cared about immigrants."
SUPER CAPTION: Peg Breen, President, New York Landmarks Conservancy
But there's one side of Ellis Island that has been forgotten.
The Marine Hospital is a 29 building complex.
It was known as the Sad Side or the Isle of Tears and it's near ruin.
For some the Marine Hospital meant discovering contagious diseases which then meant a return ticket to their homeland.
But for the vast majority, the magnificent 750 bed facility meant health and luxurious treatment.
Something they had never known before.
When it was first opened, the Marine Hospital was a marvel in architecture and medical treatment.
The public health service started here, and the cure for "pink eye", a major cause of blindness, was discovered here.
Now the only example of life is the ivy, that slowly eats away at decaying brick and trees grow out of the mortar.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"The buildings in their deteriorated condition are really romantic and it's easy here to imagine what it might have been like to be an immigrant."
SUPER CAPTION: Richard Wells, Director of Planning and Development, Ellis Island
New York park officials are begging for help to save the dilapidated buildings which they concede have little to teach about the past.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"But in fact it has no relationship to what immigrants would have seen or experienced here. And really the story that we're trying to tell is one of our immigrant heritage and it's important for visitors in this day and time to see the facilities in much the same way that the immigrants saw them."
SUPER CAPTION: Richard Wells, Director of Planning and Development, Ellis Island
For Richard Wells, his dream of renovation is far in the future.
As he comes to work in the morning he sees the beautiful Main Hall.
As for the hospital...
SOUNDBITE: (English)
SUPER CAPTION: Richard Wells, Director of Planning and Development, Ellis Island
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