ISLAMIC RELIEF RAISING FUNDS FOR KOSOVARS.

Byline: Donna Huffaker Daily News Staff Writer

The circles under Anwar Khan's eyes reflect the human suffering he's seen in Albania and the endless hours he has spent working to help Kosovar refugees.

The fund-raising coordinator for Islamic Relief in Burbank, Khan recently returned from Albania and now works around the clock soliciting donations for food, tents and medical supplies.

In the last month, Islamic Relief has raised about $425,000 to help refugees who were forced from their homes by Serbian soldiers, Khan said. A dinner on April 18, hosted by the international organization and Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, brought in $300,000, Khan said. The money has been sent to the group's Albanian office.

At Islamic Relief's Burbank headquarters, Khan, 27, talked about the oppression and chaos he captured on videotape and described how the magnitude of the tragedy outweighed what he has seen in Bosnia, Iraq and Sudan.

``Hundreds of thousands of people are in complete misery. Truck after truck, convoy after convoy, the people just kept coming. Some of the children were smiling; they don't understand what's going on. But the grandmas, they were totally dazed,'' he said.

Khan said a tent the size of a small office would house 12 people in Albania. Damp tents with muddy floors are the best accommodations many refugees know, he said, noting host families have been exhausted and collection centers are filled.

So Islamic Relief, a registered consultant with the United Nations, has concentrated its efforts to create a tent city for 4,000 to 5,000 people, Khan said. The agency is trying to clear space for the thousands of refugees pouring in.

Khan began his 10-day journey in Kukes, site of the largest refugee camp in Albania, he said. From there he trekked to Shkoder in western Albania, where he delivered packets of food.

While Khan told of what he saw, fellow Muslims at the relief headquarters were at work around him, soliciting donations, organizing additional fund-raisers and stacking checks. Check amounts and donors' information are stored on computer disks.

Campaign coordinator M. Abdul-Hafiz Ameer said the relief efforts for Kosovars have taken precedence in his and his colleagues' lives. The aid workers have knocked on strangers' doors in addition to calling on fellow Muslims to ask for donations.

When asked how long the efforts will continue, Ameer said, ``As long as it takes.''

Some of the donated funds are used to pay for air fare for Khan, who flies across the country showing his documentary of refugees. Born in Pakistan and educated at the University of Birmingham in England, Khan said once people view despondent images of hundreds of thousands of refugees, it will be easier for them to write a check for relief.

``Everyone has to give. This is a humanitarian problem,'' he said, gearing up for his lecture and fund-raising trip to Brooklyn last week. He has also spoken in Dallas and Chicago.

The telephone number for Islamic Relief is [phone].

Organizers said those who want to donate to Islamic Relief may write checks out to the agency and send them to Islamic Relief, P.O. Box 6098, Burbank, CA 91510-9979.