‘The day I left them, I knew they were gone.’
One woman’s personal account of her missing loved ones.
|2019.08.30
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They came here to our house and just told us to get up. The table was set as we were eating.
While we were there in the camp, we received some news that the men were alive.
Of those 16 people that they took only Jetmir was found.
Afterwards, they came and exhumed him and took him there for analyses.
At least to be found somewhere and to tell us, “We found him!” Or to say that, “They were burnt! Lose your hope,” or something.
I don't dream about them. Maybe it's better. I would be in more grief if I dreamt.
Kumrije Mazrekaj
Kumrije Mazrekaj is from Drenoc, a village to the north of Prishtina. Her husband, Arif, and youngest son, Jetmir, were separated from her by Serbian forces during the war in Kosovo in 1999. While Jetmir’s body was formally identified in 2007, Arif is still missing.
This story was originally written in English.