A family with three children suffering from muscular dystrophy recounts their harrowing displacement during the 1999 Kosovo conflict.
Key facts
- •Three of the family's children were diagnosed with muscular dystrophy and could not walk.
- •The family was forced to abandon their Volkswagen Golf Mk2 before boarding a bus with over 100 other refugees.
- •The family witnessed violence, including beatings and killings, at a checkpoint near Malisheva.
- •At the Albanian border, police questioned if a disabled son was a KLA soldier before allowing the family to pass.
- •The children recall their parents carrying them throughout the entire journey to safety.
During the 1999 conflict in Kosovo, a family with three children living with muscular dystrophy was forced to flee their home. Because the children were unable to walk, their parents, Sali and Ganimete, carried them throughout their journey as they sought safety.
A Journey Under Duress
The family's escape began after their vehicle was seized by forces. They boarded a crowded village bus, where they spent the night alongside more than 100 other displaced people. During this time, the family witnessed Serbian forces beating young men in a nearby garage and demanding money and jewelry from refugees.
Witnessing Violence and Destruction
As the bus traveled toward Malisheva, the family observed burning houses and bodies along the roadside. Sali recalls seeing a man trapped under an overturned tractor trailer in Rahovec, whose screams he could hear but could not assist. Upon reaching a checkpoint, Sali witnessed people being killed by police and paramilitaries.
Border Confrontation
At the border with Albania, police stopped the family and accused one of the sons of being a KLA soldier. To prove the son was not a combatant, Sali had to lift the boy's legs to demonstrate his inability to walk due to his disability. The family eventually survived the ordeal, with the children noting that their parents' physical support was essential to their survival.
Timeline
- 1999The family was displaced from their home and forced to flee during the conflict.
- The night of the journeyThe family spent the night on a crowded bus while witnessing violence against other refugees.
- The following morningThe family was ordered to travel toward Malisheva, where they encountered a checkpoint.
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This article was independently rewritten by ManyPress editorial AI from reporting originally published by Balkan Insight (BIRN).
