With deep and heartfelt sympathy note, who died in Nis, where he was a refugee and a refugee with her family, Ibraj Musa, Kosovar Albanian, who head one of the families adopted by our Association, the Project Kosovo Metohija.
A man with a history of life is almost unique and perhaps unique.
His life, his life choices have been a piece of history of the twentieth century, a piece of history of the Balkans and its peoples. And he has lived by the protagonist, with conscience and courage.
Ibraj Musa was born April 24, 1923, had 13 children from three marriages: the first wife Albanian, Roma and the second the present, Ms. Rosa, Serbia.
veteran of World War II, when Nazi-Fascist occupation of Yugoslavia, he fought as a partisan in the Resistance, the first in Albania and in Serbia and then in Bosnia. He and his family lived in Osek Hila, a village 5 kilometers from Djakovica, inhabited by Albanians and 1600 a few dozen Serbs.
After the aggression of NATO and the subsequent occupation of Kosovo in June '99, which gave the green light to terrorist KLA forces in the Serbian province, as thousands of Kosovo Albanian families, the Ibraj had to flee to Serbia for not be killed by the secessionists.
fact they were defined as "traitors" and "collaborators" of the Serbs, for simply because they do not believe in independence and have fought for the unity and friendship among the peoples of Kosovo, the violence and oppression against terrorist KLA.
So his family has perhaps paid the highest price of all the families of missing persons in Kosovo and Metohija, while Kosovo Albanians, three sons and three grandchildren kidnapped and murdered by the KLA bands, of which 5 are identified and one still missing. Ibraj knew the bodies were not found until shortly before his death, as the surviving eldest son, who went to identify their brothers, nephews and his son, Musa did not say the old, not to give him more pain.
The story of this man, a real piece of living history of Balkans, which has passed through successive events in the last century, with great courage, always partisan, in the fullest sense of that term, that is deployed on the side of its people, of justice, freedom, whatever the cost: in 1941 when he took the way of the mountain to fight the fascists, until 1998 when he was elected commander of the "Kosovo Albanian self-defense militias" against terrorism and the violence of the KLA. These militias were formed mostly by Kosovar Albanians, and mixed in many countries, were present in more than 130 municipalities in Kosmet as a form of self-defense to protect civilians from violent gangs and the imposition of the KLA.
When, through the Association Srecna Porodica, with whom we have one of the projects of solidarity for Kosovo Methoija, there was a proposal to support this family, as a victim of the terrorist KLA, we did not know the whole story of the old Musa, was an unforgettable day for us when we went in their Current disadvantaged homes, Hum a country village near Nis, where they live as refugees, to escape reprisals by the KLA criminals, today the "masters" of Kosovo under NATO command.
That day we made a video of the interview, where Ibraj Musa told us of his extraordinary and incredible life story. When I made him some questions about the present and the recent events concerning the tragic events that happened in the war of Kosovo, he, who despite 85 years of age, was an amazing clarity and vitality, she replied that after having met and fought the Nazi, nothing could scare him, and that as they too were eventually hunted down and wiped away from the people, the same fate will befall the KLA bandits and murderers.
on his experience as commander of these local militias for self-defense (formed in May June 1998), he said,
. ... When I saw what they were doing against our people and force them to go with them and against our friends and countrymen Serbs to drive them from the village that was to all of us, I decided that we had to organize to prevent the KLA from entering the country and terrorizing our people ... I just decided that ... we have always lived together, because the bandits wanted to destroy everything that had been trying to do? To what end? The peoples must live together in peace, honesty and loyalty to each other ... This was the former Yugoslavia .... "The old
Musa was given by his people due to its history of partisan fighting and the respect of which he was surrounded, and considered just and wise man .
When I asked him what was the precise moment that made him so hard and make a decision that would have dramatic consequences for him and his family, he replied: "... one night came to our house and other homes, people 's KLA and told us we should get out and abandon the Osek Hila village because there would be attacks against Serbian police and Yugoslav army in the days following. We refused and the rest of the village, because that was our country and our land. In the following days they returned once again but this time to threaten us. Then the morning I found this piece of notebook paper stuck on the door .... "
Musa showed us that read this leaflet with a ballpoint pen:
" Or are you with us or we will burn your houses. Enlist with your brothers.
KLA (Ushtria Clirimtare and Kosoves)..
"... So we knew what was coming, we collected everything we had as weapons, shotguns, axes, knives and began to watch and not just turn more of us ... we formed patrols of the village 24 hours a day, night and day. A few days later identified three of the KLA who were roaming in the vicinity of the houses, disarmed them and handing them to the police, who gave us permission to keep their weapons and remain armed .... "The eldest son who was with us in the room then lets us see behind the door hung a Kalashnikov rifle and a shotgun, which still possessed.
Asked how it had obtained the weapons for their militia in Kosovo that he said, almost everyone has always had a weapon, Reiterating that "... every weapon of the Militia was ours, we had to have only allowed to hold them legally, the rest were ours .... "These militias were then allowed
throughout Kosovo, to keep the confiscated weapons to the KLA.
" ... We were trying to force them to stay out of the village, looking to avoid armed conflict and violence. In this way our whole village until June '99, there was even a burned house. .. Not even a chicken was injured ... No devastation and destruction has been allowed, either on one side or the other ... ".
" ... Not everyone agreed in the village, as a contrast so sharp, he could expose the village terrorist reprisals, in fact they were established these militias for local self-defense, some of its members were killed by the KLA in other villages, so many were afraid and did not enter directly, but seeing how it went ... we did a good job with good results ... Then came the NATO ... ".
on his situation and his family today, he replied:" ... today we live here as refugees in Serbia, but only refugees without a home and a job, because Serbia is also my country, and increasingly throughout the my life we \u200b\u200blived, as Kosovar Albanians, together. In good as in bad things, and here I do not feel a stranger, but certainly do not feel well, we live in today many in this small house with two small pensions, expenses are many, especially those for health and the rent is a very hard life and difficult. All we are missing our Kosovo, our people, our neighbors, Albanians, Serbs, Roma, with whom we have lived together in peace for over 50 years ... Then there were those damned terrorists of the KLA and did what ... you know, and my family are die-hard, and they took the blood of my children and grandchildren. We are vindicated because we were not accomplices ... damn ... because we have been fairly and properly with our state, in which we have always lived there and had always respected and accepted. Because we had to go with them and destroy everything we had painstakingly built together with others? ... Maybe we were trying to get more and more things, this is normal, it is right. To improve and correct the wrong things, yes ... But why kill, destroy, burn houses, churches, killing between brothers, villagers, friends ... Why should we have become accomplices of terrorists and criminals who terrorized his own people? ... This could not be acceptable to us, we have always been loyal and honest citizens of our country, because we had to become criminals? .. Why? Maybe they had their own goals, interests, profits, someone used them, but those could not be the interests of our people ... and the Kosovo Albanian Then we saw what they did to our Kosovo today, aided by their American friends ... A kingdom ruled by bandits and criminals, where there is only crime and fear, for simple people, for the people ... In our village today, there is only fear and honest people is silent for fear, they tell us their themselves secretly ... why should we have to work with them .... I have been a partisan against the Nazi in World War II, but we were partisans to free our people, not to frighten him and obey. It 's a big difference not you think? ... That will give me the traitor does not affect me, "they" are traitors to our people, because they have brought only hate and suffering for their dirty interests ... ".
After a few seconds of silence and yet another sign of friendship offered to us in sljiva, concluded:
" ... you know, my son, too many tragedies we have experienced so much pain we have in the heart , our lives have been disrupted by injury and all subsequent events, this can no longer change, this will take us to the grave ... and I'm close to my day. But for them that remain need to have confidence and hope that something will change, to come back as soon as righteous, peace, friendship and honesty. I've done it so many wars, but always on the side of the right things. Never for myself, but for our people, our peoples. For this I am calm and I can still smile and I hope that one day we will review a free and fair ... I will not be there, but there will be my grandchildren and their grandchildren and children of our people, and will live, work and have fun together, united as brothers ... You'll see that this will happen ... The story is not nobody can stop it .. But now I want to hold you for the help that you brought us with your association. For me and for our whole family is an honor to have you here in our little house, having been able to accept as friends and brothers. Because now that we ... Thanks for the help, but above all we thank you deserving of your solidarity and we have kept into consideration ... From now on, our home will always be yours too, my son .... "
I think it goes without saying that a pardon without limits, we felt that to tell him and dovergli, our modest financial contribution may not have any kind of comparison with real life and the work of a man's life as well. A righteous man, honest, simple, a man who has a long history and still standing tall, paying the terrible human price, but also a man with we laughed and smiled the little things, with anecdotes of his life. For example, the juice that he had to drink, because his wife left him and his son not to drink the sljivovica ... so I had to, being seated next to him, continuing a string of toast ... even for him, I said, I had to sacrifice ... And I "had to" sacrifice ... .. willingly.
with these lines I do not know if I could remember this man with dignity and history, but two things are certain: one is that for our Association, which could have him as part of its solidarity projects (current), is was an honor to have his friendship and respect (for this, our gratitude goes to Radmila Vulicevic, our representative in Nis, and his work, who have been through, as are members of the family Ibraj Srecna Porodica).
The second is that the hope and commitment that a better time on the horizon of the people in Kosovo, the Balkans and the world, can only occur with the 'contribution and the living example of men like that. Of men like Ibraj Musa, the Kosovo Albanian Kosovo Metohija, city and builder of Yugoslavia, Kosovo and courageous defender of the peoples who lived there, and honest and loyal citizens of Serbia then.
"... You champion of freedom, a stream of enthusiastic youth
or send us a light, a warm rays from your tomb.
It comes to us. Why sentisti ... ... .. the pain, and
as a knight of Ariosto's poem,
offered yourself ... your help. Now ... more
raise your flag and fight For the future, and resist
policy .... "
(Excerpts adapted V. Nazor, Yugoslav poet, a poem dedicated to the Italian partisans who fought against fascism in the former Yugoslav ground)
Enrico Vigna, Yugoslavia SOS - SOS Kosovo Metohija
