EPOPEJA

March 5-7, days in the Kosovar Albanian community that will forever be memorialized. During these dates in 1998, the Jashari (Yuh-Shar-E) family compound was riddled with bullets, bombs and grenades. Hamez and Adem Jashari, UÇK (Kosovo Liberation Army) commanders in the Drenica region were targeted, and along with them, 53 family members and four guests were killed in a Serbian military attack. In addition to the Jashari family, those trying to flee from houses were also killed by Serbian snipers. There was one survivor of the attack, Hamez Jashari’s eight year old daughter who hid under her mother’s bread making table during the 2 day siege on her family's compound. This attack is one of the catalyst for the US and international response against the Yugoslav government in Kosovo. Here are some photos previously posted, of the Jashari compound and the memorial and museum.

Museum

Graves of the deceased

The homes most Jashari's were killed in

View of the destruction done by Serbian forces



On March 5^th I joined my family, as well as hundreds of others, who made a “pilgrimage” to the memorial to pay their respects and honor those who perished in the attacks. We viewed the museum which contained artifacts form the houses that were attacked, as well as personal items of the Jashari brothers. Inside of the museum there is a banner with the names, photos and dates of life of those women, men and children who were killed. On March 7^th my village, as well as the neighboring town celebrated this moment in history known as Epopeja.

 

The above banner could be found all around my surrounding community in the days leading up to the memorial date. The meaning of - Epopeja e Ushtrise Clirimtare te Kosoves is - The Epic Liberation Army of Kosova. On March 7^th, we had a lighting ceremony at the memorial where Kosovar Military personnel first set for to a large bonfire, and lit “torches” as they walked from the uppermost section of the memorial and from the bombed compound to the resting place of the deceased, lighting torches for all the deceased along the way. The lighting of the bonfire was to signify to those in the neighboring town, where a square is dedicated to Adem Jashari to begin their celebrations, which I was unable to attend this year, but watched the celebratory concert after returning home.

I have attached a video from the local TV Station where they show the entire procession, as well as the concert which began after. The procession starts at 3:30, and you also can continue watching to see popular Albanian entertainers and traditional folk dances as well.

There is little to be found on Kosovo, its history, or this particular event, however I have provided this link to give you an insight.

http://www.bosnia.org.uk/news/news_body.cfm?newsid=2842

Despite the lack of international knowledge of this event, the people, legacies and memories of this day as well as the mental and social impact it has had on my community is ever present and thought of. Trying to insert yourself into this community can be (and is) difficult, but I have a greater appreciation for my community and their strength after experiencing this event with them first-hand.

~ Ashley

But Why Travel?...

Almost a month at site, I can not believe it! I have a few things on my mind/heart to blog about but I will start with this one and hopefully get to the others at sometime this week.

(Oh and make sure you click on the hyperlinks, I think you will gain more understanding)

When I was preparing to start my Peace Corps Service and still back in the US, one of the most common questions I would receive was "Why can't you stay in the states and do the same thing?" It seemed to me that everyone was scared for me to be abroad, or just lacked the understanding of why I had to do this MY way. Most suggested I just stay in the US and do AmeriCorps, now this isn't to discredit AmeriCorps in anyway, but why stay in my comfort zone; why should I stifle myself and my ambitions to suit the "needs" or wants of others? I've been quiet independent and have always been slightly "against the grain", so going abroad just made sense personally. I say that to get to this point. When I came to Kosovo there were many things I was naïve towards and travel was one of them. I know you are asking how can one be naïve to traveling, but here is how. Kosovo is the newest state in Europe, the second newest country in the world! The route to independence for this tiny country (approximately the size of Delaware - if I previously said Connecticut that's traveling size via public transport) has been very rocky and filled with controversy and a political tug of war. Though many have recognized Kosovo's sovereignty, many states have not (cue in Russia and Serbia, to name two, hence the tug of war) and that has created a sort of dichotomy for Kosovo. It is basically a semi state. In terms of passport acceptance it is limited to the surrounding area essentially (Montenegro, Macedonia, Serbia and Good Ol' Albania {cues Kuq e Zi}). Traveling to western nations such as Germany, Switzerland or even the US is extremely difficult and visas are hard to come by. So here I am a lucky American Girl who has the world as her oyster and can travel at will, yet the majority of people I have talked to here haven't even traveled around within country, yet alone TRY to travel internationally. ( you can gasp now). I know way too many people who are American and refuse to leave their little state and it annoys me to the moon and back. Now I am in Kosovo and people only dream of going to visit a loved one in Germany or even Italy but because of visas and other barriers (you need to have a job - hard with 30% unemployment- be in school, have a sponsor - I think - amongst other qualifications) can not and that American is back home just squandering their opportunity and talking about their "always bored" (side eye emoji here). They wont even leave their immediate surrounding area and see what else their own STATE has to offer - talk about laziness at its finest (yup I said it!) It is amazing to see that so many host country nationals haven't even been to some of the places I have been to in Kosovo (there are only about  6 major cities in the whole country, and none take more than 4 hours by bus from ANYWHERE in the country) and its cheap (by American standards), approximately 2-5 euros each way to get their via public transport. In Kosovo that is a possibly taxing amount of money to pay for a day trip due to the fact that many families, which usually consist of 5+ people, only have one source of income and that may be as low as 400 euros a month! If it isn't within probably a 20 minute drive, many haven't been, and don't get me started on not even leaving for school! So I treasure even the opportunity to travel within this country because so many do not have the opportunity to do even that! Being here has opened my eyes to so much and I am immensely appreciative for all that I do have, because someone else doesn't have it and dreams of the days and the times when they possibly will.

So yes, before coming to Kosovo I was very naïve, naïve about many things, but being here has broadened my horizons to just how fortunate I am to be an American. Not to say America is in anyway perfect or the best, but when I look at that ever growing list of places to go and I don't have to second guess being able to visit, for that I will forever be grateful. Children don't get to choose their lifestyle, but they can choose their path, and expanding the minds of children here to the opportunities that ARE afforded to them is a blessing in itself... So until my next rant-oops blog.. Appreciate it all, and embrace even the bad because your bad is someone else's daydream...

So travel far now ya' hear!
- Ashley