Interviewer: Can you introduce yourself first?

Interviewee: Yes. My name is Ljubinka Milić, a pensioner from Gračanica.

Interviewer: I’m glad. Tell me, what were your first memories of the war?

Interviewee: The first memories of the war were very sad and painful, and I hope it never comes back. Because, war is great evil for the people and for the whole, the whole country, which has suffered from… from the youngest to the oldest. We all felt it. We have all gone through a Golgotha, one stressful situation and I have no comment to… to say how much it has affected all of us, our health, our… our progress, our lives and the loss of the people themselves. When the bombing started, one of the most difficult situations was, considering that our house is located two hundred meters from the military warehouse. When the first bomb fell, the windows in our house started to fall out, the doors fell out, the, the glass shattered, so… so there was chaos in the house itself, where were my young children, screaming, crying and they hid under the table, not knowing what to do. They just shouted, mom save us, mom save us. I think that this bombing and the chaos that happened to our people left a big mark and consequences on them.

Interviewer: Where did you go during the war?

Interviewee: Since I worked at the Health Center as a head nurse, I had to organize, uh, the job for all of us who… who were there, to help people who were wounded, who were, exiled, who were unprotected, hungry and… and did not have any living conditions, until primarily a health service was organized, to first provide them with health assistance, and later… later the local community and other organizations were involved to help the people. We were all invested in this, invested as much as we could, as needed. The war did no good to anyone. War is the greatest evil for humanity. And this way I would appeal… a thousand days of peaceful life is better than one second of war. Since it takes both lives and destroys the nation and the people, they have suffered a lot. From all the wars, we have lost people, and progress in agriculture, in industry, we have stalled in everything. Thank God that it has already been resolved once and I hope that in the future it will be much better and that these young people will live better in the coming years.

Interviewer: Can you notice the effects of the war on you personally?

Interviewee: The war ruined me. During all these problems, I had so much of everything. On the first day of the bombing, my mother died of stress, knowing that I lived in one part, um, where… where a lot of bombing took place. Where they threw a lot of these… mortars and their cluster bombs, and, she did, I don’t know from whom, but from some reliable sources, she heard that the bombs destroyed my whole family. She cried and cried, until the moment I arrived. When I arrived, she died in my arms. It is an unforgettable sadness and grief and I will never forget it.

Interviewer: Hmm. Do you have anything else to add?

Interviewee: So what could I add here. Yes, whenever I remember that situation, that picture, I definitely cry. It’s very, very sad, very miserable. Why? What is the fault of that old woman who dedicated her life to her children, grandchildren and family, to lose her life in such a way?!

Interviewer: Thank you very much.

Interviewee: Thank you too.