Medinë Dauti (interviewer)

Lumnije Dauti (interviewee)

Acronyms: MD= Medinë Dauti, LD= Lumnije Dauti

MD:  Before the war started, how do you remember that period?

LD: What we have done, how we have suffered… we were occupied by Serbs big time…

MD: Ok.

LD: Fine. We were occupied at that time, and even then it was very difficult. But, when the war started, when the war broke out, then became worst, it got very bad.  It started all around, it was very, very bad.

MD: How was the experience to leave the house?

LD: Experience of leaving the house was very bad, and the shooting started, moving to  the mountains, Police came in and maltreated people, burnt, stopped, killed them on the street, wherever they were, thus it was very difficult, very, very much.

MD: You left the house? How do you recall that period when you left the house, where did you go?

LD: When we left the house people were gathered around us, there in my father’s family house, they came from all over villages, where it was a bit better, where it was a bit quieter. We left there and they started then to break through, someone who was with us, we settled again, we mobilized to go all together. Then with tractors with … where we could, then we left to Macedonia, on that side … towards Dobrosin road, there in Rahovica, in Rahovica we stayed for 2 nights and then we went across the border, buses came to pick us up . It was very bad, our mobilization was a bit … here, on that side it was harder, let’s say. On that side towards, towards Drenica on that side. We knew them, then we went to Stankovec, there was a horror, crying … it was extremely bad, very bad, crying, … they were killing people. When we left the houses we left behind all the cows, across rivers … burning, shoutings, it was very difficulty. Too much.

MD: What do you recall  from the time when you were in Stankovec, is it?

LD:  Yes, in Stankovec. I remember that until we got together there were also ill people, especially my mother did not want to see any crowd of people, she became more extreme, she was already a bit, then her state became worst as a result of bad events that were happening. She did not want to see a lot of people, then we took a tent and there we stayed separately from others. They were taking people, looking after their relatives in order to leave, to register in order to go abroad, we did not know whether we will be staying there or going back, nobody knew what was happening and what is going to happen. Nobody knew. I was thinking a lot there. We had our mother there, it was hard. We wanted to go abroad, especially me. My sister-in-law was from Kumanovo and then we went to Kumanovo, there we stayed privately. I also had my aunt there. We made a mistake that  we went there, that we did not go abroad for better life, to not come back anymore, we wanted to go back, but everything was empty, burned completely. You did not have where to return. Therefore it was very difficult, very much.

MD: How do you remember returning home, how was it?

LD:  Eh.. returning home, when we returned home, all … they had touched everywhere,  Serbs took them, they mistreated people, when they returned to look at what they did..my house, when they took it, they took everything, they took what they found, drank, ate, everything. We did not dare to enter, we were said that there were bombs, do not enter, then there was an Ambulance, they used it as KLA Headquarters we showed up there to ask them if we can go inside, to touch anything or remove those items, as we have nowhere to go. They told us: “No, no, you can go inside” because allegedly someone had  checked it, although I do not know if they had checked, we did not see them … we entered by removing them, you had nothing to take, where to start, by removing items, something was taken, something was removed, all, everything. But, somewhere in the neighbours they burned houses,  ours had been saved. But, they took everything what they found.

MD: Ok.

LD: That was it.

MD: What kind of effect do you think that the war has had on us in general, or only at you?

LD: Aha… The effect was that we could no longer stay like this, either to broke out this way, or we could no longer stay like this, because we were under the occupation of  Serbs. They did so many things each day, they did so much. Different maltreatment, whoever they found on the street,  now it is much better, who has lost has lost, who has remained has remained, so it is better once and forever than to remain like this, through that what the Serbs are going to do to us. What to do…