Fehmi Ajvazi, an eminent author from Kosovo, has shared his book ‘In the Kingdom of Death’ published in Albanian in 2012 in Pristina, and in Romanian in 2019, and was translated from Albanian to English
[In March 1999, the Serbian regime blanketed Kosovo with a contingent of 120,000 regular police, military, and civilian paramilitary forces. Just about two weeks before NATO’s intervention in Kosovo began, the region was surrounded on all sides, while pockets of the interior (villages and towns) were hit with arrests, liquidations, and massacres. Kosovo became a reservation. A kingdom called the “Kingdom of Death” established authority everywhere! However, some areas were controlled by insurgent liberation forces, and in some places, Serbian forces couldn’t penetrate. Well, the hatred between Serbs and Albanians was the same, but the bullets were the same too: they brought death to everyone, and it was no problem for the “bullet” whether the target was Albanian or Serbian. I mean, the forces of the Kosovo Liberation Army held some territory and kept it free! But about ten days before NATO planes launched their attack in their battle for Kosovo, Albanian insurgents managed to have the world’s most powerful force as their ally: the NATO alliance. However, no one had managed to master a pact with death. Just a few days before March 24th, the “Lady of Death” was the ruler of Kosovo, in reality, she was the ruler of the Albanian citizens of this extremely small territory! And for the third time in history, the state of Serbia wanted nothing more and nothing less than: the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo. Over 1 million residents before March 24, 1999, challenged “this kingdom” by saying, “Here we are, your power is not the power of God!” I had decided to stay, not to leave. I was a journalist, but also a creator. And so, I had no idea what dilemmas lay in this direction, despite the open threats from the Serbs, and I knew well that they would try to wash their hands of us like Pontius Pilate! Regardless of every situation and circumstance, I sacrificed to be a witness to a time and a history without parallel! Yes, a witness…! And everything I have said and written about literary-historical conditions is in this book – a testimony. Therefore, this book is a source and my personal experience of a time I pray will never be repeated – anywhere. Just as I pray for the souls of those who did not come out alive in this “kingdom of death” in the third millennium! Read the truth about Kosovo… Author]
The alarm signaling danger reinvigorates them like roosters. Dragani and his company continue their drinking and sing chauvinistic Serbian songs, never forgetting to insult and vilify Albanians as harshly as possible. A few times, I overhear their conversations. They speak and engage in dialogue (intentionally) with loud voices, especially when there are no planes around. I listen to their confused and frustrated dialogues. When they become tipsy, sometimes, with difficulty, I even listen to their monologues. I press one side of my face against the inner wall of the room that separates my apartment from theirs and try to hear everything they say, everything they discuss. I listen for hours, especially when Shpresa falls into her lethargic sleep: what are they saying, what are they cursing? What are they revealing? In their own primitive and savage way, they comment on and analyze the situation, its prospects, and the circumstances. When they get tired of their threatening “poems” against Albanians and NATO, with their dialogues and nationalistic songs, with the slogans glorifying Milosevic, they start treating various Serbian political figures in their crude and primitive manner, with a special emphasis on opposition figures. They insult that young opposition leader in Belgrade, Cedomir Jovanovic, the most. They also insult B/92 Television, Curuvija, and “Nedeljni Telegraf.” But they reach the peak of orgiastic excitement when they begin their insults and curses against NATO, America, President Bill Clinton, Prime Minister Blair, etc.
We have no form of protection, and there’s nowhere to turn for help or to defend ourselves in any way from the potential killers surrounding us on all sides.
Then, they talk to each other about the objects bombed in Kosovo and Serbia, the consequences for people and material things, etc. And while they slobber and get drunk like thirsty buffaloes, they also share with each other sketchy stories about brothels, grim tales of looting, beatings, etc. And I: I listen, and I listen… They also talk about the terror and massacres happening against us, about the violence, the looting, and so on. The things they say to each other are not only painful but terrifying for me. So, by eavesdropping on Dragan’s apartment, I’ve found a secondary way to get some information, even if just a little, about what’s happening beyond the walls within which we are confined. So, I don’t sleep until morning. I don’t sleep. We are isolated, day and night. We have no form of protection, and there’s nowhere to turn for help or to defend ourselves in any way from the potential killers surrounding us on all sides. We are solely in the hands of God. The Serbs, for now, have control over our lives. Maybe they have something else too: a “quota” for the number of how many Albanians should be killed, how many should be massacred, how many should be expelled, and how many should be left within the territory of Kosovo. Serbian forces control the rare movement of Albanian citizens, guard key points, and are positioned at intersections, main and secondary roads, alleys, neighborhoods, etc. Serbian forces, everywhere, move in small groups during the day. Serbian police and military forces also use official vehicles, military chips, but mostly move in civilian vehicles to avoid exposure to airstrikes. The entire capital is under siege. Everything is monitored. We are cut off from each other because they dare not go outside or meet each other. They dare not go to each other. Our physical separation has caused a pronounced lack of communication. The only means of communication between us is the telephone. Through the phone, we manage to hear each other, to communicate and inform each other about what’s happening in the capital and beyond. We use the phone constantly to provide a somewhat clearer picture of the situation in the capital and in areas where there are phones! We know our phone calls are being monitored, but who cares.
Perhaps it’s strange that they are not stopping the phones. But there’s an answer to this: the police and secret services are not stopping the phones, with a purpose and for their own goals. They undoubtedly monitor our conversations with each other, our discussions with relatives in Kosovo and beyond, track our contacts, eavesdrop on people they believe should be monitored, and pinpoint their locations, etc. According to complaints from the Serbian opposition in Belgrade made about three to four years ago, the Serbian secret service not only taps into the telephone network but has also acquired a batch of the latest technology consisting of ten thousand units (from Japan) that provide absolute surveillance in a radius of 100 square meters.
Only death roams freely. Its kingdom is everywhere. However, even though we are sealed inside a pyramid with no way out, an unprecedented solidarity exists
The fact that our phones are still working, I think, is just temporary solace. Regardless of how you look at it, we are isolated. In this state of complete statehood isolation, the possibility of implementing terror is perfect. In this situation, we can know nothing about each other or learn somewhat from phone contacts, media reports, etc. But this limited information we manage to have, a large part of it will be lost the moment they cut off our phones. In the face of a militarized apparatus armed to the teeth, we are utterly powerless. Isolated, in catacombs. Only death roams freely. Its kingdom is everywhere. However, even though we are sealed inside a pyramid with no way out, an unprecedented solidarity exists (inside neighborhoods where there are fewer Serbian forces, in buildings, in family circles, in neighboring circles, in basements). People have come closer to each other and share everything. This state of having nothing has boosted our morale. Good and evil are shared collectively, like never before. Feelings, hours of conversation, food, money, houses, apartments, etc., are all shared collectively. Here in Block No. 8, in the “Bregu i Diellit” neighborhood, we are like this, together with everything we have.
Serbian military and police forces, along with paramilitary units, are sowing terror throughout Kosovo. Arrests, looting, killings, violence, massacres, and forced displacements are happening everywhere.
Within the entrance, we contact each other, come and go to each other’s homes, exchange information, and discuss the situation with our political, educational, intellectual capacities, etc. Each one of us is concerned about the other. Often, the focus of our conversations centers on historical issues, ethical and moral aspects of the war, the myths and legends of the war, the phenomena, but also our principles, surviving morality, character, and identity, and so on. As we all know, we make various and reasoned efforts to convince each other that “all of this will pass quickly and Belgrade will kneel.” It will kneel, for sure. Purposeful thinking and avoidance of anxiety, conscious preservation of belief and hope, common courage, the idea and conviction that we will somehow get through this situation, is the saga of our resilience.
March, 27th
The situation is becoming increasingly dangerous, more chaotic. We are heading towards moments where each of us may face confrontation with Serbian forces, possible arrest, execution, or massacre. We are heading towards situations where each of us may find themselves acting without knowing how, within the imposed circumstances: on the spot. Serbian military and police forces, along with paramilitary units, are sowing terror throughout Kosovo. Arrests, looting, killings, violence, massacres, and forced displacements are happening everywhere.
Today began with even more shocking news than yesterday. It is reported that in a neighborhood in Gjakova, 70 people have been massacred. In Mitrovica, the well-known unionist Agim Hajrizi has been killed, along with his mother and his 12-year-old son. In the village of Krushë e Madhe, it is said that a large massacre is taking place today. The spreading news says that the poet and professor at the Faculty of Philology, Latif Berisha, has been killed. It is also rumored that the prominent lawyer Bajram Kelmendi, along with his two sons, has been abducted, and their fate is unknown. Various international radio stations are broadcasting information that several political figures have been killed (Fehmi Agani, Bajram Kosumi, Hydajet Hyseni, etc.), that the journalist from “Kohë Ditore,” Baton Haxhiu, has been killed, and more. The Albanian section of the German radio “Deutsche Welle” has transmitted parts of the biographies of Agani and Haxhiu. (Continues)
Click here for Part-1, Part-2, Part-3, Part-4, Part-5, Part-6, Part-7, Part-8, Part-9, Part-10, Part-11, Part-12, Part-13, Part-14, Part-15, Part-16,
______________________
[The book ‘In the Kingdom of Death’ is being reproduced in episodes with the consent of the author]
Read: The Unseen – Poetry of an Albanian Exiled Poet
