At the time Ernest Koliqi had sent three-hundred teachers to Kosovo. Everywhere, in the villages and everywhere schools in the Albanian language started. In Mitrovica, Bedri Gjinaj, he was born and raised in Mitrovica, but educated in Albania. You know, how they used to go secretly… but very capable, he was a very capable man. When I enrolled, not only I, but the entire class, the first thing we learned was the flag. I was familiar with it, but his teachings were effective, whatever he would say stuck with you. When we began the class, he said to us, ‘Let’s learn the flag song.”’ {She recites} 

‘Oh red and black flag, 

all the joy and love that you wave, 

makes my heart spring with you, 

in the fields and meadows, 

mountains and brooks forward with you, 

I will fight fearlessly,

though I am young

I am your soldier and I’ll say,

Today that freedom has come,

May the  Albanian flag live long.’

When I went home, I recited it to my father, what a hug he gave to me, his tears poured out of joy. Of course… that school year, it was like ten years in one. Everything that they taught us, the lectures were such that you understood and internalized them immediately.

Rugova stayed, but people, that… the fact itself that everyone knew we were held hostage was discouraging for the people in Kosovo. Even those that had some courage to stay, to hide, it affected them negatively. The interview that I mentioned, it restored hope in people, because they realized we were alive, I’m saying it had this element of encouragement. But with time they started improvising, founding governing bodies, inviting people to come back, this kind of stuff was done under the the threat of bombing. Rugova never in his life tried to stop the bombings, it is a misunderstanding and misinterpretation and what not… when it is a misunderstanding, you say it, it was said, but it was misunderstood. 

No, no, not even for a second did Ibrahim Rugova say that the bombings should stop. If you take a press statement and there it says, let’s say, even if you signed under pressure by removing the term ‘Metohi’, and you say, ‘We are in favor of a peaceful solution and the bombs were dropped to achieve peace’. So what do you make of it? But, ‘I ask for the bombing to stop and to start a peace process’ or similar stuff like this, while Ibrahim Rugova was alive he never said that.

When I was very young, there was a song by Emel Sayın, Sevda sevmessen [When you don’t love, love]… It was called Rüzgar [Wind], I was very young and I used to imitate her very often. When my cousins would come to stay over, I would say, ‘Do you want me to imitate Emel Sayın?’ I would sit down, put the pillows on the floor, my hair on one side {shows with her hands}, I would say, ‘Go get the hairdryer so my hair would look like it’s blown by wind just like hers in the music video.’ They applauded me. When a guest would come to visit us, my father always used to say, ‘Come on, sing some songs.’ Now, when I think about it, I can say that these were the hints that I was going to be connected to music.

We were together, yes, we were spending time together with, with the Turks, that, those who lived there in those houses, who wore special nanule, which I adored, wooden. (laughs) And with their nanule, they entered their hamam, those are gone now. I think they are gone. Well, for example, they did not have parquet, for example, but they had wooden flooring {explains with hand}, the long deck, that they had to brush. It was yellow, like a gold yellow. Very clean people and this Mazlum of mine, who is still here today, you know. […] After so many years of knowing one another, and so much love and evocation of childhood memories, because she knew me as a baby, what kind of people we are, how we were, all that we did. I mean, all our adventures and such, she taught me how to bake lokum, and even katmer pie and a kol pie, she taught me everything. My mom taught them other things, so we exchanged. I say, like a family.”

The new building was inhabited by the old Serbs, old Serbs of Pristina, old Turks and old Albanians. They had houses where the cinema is now, previously Omladina Cinema, do you know that settlement now? And, when those buildings were built, they were, since they were old houses, they gave apartments to host the owners of houses and they all lived in that building. Everyone was settled in that building. I was the only one and another journalist, we were, like this, to say from aside. All the others were… they simply transferred all of their settlement to this building: the old Albanians, the old Serbs, the old Turks. And that was very interesting. When I arrived there, as they got used to sitting in front of the gates, in front of the house there to talk… that mentality and this custom was transferred to the building. They also put benches there, there was coffee, everything… this building was different from all. And so people were close.

Since I was in a position, I and some Stihović, I say… someone from Novobrdo, one Albanian was the director of this nursery garden, Vitia, yes. I remember, Vitia. I was a functionary at that time, I was engaged in politics, I do not know how much you know… I was the Executive Secretary of the Committee […] And he comes to me, ‘What can I do for you, for you, comrade Trajković?’ That’s it. I say, ‘Listen, come on, look, take a look in front of my building where I live, people are so, you know so good. Go on and do it, plant some trees.’ And the trees now, I do not know if you know when you go before that tunnel down there are those buildings. All of these trees are… yes, that was my plan, I asked for that, and it was planted for me. No one knows that, people who lived there know. Otherwise, others do not know. That’s how it happened, that… the forest just ahead of this building.