On the 27th anniversary of the massacre in Krushë e Vogël, Ajvaz Shehu is set to be reburied today. In 1999, he was nearly 16 years old. Since that time, and until eight years ago, the family had no information about his fate.
Eight years ago, his remains were found in Shiroka, but his mother initially refused to allow him to be buried, not accepting that the body belonged to her son.
Today, on this anniversary, his brother Qazim Shehu decided to rebury his late brother.
Shehu said that the history of his family, as well as of the village, is a horrific account and an indescribable pain.
“The history of this village is not just history; it is a horrific account, a pain that no one who has seen what happened can describe. Not only my family members, but there were 109 people present there. According to others and witnesses of this case, when you hear what they experienced, you ask yourself whether a human being could do such a thing,” he told KosovaPress.
Shehu said that the fate of two other family members is still unknown, his older brother and second brother, stressing that the lack of information about them remains an open wound.
Among those killed were nine members of his family: his father, four brothers, and four sons of his brothers.
“Among them were nine members of my family: my father, four brothers, and four sons of my brothers. Ajvaz is among them. He was identified eight years ago. But his mother, like any mother, did not want to accept that he was gone. That is the issue. My mother passed away six years ago, and I decided, after having already buried six others, to also bury him. I am still missing two people: my older brother and my second brother,” he said.
Shehu said that on this painful day he is deeply saddened, but knowing where his brother is gives him some relief.
“Yes. He will be buried and will join the other bodies. Even his father, because his father is my father. For me, life is very painful, but when you know where he exists and where he is, at least it is easier for me to have him close. The boy was 16 years old,” he said.
Krushë e Madhe today commemorates the victims killed and massacred by Serbian forces, where women, children, and the elderly were not spared.
27 years ago, on 25, 26, and 27 March 1999, in the village of Rahovec, 243 people were massacred, while 893 private and public houses were burned.
The Krushë e Madhe massacre is considered one of the most shameful massacres committed against the civilian population and one of the mass killings carried out by Serbian paramilitary forces, police, and army across Kosovo, KosovaPress reports.
For the Serbian perpetrators, the massacre was considered something ordinary, something they believed should happen in order to eliminate the Albanian population in Kosovo.
