Recak's massacre was named incident, family members react

Residents are touched by the comparison historians made to Recak's Massacre calling it an incident.

The bullet marks are still on the walls.

And within this house, 21 years ago, there were many residents of Recak, who fled here to escape the promotions of Serbian forces.

Annie, why two decades have passed, Sevdie Osmani, relates the moment when Serb forces came to her home, and found the Albanians hiding.

She was also killed by her husband, Sadik Osman.

And after being severely beaten in the courtyard of this house, Serb forces lined them up and headed toward this mountain.

But Albanians did not know, since this country, they were waiting for another Serb entity.

More recently arrived, 45 Albanians were killed and massacred.

This valley would thus receive a name, known to us today.

For over two decades, this valley in the village of Recak is known as the valley of death. This was after the Serbian forces killed and massacred dozens of Albanians on January 15th 98.

But, despite that, someone is saying this massacre was an incident.

In books titled as “Joint History Project”, in which historian from Kosovo Frasher Demaj participated, this massacre is being described as an incident.

But in these previously unpublished images, this massacre was clearly far from the incident.

And this quality of the massacre of Recak has affected the inhabitants of this village.

Faik Ramadani, whose Serbs killed three sons, says what happened here, laid the foundations of the state of Kosovo.

Meanwhile, in just a few lines, but described as a massacre, students of the ninth classes in the country teach it.

To that end, the history educator at the Recak village elementary school says such a serious event cannot be called an incident.

Syla herself was wounded by Serbs in this massacre, though at the time, she was only 16 years old.

Meanwhile, almost each of his students has a family member killed in this massacre.

To see that even the new generations will learn what really happened, the people of Recak also care to renew the names of the slain.

Meanwhile, there were massacres, not incidents, said another day after the massacre, OSCE Ambassador to Kosovo William Walker.

For the view, it looks like an execution. It seems that people for nothing have killed these people, who seem to me like farmers, as workers, as villagers, who have definitely not deserved to die like this”, William Walker, ambassador of the OSCE to Kosovo, 1999

The 45 Albanians killed in the massacre are buried in the Recak village cemetery.

But no matter why two decades have passed, national symbols are never lacking in this village.

Not even in the new generations.