The story of Merita: Fighter beside Muje Krasniqi, who was captured by Serbian forces, is released and fought again, and today lives in free Kosovo

Journalist Arsim Lani, on the anniversary of Muje Krasniqi's fall, has brought the confession of the girl seen next to him in the eileonic photo of hero Muje Krasniqi.

This is the story of journalist Lan, of Merit, who was also a classmate.

"> He also relates what his classmates had done to release Merita from prison.

Full text:

The Mission to Release His Classmate From Prison

Class shortages became common.

It was wartime, and all was expected. No one, not even the professors, asked why this boy came to class. The night's attacks earlier indicated that the next day the class could be with fewer students.

When fighting stopped, we returned to school. But it was a few days, and Merita wasn't coming to school. We all knew that she had joined him. KLA, but we didn't talk very openly. We only talked about it in small groups. The conversation with these groups in class found out that Merit had left with a group of soldiers in Albania to arm him. A common route that many schoolchildren took.

Make sure news” Every evening's demand was heard that night too. With his eyes on TV, we were expecting what Mutaf Mucha has to say that night. It was time of war, and only good news could not be expected. The evening edition began with the Battle of Easter. Mustafa gave the news that the large group of KLA soldiers had been ambushed at the Kosovo-Albania border. Many had fallen in this battle, along with Muja Krasniqi. He also announced that nine people were caught alive by Serb forces. “Among them”, the news continued, including the 16-year-old minor, M. R”

I knew this was about Merit.

The next day in class, we started discussing what we should do about Merit. As a student of my class, I also had good friends. Somebody gave the petition idea. We immediately began collecting signatures under the text of a letter to the International Red Cross through which we sought Merit's release and her return to school.

The group consisting of 5-6 students who would travel to Pristina was also established. For some of us, it was our first time in Kosovo's capital. Despite doubts about whether we would arrive in Pristina, we left. I thought I was going on a sacred mission. I had no idea of fear, though I was going with my classmates to ask for the removal of Serbian prisons a <x0-terrorist” Albanian.

We arrived at the bus station in Pristina. The address was the International Red Cross. We didn't have any office. Every cop we saw in the city, we thought he knew our “sector”. Asking people, we arrived at the Red Cross building where the CEC is now. We showed them why. At the reception, we were told we should wait until someone came to pick us up. Ten minutes later, a young man appeared to be out of sight. “Are you a?! Those of us who had come from a war zone had spent dozens of police punks with a dangerous “station”, we didn't say anything to the one who got tired of climbing and dropping stairs.

Anyway, a lady received us to that high floor office. She was very kind to us. The petition they kept hidden in their clothes was given along with the request for Merita's release. The lady who, based on her speech, seemed to be French, promised that she would engage in Merita's release, influence the small prison not to keep it in Nis where it was sent but in Pristina.

We came out of the meeting as triumphant. We had a feeling that we did something for our classmate.

The next challenge was finding the bus station and then returning to Skenderaj. It was December, and early darkness began. Pristina, unknown to us, seemed even more frightening. Since bus lines for Drenica were very rare, we decided to go back through Mitrovica. It all went as we thought to Vushtrri. Police were stopping every vehicle in the city. They stopped the bus where we were. Some policemen went in and forced out all the men and boys. They ordered me out. Valdet's friend started with the fours. I'm tired, but I'm sick of it. When the cop asked me where you were, I'd like to see some men you know about “sector” but I told him I was a student in Pristina and I'm going back to Mitrovica. With a pinch of neck, he put me in. The ex-valds were fucked.

We looked forward to meeting fellow students to show you that the mission was successfully carried out on our part. We were convinced that we had done something very great. naively, we expected that, after our request, Merita will either be released or serve the sentence in Kosovo.

It's been a long time, and that's not what happened. Merit's release occurred only when the exchange of hostages of war took place. The KLA agreed to hand over several captured Serb soldiers to the Shala region in exchange for Merita and several other friends who were taken in the Battle of Pristina.

After being released from prison, Merita continued the war until Kosovo's release.

Today she lives with her family who created her.