– “A PAINFUL STORY THAT BROKE MY HEART” –
Memorie.al / It were the year 2002. At that time, I was a UNMIK employee in Kosovo and happened to witness a conversation that, later on, turned out to be like a tragic prophecy. Nazim Morina, a friend of my family, a simple well-wisher and patriot from Rahovec, called me one day from Switzerland and, after greeting me, said: “Mr. Berisha, please be careful, because I’m afraid they will kill you!”
I, in fact, took it as a joke and told him I had no worries whatsoever, let alone fear. Nazim, after giving me some explanations, told me:
“Mr. Berisha, I know this very well, but you could be killed ‘by mistake,’ because they might take you as a target, confusing you with someone else.”
Again, with my skepticism, I said:
“No one knows their own end, but I know that no one has any reason to do this to me”!
Then he told me: “I have seen your recent photos, and you look very much like a person who is a target to be killed. He is Colonel Tahir Zemaj.”
Colonel Zemaj had survived two assassination attempts up to that time, so my friend became worried that I might suffer something too, simply based on the resemblance to that man I had never seen.
In fact, due to a health trauma at that time, my appearance had changed a lot, and because of my half-gray beard, some approximate features, and almost the same age as the colonel, we must have had a certain resemblance.
HOW I SAW AND MET COLONEL TAHIR ZEMAJ FOR THE FIRST AND ONLY TIME IN FRONT OF THE INTERNATIONAL COURT IN PEJA
By coincidence, just a few days after this conversation, I had the chance to see the colonel in the courtroom of the Peja District Court. The international judge had called Colonel Tahir Zemaj to testify. According to court rules, he came, greeted, gave all his details, testified on the matters he was asked about, and finished his testimony.
The judge, after closing the record, addressed a question to the colonel that shocked me: “Colonel Zemaj, thank you for coming to court. I am interested to know: weren’t you afraid to come, since it is openly said about you that they are following you to kill you”?
The colonel replied: “Honorable Madam Judge! You surprise me with this question! I am a military man. I am a fighter and a patriot, and I have put my life at risk many times for Kosovo. Therefore, I do not know what fear is.
In this specific case, I did my duty as a citizen of my Kosovo, for which I fought. I respected the court and testified, not as a defendant. As for the safety of my life, for my coming here, you should feel responsible, since you summoned me”! The judge was left speechless.
Shortly afterwards, on January 4, 2003, he was killed in the middle of Peja, together with his son, Enes Zemaj, 22 years old, and his nephew, Hasan Zemaj, 24 years old, causing Kosovo a great loss, a deep wound, and a shameful and undeserved record in its recent history.
Today I remember him with respect and I wish to place my photo from that time next to that of that man, which indeed bear some resemblance. My friend from Switzerland might have been right…!
Today, on the day of his fall, I wish to recite for the hero:
Unforgettable Colonel Tahir Zemaj, holder of the medals “Hero of Kosovo,” awarded by the President of the Republic of Kosovo, and “Honor of the Nation,” bestowed by the President of the Republic of Albania. / Memorie.al
Eternal honor!
