{"id":98002,"date":"2024-02-26T12:08:58","date_gmt":"2024-02-26T11:08:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kosovotwopointzero.com\/baba-perseri-ne-gjermani\/"},"modified":"2024-03-08T10:32:59","modified_gmt":"2024-03-08T09:32:59","slug":"my-father-returns-to-germany","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/en\/my-father-returns-to-germany\/","title":{"rendered":"My Father Returns to Germany"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"98002\" class=\"elementor elementor-98002 elementor-97174\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-35c8f8e elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"35c8f8e\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div 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elementor-element elementor-element-65f9a5d\" data-id=\"65f9a5d\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b7bc218 elementor-fixed elementor-widget elementor-widget-progress-tracker\" data-id=\"b7bc218\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;direction&quot;:&quot;ltr&quot;,&quot;_position&quot;:&quot;fixed&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;horizontal&quot;,&quot;relative_to&quot;:&quot;entire_page&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"progress-tracker.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-scrolling-tracker elementor-scrolling-tracker-horizontal elementor-scrolling-tracker-alignment-\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"current-progress\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div 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1942px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-c5fad74 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"c5fad74\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-2f65e65\" data-id=\"2f65e65\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-28055b8 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"28055b8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">My Father Returns to Germany<\/h4>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b8db6f7 elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"b8db6f7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-93a86c3 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"93a86c3\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-a471d00\" data-id=\"a471d00\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-99b620d elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"99b620d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\"><a href=\"https:\/\/kosovotwopointzero.com\/en\/author\/rexhepmaloku\/\" target=\"_blank\">By Rexhep Maloku<\/a><\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-35c71b7 elementor-widget-divider--view-line_text elementor-widget-divider--element-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"35c71b7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider__text elementor-divider__element\">\n\t\t\t\t26\/02\/2024\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b6c2ab5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"b6c2ab5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Three decades between two very different trips to Germany.\n<\/h4>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-dbbee30 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"dbbee30\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-edde82a\" data-id=\"edde82a\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0ec696d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"0ec696d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My father traveled by plane for the first time in early 1985. He temporarily left his job as a teacher in the villages of Prizren and headed for Switzerland. Being the only one working in the eight-member family, including my grandfather and grandmother, he stayed in Switzerland for nine months, hoping to improve the economic situation of his family back in Ferizaj.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He worked on a farm in Switzerland. Although he had grown up and been educated in Kosovo&#8217;s newest city, my father knew very well what working in fields and lands was like. Our neig<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">hborhood was then a suburb of the city and most of the families kept cattle, working the land in their villages.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;I couldn&#8217;t stay any longer because I missed you. You weren\u2019t even one year old when I left,&#8221; said my father, when I asked him why he returned.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cHow could he possibly stay in Switzerland without me, when I used to cook him flija to eat with his colleagues on their visits to Prevalla and Brezovica,&#8221; my late mother used to tease him. My father would laugh.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After nine months in Switzerland, he returned to Kosovo to work as a teacher.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the 1990s, as life became harder under Serbia&#8217;s violent measures, many Albanians left Kosovo for western <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Europe<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, often crossing the former Eastern bloc countries on foot \u2014 walking the snowy mountains and crossing the cold rivers. My father reached Germany illegally twice between 1992 and 1995. He slept on the tiles in the corridor of a Czech police station and then managed to sneak past the Slovak, Czech and German border guards to reach D\u00fcsseldorf by train.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-59774d2 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"59774d2\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-bb57e5d\" data-id=\"bb57e5d\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b3f6489 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"b3f6489\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"552\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Baba-ne-Gjermani-90.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-97163\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Baba-ne-Gjermani-90.jpg 552w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Baba-ne-Gjermani-90-300x204.jpg 300w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Baba-ne-Gjermani-90-326x221.jpg 326w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 552px) 100vw, 552px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Zejn\u00eb Maloku (from left) and his late brother, Hasan, uncles Brahim Reshani and the late Xhemajl Reshani, and his nephew, Fehmi Maloku, before an Albanian protest in Bonn in 1994. Photo: Archive of Zejn\u00eb Maloku.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-78b4f88 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"78b4f88\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-980bda1\" data-id=\"980bda1\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-99b8b0f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"99b8b0f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although my father finally returned to Kosovo at the end of 1995, thousands of Kosovars stayed in Germany and eventually brought other family members there. Over the years, the Kosovar diaspora in Germany grew and today numbers about half a million. Tens of thousands went as refugees during the war in Kosovo, like my brother Faton, who left a week before the beginning of the NATO bombing on March 24, 1999. He also illegally crossed the borders of the former Eastern bloc countries to reach Ge<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">rmany. Others went to start a new chapter after Kosovo&#8217;s liberation, like my two sisters, Selvija and Sanija, who flew to Germany in the early 2000s, married and started families there.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every time Faton, Sanija and Selvija came to Kosovo on vacation, they would beg my father unsuccessfully to start the lengthy process of obtaining a tourist visa so that he could visit them and Germany again.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;I visited Switzerland in 1985 with a work visa and Germany twice in the 1990s illegally,&#8221; my father would reply, avoiding the topic of visas.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But grandparents always surrender to the demands of their grandchildren. This year, my father fulfilled Faton\u2019s son Eldi&#8217;s wish, who wanted his grandfather to be a special guest at his fifth birthday party. Eldi turned five years old in 2024. This was the year when, 24 years after the end of the war in Kosovo, the European Union finally lifted the visa requirements for Kosovars to travel to the Schengen area. The arduous process of applying for a visa, which my father had bee<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">n hesitant to follow, came to an end. I did not plan to join them due to work commitments, but my father had decided for both of us.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Maybe you&#8217;re afraid to travel alone by plane?&#8221; I teased him. &#8220;This is not my first time, but be careful because Faton said he will send you the plane tickets on Viber,&#8221; my father replied. He doesn&#8217;t use the smartphones that his siblings have sent him so they can call him for free using apps. Instead, they have to spend the extra money to call him without using the internet in order to keep in touch.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On January 24, 2024, my father and I traveled to D\u00fcsseldorf, known as the city of Ferizaj&#8217;s diaspora.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My father boarded the plane 39 years after his first trip to Germany, returning for the first time in 28 years.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-019e507 elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"019e507\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-a55b060\" data-id=\"a55b060\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6653678 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"6653678\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1920\" height=\"644\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Ferizaj_Dusseldorf.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-97120\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Ferizaj_Dusseldorf.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Ferizaj_Dusseldorf-300x101.jpg 300w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Ferizaj_Dusseldorf-1024x343.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Ferizaj_Dusseldorf-768x258.jpg 768w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Ferizaj_Dusseldorf-1536x515.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Ferizaj_Dusseldorf-326x109.jpg 326w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">D\u00fcsseldorf's city center, known as the city of Ferizaj's diaspora. Photo: via CC.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-34621d5 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"34621d5\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-48ba2cd\" data-id=\"48ba2cd\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9e3285c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9e3285c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><b>&#8220;The bakery won\u2019t leave you alone, even on the plane&#8221;<\/b><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prishtina airport security officials and border police were courteous when dealing with older and younger passengers who were traveling for the first time. In January, a large wave of Kosovo citizens were returning their debt of visits to their family members in the diaspora. On the plane, three women in the fourth row started eating burek with meat.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;The bakery won\u2019t leave you alone, even on the plane,&#8221; I said teasingly to my almost 71-year-old father, who works as a driver for a bakery in our Ferizaj neighborhood. &#8220;Only Zogi is missing,&#8221; he said, referring to the bakery\u2019s owner.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In addition to a bottle of water, w<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">e also took on board a book of essays by the painter and writer from Kosovo, Rexhep Ferri, &#8220;The Cuckoo Clock.&#8221; However, journalistic curiosity does not allow you to concentrate when you are trying to read on a large transport vehicle. Sometimes I read, sometimes I look, and sometimes I wonder. Like father, like son \u2014 I\u2019ve also been too lazy to follow th<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">e visa application process and haven\u2019t traveled by plane since June 2014.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As my father nods off, I try t<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">o understand the decisions and challe<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">nges of his generation, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">most notably the challenges of the 1990s, which I remember more clearly as I was an elementary school student. They continue to accompany us like shadows, on sunny days and days with dark clouds. They won&#8217;t go away. They are a source of clashes and reconciliations on the long road to freedom.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of Ferri\u2019s expressions, &#8220;After each war, freedom was born dead for Albanians,&#8221; cleverly criticizes society. Ferri highlights the corruption among those he refers to as the &#8220;noble patriots&#8221; \u2014 the political class after the 1999 war, who attempted to downplay criticism of their governance by emphasizing their undeniable contributions during the war.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I got distracted from reading.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the 1990s, the Balkan region was going through difficult times. After the removal of Kosovo&#8217;s autonomy within the Yugoslav Federation in 1989 and the various forms of Albanian resistance, the Serbian government, headed by Slobodan Milo\u0161evi\u0107, intensified oppressive measures against Albanians. Meanwhile, Slovenia and Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia as the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina was about to break out in 1992.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Kosovo, Albanian employees were fired from their jobs and others left their workplaces, creating a parallel system of operation. My father was among the employees to leave his workplace in resistance to the growing violence.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Look sons, the situation was alre<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ady worse. So we said to ourselves: \u2018Whatever others face, will come knocking on our door too,'&#8221; replied <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">our father, when asked how he made such a decision.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My father started working in education in 1974. For several years, he worked in the mountain <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">villages of Suhareka with his brother Rexhep, known as Rexha, after whom I am named. Rexha\u2019s death at the age of 25 from cancer in 1980 was a severe hit for my father. He also has two brothers and two other sisters from his father\u2019s side, but uncle Rexha was not only a brother but also a friend. In fact, my grandmother said that Rexha, more prudent, but with a strong character, was a pillar for my father. He has started talking about Rexha more in recent years.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For another 16 years, my father was a teacher at the primary school in the village of Lubizhd\u00eb, Prizren. He was used to the daily challenge of traveling from Ferizaj to Prizren and back again. But in 1992, the main challenge became securing money for the bus ticket, since teachers in the parallel education system didn&#8217;t receive salaries.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-83fc3b0 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"83fc3b0\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-d4884f9\" data-id=\"d4884f9\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-aaec9ce elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"aaec9ce\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1600\" height=\"1066\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG-177035a18f914715dbd5927639dfaa0e-V.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-97169\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG-177035a18f914715dbd5927639dfaa0e-V.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG-177035a18f914715dbd5927639dfaa0e-V-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG-177035a18f914715dbd5927639dfaa0e-V-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG-177035a18f914715dbd5927639dfaa0e-V-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG-177035a18f914715dbd5927639dfaa0e-V-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG-177035a18f914715dbd5927639dfaa0e-V-326x217.jpg 326w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG-177035a18f914715dbd5927639dfaa0e-V-450x300.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Islam Xhaferi (from left), Durak Nuha, Refki Neziri and Zejn\u00eb Maloku, teachers of the school of Lubizhd\u00eb in Prizren, then named V\u00ebllaznim-Bashkimi, now Ekrem Rexha, in 1986. Photo: Archive of Zejn\u00eb Maloku.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-9e8d074 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"9e8d074\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-db3ed4a\" data-id=\"db3ed4a\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f08c9d6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f08c9d6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In response to this, the three per<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">cent fund was established in Kosovo. This initiative allowed all those who were employed, diaspora or anyone with financial means to contribute up to three percent of their income. The collected funds were used to finance parallel institutions such as the education and health sector.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Without their regular salaries, teachers depended on a few tens of German marks as wages. And yet, there was hope.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I retu<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">rn to &#8220;The Cuckoo Clock.&#8221; I continue with the chapter &#8220;How we survived,&#8221; w<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">here Ferri describes a conversation had in 1979 with a Croat in Zagreb with &#8220;thick eyebrows like Miroslav Krle\u017ea,&#8221; referring to the famous Croatian writer of the 1990s.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;You Albanians remain hopeful for a long time. You are patient and wait until everything becomes too late,&#8221; Ferri quotes, and he replies in the essay: &#8220;Whoever reads us more deeply, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reads a different story.&#8221;<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this story the house was not just a home. It was a school, a university, a newsroom, a municipal directorate. The house does not only preserve the memories of family members; often, a person&#8217;s value is judged based on whether they are from a well-respected family who contributed during this time.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When the school gates were closed, the doors of our homes, which had been turned into classrooms, opened. I learned the Albanian alphabet in a house in September 1991. The boards placed on red bricks made makeshift chairs and tables, a 16-square-meter room, in a &#8220;\u010detvorka,&#8221; the Serbian term that the adults used to refer to four-room houses, in Talinoc i Jerlive. After being expelled from the school building named after the partisan heroine Ganimete T\u00ebrbeshi, this house became a makeshift school for elementary school students from a part of the city and a neighboring village.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The owners of the house lived in western Europe, from where money came to keep education alive and also to pay for my father&#8217;s bus ticket to Prizren. As money became scarce, our grandmother\u2019s ritual of slicing the roulade brought from Prizren into six equal parts also became less frequent. In my father&#8217;s jacket pockets, we would only find tickets issued by the blue Kosovatrans buses.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-99e3f96 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"99e3f96\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-c1adc15\" data-id=\"c1adc15\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9a7efa6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"9a7efa6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1600\" height=\"1031\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG-067aa7bea49b6d5a64ef5209e2a293d2-V.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-97172\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG-067aa7bea49b6d5a64ef5209e2a293d2-V.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG-067aa7bea49b6d5a64ef5209e2a293d2-V-300x193.jpg 300w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG-067aa7bea49b6d5a64ef5209e2a293d2-V-1024x660.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG-067aa7bea49b6d5a64ef5209e2a293d2-V-768x495.jpg 768w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG-067aa7bea49b6d5a64ef5209e2a293d2-V-1536x990.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG-067aa7bea49b6d5a64ef5209e2a293d2-V-326x210.jpg 326w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Colleagues of the school in Lubizhda, then V\u00ebllaznim-Bashkimi, now Ekrem Rexha, year 1986. From the top left, the late Qerim Neziri and the late Muhadin Jonuzi. Bottom left, Durak Nuha, Islam Xhaferi, Zejn\u00eb Maloku and Refki Neziri. Photo: Archive of Zejn\u00eb Maloku.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-5114042 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"5114042\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-cb0c6ea\" data-id=\"cb0c6ea\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4c1259a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4c1259a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My grandfather&#8217;s pension was vital for the whole family. After working for almost two years, often without a salary, my father was forced to leave his family, students and colleagues behind. In February 1992, he set off to Germany.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He was clear about his purpose, but faced many uncertainties about the path ahead.<\/span><\/p><p><b>&#8220;Why didn&#8217;t they applaud?&#8221;<\/b><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before the plane landed, there was several minutes of turbulence that caused quite a bit of discomfort among the passengers. Some passengers instinctively began to grip the backs of the seats with their hands. Before the plane had fully touched down, the passenger next to me video-called his wife in Kosovo to share the moment of landing.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Why didn&#8217;t they applaud?&#8221; my father asked.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In contrast to the chaotic experiences of disembarking from a plane, civil airport officials and red and green lights enforced order before passport control. Border of<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ficials asked travelers for proof of their residence address, the reason for their visit and some were also asked for proof of financial means.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;The border official is saying, &#8216;How is it possible to save this much with a 500 euro salary in Kosovo?'&#8221; translated an expatriate to a young man who was being heavily interrogated by the border official at D\u00fcsseldorf airport. The young man showed the official how much money he possessed. The border official also asked us for an address of residence and the reason for his visit. My father stays calm. His first journey to Germany in the early \u201890s was totally different.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the early \u201890s, my father started his journey to Germany with my late uncle Bajram from the bus station in Ferizaj. They continued through Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;We used to cross the rivers in the winter, but also the borders. The traffickers used to bribe the Romanians and Ukrainians with a little money,&#8221; my father told my sister Sanija and niece Elsa. They had come from Kelheim in Bavaria to D\u00fcsseldorf where we were staying at my brother\u2019s house. &#8220;There was a teacher with a wife and a child, the boy used to cry a lot,&#8221; my father added, looking at Elsa. &#8220;So much, just like in the &#8216;Train Kids&#8217; by Dirk Reinhardt,&#8221; Elsa said, adding, &#8220;It is a novel that describes the stories of children who cross illegally from Mexico to the United States of America.&#8221;<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My father explained that traffickers sometimes intentionally heightened the tension during the exchange of illegal immigrants, in order to increase the pressure and fear so that they could demand more money than they initially agreed upon. &#8220;They required [the equivalent of] more than 1,000 euros, saying that there are cases when friends were in debt to each other for the previous groups of illegal immigrants that they took to Germany. Uncle Bajram was caught hiding under some pine trees and they returned him to the Czech Republic. One willingly returned, since his wife and two children were arrested by the police,&#8221; said my father.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But the German police later arrested the rest of the group who had already crossed the border. &#8220;They kept us in custody one night. We slept in a row, in the corridor, our heads at the others\u2019 legs. The next day they returned us to the Czech Republic,&#8221; he said.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The initial agreement with the traffickers was no longer valid. &#8220;A different trafficker said, \u2018pay again because this time you&#8217;ll pass with another group.\u2019 We were 16 people being transported in one van. Sometimes we stopped in one house, then in another. Sometimes we ate something, sometimes nothing at all,&#8221; said my father.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-56543da elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"56543da\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-c8d217a\" data-id=\"c8d217a\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6a2858f elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"6a2858f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1432\" height=\"1074\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Rexhe-Maloku-Ferizaj-Dusseldorf.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-97123\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Rexhe-Maloku-Ferizaj-Dusseldorf.jpg 1432w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Rexhe-Maloku-Ferizaj-Dusseldorf-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Rexhe-Maloku-Ferizaj-Dusseldorf-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Rexhe-Maloku-Ferizaj-Dusseldorf-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Rexhe-Maloku-Ferizaj-Dusseldorf-326x245.jpg 326w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1432px) 100vw, 1432px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Various photos of Zejn\u00eb Maloku's family kept by his daughter Sanija, who lives in Kelheim, Germany. <\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-a508fa7 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"a508fa7\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-c692318\" data-id=\"c692318\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-caf9f95 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"caf9f95\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When they tried for the second time, they managed to avoid the German authorities, walking and hiding for hours in the snowy mountains. &#8220;I don&#8217;t remember the name of the place, but the trafficker booked our tickets and told us which train to board for Berlin. One of us had bought a newspaper. He spent the whole journey pretending to read it, without even understanding a word in German, acting like he\u2019s German,&#8221; said my father while laughing. &#8220;A trafficker had a camera hanging around his neck. He was pretending to be a tourist and so as not to get arrested, he used to take pictures.&#8221;<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From Berlin, they continued by train to D\u00fcsseldorf. During their year-and-a-half stay, they worked every day except Sundays. &#8220;I arrived there on Saturday, on Monday, Gani Rosha found me a job,&#8221; said my father. He was referring to Gani Reshani, an Albanian entrepreneur and political activist in Germany in the 1990s.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My father returned home for a few months in the summer of 1993, but soon after, he had to leave for Germany again.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I clearly remember the small brown suitcase that was filled with chocolates, but I can\u2019t remember the color of the bigger suitcase with wheels. &#8220;The second time I traveled illegally, it was a little easier because I had more money to give to the traffickers,&#8221; he said.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My father also worked in construction during his second stay. Over time, he had developed the skills of a mason, as the work was better paid. However, working on the scaffolding was dangerous. He mentioned a time when he was injured at a construction site, falling from the scaffold and hitting his head on the corner of the concrete foundation. When he regained consciousness, he begged the &#8220;polier,&#8221; the German supervisor of the construction site, not to call an ambulance because the authorities would find out that he was staying there illegally.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;I cut my head,&#8221; he said, touching the place where he was injured.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-3fd3ac6 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"3fd3ac6\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-f9c1901\" data-id=\"f9c1901\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cb06bc7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"cb06bc7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1200\" height=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Rexhe-Maloku-Ferizaj-Dusseldorf_3.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-97111\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Rexhe-Maloku-Ferizaj-Dusseldorf_3.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Rexhe-Maloku-Ferizaj-Dusseldorf_3-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Rexhe-Maloku-Ferizaj-Dusseldorf_3-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Rexhe-Maloku-Ferizaj-Dusseldorf_3-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Rexhe-Maloku-Ferizaj-Dusseldorf_3-326x435.jpg 326w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Zejn\u00eb Maloku on January 25, 2024 at the Rheinturm restaurant, as the 240.5 meter high concrete tower in D\u00fcsseldorf is known. During his illegal stay in the 1990s, Maloku didn't dare to visit out of fear that would be caught by the German police. Photo: Rexhep Maloku.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-8cdc99f\" data-id=\"8cdc99f\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-90861d8 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"90861d8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The second time, my father stayed in Germany for two years until the end of 1995. I remember visiting my uncles almost every weekend as my mother would talk to him for hours on the landline at uncle Sadri\u2019s house.<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-7a1ba22 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"7a1ba22\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-e1e65f7\" data-id=\"e1e65f7\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cc8aa0a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cc8aa0a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The gravity of the conversation lightens when he reveals a secret he had kept for months from his late brother Hasan, who he was living with. He reveals that he had deceived Hasan into believing the meat he was buying was not pork. Hasan, my father&#8217;s brother, had also left illegally for Germany after being expelled from his workplace at the wood plant in Ferizaj in 1990. Uncle Hasan was later joined by his older son Muharrem, who had not responded to the Yugoslav call for military service after the outbreak of war in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992. As part of Serbia, Kosovars were called to announce themselves to Serbian barracks in Kosovo and join the war front in Bosnia.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Germany, my father and uncle took turns taking care of the kitchen and laundry.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Yes, I bought it from [the Turkish shopkeeper] Hasan,&#8221; my father always told my uncle. However, one day, my uncle debunked his claims when his nephew translated the German writing on the package for him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hasan, the shopkeeper, has died, but left his son a network of hostels and businesses, connected to the history of Albanian immigrants from the \u201890s. &#8220;Albanians used to leave the hostel without paying and he started<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> not accepting anyone without first paying rent. There were people who used to insult him, but he didn&#8217;t care: \u2018bezahlen, bezahlen&#8217; [\u2018You must pay, so pay\u2019]\u201d.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The second time, my father stayed in Germany for two years until the end of 1995. I remember visiting my uncles almost every weekend as my mother would talk to him for hours on the landline at uncle Sadri\u2019s house.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After returning, my father didn\u2019t leave Kosovo again, nor did he return to his profession as a teacher.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After 1999, father worked for a few weeks at the Greek KFOR camp in G\u00ebrlica in Ferizaj, as the salary was good for the post-war period. When the schools reopened, he tried to return to the Gjon Serre\u00e7i primary school in Ferizaj, but gave up after a month.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI was t<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">oo detached from it an<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">d was no longer prepared to teach. If I were to continue, I would just damage the children&#8217;s learning,&#8221; said my father, who continued with various construction jobs. We also helped him with various jobs that were created in Ferizaj by thousands of foreigners, mostly Americans, who settled in the city and worked at the American camp located in the village of Sojeva.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br><\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Dad visits Germany again<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the morning of January 26, 2024, Drin, the other grandson, led us to the Hauptbahnhof. During the 25-minute walk from the apartment on Sternstra\u00dfe, Drin asked his grandfather: &#8220;Do you remember anything? Here is the Chinese quarter,&#8221; said Drin.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Your grandfather stayed here illegally. Six days a week, nothing else but baustelle [construction] \u2014 apartment, baustelle \u2014 housework,&#8221; my father replied.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Where did you used to go on Sundays?&#8221; I asked him, laughing. He replies with a head shake. I expect him to turn and scold me, with his usual expression: &#8220;Sometimes, you are completely carefree!&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the large corridor of the station, Drin read the schedules and destinations. He accompanied his grandfather to one of the platforms above. At the top of the stairs, passengers are also greeted by a sign with the Albanian word for welcome. &#8220;Did you take a picture of us with this welcome sign?&#8221; asked my father, a man who doesn&#8217;t possess a phone that has a camera. &#8220;To show to Hajrizi,&#8221; he referred to his aunt&#8217;s son, with whom he spends the afternoon in Jezerc, a village in Ferizaj.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My father&#8217;s daily routine in Ferizaj is shaped around his relationship with Hajrizi. Every day, after delivering bread to different shops for around three hours in the morning and at noon, he nods off in the living room. After, he calls Hajrizi to drink a macchiato or a cold beer in the restaurants along the gorge or the slopes of Jezerci, some 12 kilometers away, west of Ferizaj. Sometimes he occupies himself with the farming tools that he buys on Sundays at the bazaar, or that his brother Faton brought him from Germany.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;He cannot be without Hajrizi, even here,&#8221; said Sanija, after my father asked her to call him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;He will not be able to stay here for three weeks as he promised,&#8221; I told them to warn them right on the second day, listening to his excuses that &#8220;we will disturb them here as they had to take days off and stay with us.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;What you miss is your daily routine in Kosovo,&#8221; I replied to him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Faton promises that next week he will take my father to visit friends and relatives in other German cities. &#8220;We will even go to Switzerland. Do you know the place where you used to work on the farm?&#8221; He asked my father, who was being open about his desire to return to Kosovo with me on January 29. I could see that he was disturbed by the peace in the courtyard of the rented house in Knittkuhl, where my brother lives. He is used to the noise in our Ferizaj neighborhood, largely due to the presence of heavy construction vehicles building the high-rise buildings that are taking over the skyline.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My sister and her husband take us out for lunch at an Italian restaurant with Spanish owners. Even in one of the most popular pizzerias in Altstadt, the old town, the owner is Italian, but the chef is Albanian. The walk along the Rhine River concludes at the base of the Rheinturm, the well-known tower of D\u00fcsseldorf. Designed by architect Herald Delimann, it was inaugurated in 1991. It was one <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of my father&#8217;s desires to visit it, but he had not done so because back then he was in Germany illegally and was scared that the police would notice as the parliament is nearby. The elevator travels at a speed of four meters per second and takes us to the bar, which is at a height of 168 meters. The view is amazing. In clear weather you can also see the cities around, even the K\u00f6ln Cathedral.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the intersection of Duisburger Stra\u00dfe and Sternstra\u00dfe, a newspaper stall catches my eye. I take the S\u00fcddeutsche Zeitung newspaper because the format reminds me of Koha Ditore where I worked as a journalist from the beginning of June 2007 to the end of May 2<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">023. I missed the smell of newsprint. Koh<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a Ditore has not been printed since 2020 during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, Kosovo remains one of the few countries in the world that does not have a printed newspaper.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-d3c9f7f elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"d3c9f7f\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-a645010\" data-id=\"a645010\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-37be257 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"37be257\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1200\" height=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Rexhe-Maloku-Ferizaj-Dusseldorf_2.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-97108\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Rexhe-Maloku-Ferizaj-Dusseldorf_2.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Rexhe-Maloku-Ferizaj-Dusseldorf_2-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Rexhe-Maloku-Ferizaj-Dusseldorf_2-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Rexhe-Maloku-Ferizaj-Dusseldorf_2-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Rexhe-Maloku-Ferizaj-Dusseldorf_2-326x435.jpg 326w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Zejn\u00eb Maloku taking a look at the front page of the German daily newspaper, Die Welt, on January 26, 2024, in one of the shopping centers in D\u00fcsseldorf. Photo: Rexhep Maloku.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-57c722b elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"57c722b\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-469c8f5\" data-id=\"469c8f5\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ef585ff elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"ef585ff\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;They have the habit of reading,&#8221; said my father, about the Germans.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I can notice this on the buses. Sitting in front of me is a gray-haired man who spends about ten minutes glancing <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">at the headlines before taking out a notebook and pen from his pocket, and notes down the discounted items advertised in the newspaper. We traveled by tram to the suburbs to see an Albanian shop. It reminded me of my uncles\u2019 shop in Talinoc i Jerlive, with the arrangement of products on the shelves, except it didn\u2019t have the same long cashier stand. The shop is near the D\u00fcsseldorf-Rath S-Bahn station and is very popular with Albanians.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Here you can find everything h<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ere that you would in Kosovo,&#8221; said Selvija. &#8220;Look at the wooden cradle.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-0155315 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"0155315\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-3f7289f\" data-id=\"3f7289f\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ffb7f53 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"ffb7f53\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1352\" height=\"852\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Rexhep-Maloku-Depoja-Ushqimore.png\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-97236\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Rexhep-Maloku-Depoja-Ushqimore.png 1352w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Rexhep-Maloku-Depoja-Ushqimore-300x189.png 300w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Rexhep-Maloku-Depoja-Ushqimore-1024x645.png 1024w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Rexhep-Maloku-Depoja-Ushqimore-768x484.png 768w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Rexhep-Maloku-Depoja-Ushqimore-326x205.png 326w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1352px) 100vw, 1352px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Zejn\u00eb Maloku on January 26, 2024, in front of the Kelmendi store in D\u00fcsseldorf where Albanian products are sold. Photo: Rexhep Maloku.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-a4b7143 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"a4b7143\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-70bac86\" data-id=\"70bac86\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-72a6ad4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"72a6ad4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the cafe on Herr Stra\u00dfe where Albanians gather on Saturdays, there are many stories similar to my father&#8217;s, detailing the challenges of the illegal routes taken to reach Germany.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Laughter begins whenever Bashkim, an Albanian waiter, brings a new customer their order. &#8220;He cannot even remember the order for two people, they say, &#8216;No worries, I&#8217;ll drink it anyway,\u2019 and in the end he adds it to the check,&#8221; said one of my brother&#8217;s friends who joined us. &#8220;No, it&#8217;s not like that,&#8221; Bashkim replied with an accent that is typical of Albanians from North Macedonia.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On Sunday at noon, we return to the airport.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unlike during the landing in D\u00fcsseldorf, this time the passengers applaud after the plane took off. &#8220;This time they fulfilled your wish,&#8221; I said laughing. Applauding after the plane takes off is a hard habit to understand. My relatives, including my father, sisters and brother, have told me about this custom often. It was more common in the 1990s. Perhaps, beyond flying by plane being a new means of travel, there is also an element of gratitude that &#8220;thank God the plane took off and landed without problems.&#8221; These are two critical moments that warrant applause.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My father nods off on the flight back home, just as he did on our journey there. I return to Ferri&#8217;s <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;The Cuckoo Clock.&#8221; I try to weigh the advantages and disadvantages between the two countries. On page 56, I read &#8220;Condol<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ences to the homeland,&#8221; where Ferri, one of my favorite authors, suggests that we Albanians &#8220;are our own enemies.&#8221;<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The applause during landing distracts me. We touched down at Adem Jashari airport. In the terminal, one of the suitcases rolls past us which we don\u2019t initially recognize. Our sisters and sisters-in-law had filled it with gifts for us and our family members.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;There&#8217;s nowhere better than Kosovo, if only the<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">y were to raise the salaries a little bit,&#8221; said my father in the following days. In the meantime, I returned to reading the half-finished book by Ferri. &#8220;Condolences to the homeland&#8221; ends with &#8220;That which I erase I have inside my head, before I believe it, I tell it to someone else&#8221;<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><b>Feature Image: Rexhep Maloku \/ K2.0.<\/b><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-7354c3d elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"7354c3d\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-69e60ba\" data-id=\"69e60ba\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-34f3f65 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"34f3f65\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-size: 80%;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i>The content of this article is the sole responsibility of K2.0.<\/i><br><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em style=\"font-size: 80%;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Curious about how our journalism is funded? Learn more <\/span><\/i><a style=\"border-bottom: 1px solid #fff101;\" href=\"https:\/\/kosovotwopointzero.com\/en\/donors\/\" target=\"_blank\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">here<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/i><i><\/i><\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-ddde691 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"ddde691\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-309366c\" data-id=\"309366c\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6a53558 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"6a53558\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/kosovotwopointzero.com\/author\/rexhepmaloku\/\" target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1450\" height=\"1450\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Rexhau.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-91747\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Rexhau.jpg 1450w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Rexhau-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Rexhau-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Rexhau-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Rexhau-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Rexhau-326x326.jpg 326w, https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Rexhau-115x115.jpg 115w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1450px) 100vw, 1450px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-b6fd723\" data-id=\"b6fd723\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e5d6dec elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e5d6dec\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-size: 80%;\">Rexhep Maloku is a journalist on the local television channel Tema. From 2007 to June 2023, he worked as a journalist, translator and editor of international news and creator of the television show Cosmo at KOHA. He completed his bachelor\u2019s studies in journalism and English. Currently, he is studying for a master\u2019s degree in journalism, public administration and diplomacy. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ENG SHQ B\/C\/S My Father Returns to Germany By Rexhep Maloku 26\/02\/2024 Three decades between two very different trips to&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":864,"featured_media":97167,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_header_footer","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[972],"tags":[526],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98002"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/864"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98002"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98002\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98015,"href":"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98002\/revisions\/98015"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.kosovotwopointzero.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}