A few days ago, the President of the Republic, Mr. Ilir Meta, honored with the high title of “Knight of the Order of the Flag” Remzi Ejupi, a prominent activist from Kosovo, who has been living in Germany for years. He is known as a few in Kosovo, but he is also well known in Albania. The ceremony at the Presidency was very solemn, with wide participation, with personalities from the highest and most famous in Kosovo. Rifet Jashari, brother of the legendary hero Adem Jashari, was also present.
Union Zeneli
A fully deserved appreciation and honor, which perhaps, both here and in Kosovo, should have been done many years ago, especially in Kosovo, where Remziu's work during the years of the freedom struggle is known from the first to the last.
I am sure that Remzi Ejupi, like many other fellow fighters, does not really need “mole”. The thing is that those who are tasked with giving “mole”, should never forget the contribution of the “resounding” fighters and heroes in the heroic war for the liberation and independence of Kosovo. Forgetting about honor and gratitude is more than bad… and so is demagogy and propaganda in honor of the fighters.
I did not linger in these ranks without reason. And that is why I, one of the many who knew Remzi Ejupi during the difficult years of the war for the liberation of Kosovo, greatly appreciate the title that President Meta bestowed on Remzi Ejupi.
And I was very happy when Qemal Minxhozi, my old friend, a prominent ambassador in Kosovo, told me 3-4 days ago: you can't imagine how well Remziu's decoration was received in Kosovo.
In my book “For Germany” I have written a lot about prominent figures of the Kosovo freedom struggle, whom I have known here, after the 90s, but also when I served in Germany, in the years 1997-2002. I have also written about Remziu. I have said what I should say about an unsung hero. I have also spoken about him at the University of Pristina. And I am not exaggerating at all when I say hero! Remziu did not make his way to Kosovo during the war, did not wear the KLA uniform and did not face battles against the Serbs. But he worked so hard in Germany for the war, for freedom, for his people, that I can never separate him from those heroes of the war on the battlefield. I have hundreds of pages of notes, almost ready for publication, about Remziu and his friends, whom I have known and collaborated with in Germany. But I will publish them later! Many things have their own time to be said. Today the temperatures are still high…
Remzi Ejupi was among the first to come and meet me at the Embassy in Bonn, when I had just taken office, in November 1997.
In a young man, energetic, dressed very tastefully, educated, educated, open-minded, emancipated and with a lot of humor. We sat for a long time and talked about Albania and Kosovo. Gave me full support in my work. I got to know him more and more every day as a true patriot and not a nationalist at all. There were no "wings" either left or right; he didn't know how to insult or label anyone. His business was successful and he could sit quietly, or engage to some extent, like many compatriots, businessmen, who did not rest beating their chests.
Hundreds of thousands of Kosovo Albanians lived and worked in Germany. Their eyes and minds in those years were in Kosovo and they were ready to do their duty for their homeland. Many immigrants, especially young people, took the difficult path to enter Kosovo and joined the KLA, as they later did on the battlefield.
Remzi Ejupi was the one who endlessly sponsored airplanes, filled with boys and girls from Kosovo, flying to Tirana, to continue the path of war.
Remziu was the organizer and financier of endless concerts with artists from Kosovo and Albania in various German cities. They were concerts ... for the freedom of Kosovo. They were fiery manifestations of patriotism. The Germans were amazed by these concerts in the halls, in the squares, in the sports palaces.
We met with Remziu the mayors of Cologne, Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt, etc., etc., to give us the largest possible halls. All that remained was to make the stadiums available to us, only they could attract the Albanians... The press and televisions gave them a great response. Remziu, as a seasoned politician and diplomat, spoke freely, in pure German, in various studios.
The Political Director at the MFA, Wolfgang Ischinger, with special contributions to Albania and Kosovo, would tell me one day that the Serbian ambassador, Jeremic, had complained to him that "Albanians are promoting nationalism with the concerts they organize."
They were with dozens of trucks filled with humanitarian aid to Albania and Kosovo, which Remziu organized with his many German friends. And he informed me: find the time to come and thank them before departure".
Always on the move, from city to city, from meeting to meeting, day and night; tireless and masterful as few at the wheel. And never, not even once did he brag, never said: I!
He called me in the middle of the night to meet someone from Kosovo, from Switzerland, from the USA.
I will never forget when the Minister of the Interior, Otto Schilly, an emblematic figure of politics, a noble man with great contributions to Albania and Kosovo, would surprise me: “Remzi Ejupi, – your friend, right? – is working hard for Kosovo. We know, as we know, that he is not violating any German law. He is working for his people.”
Today it is easy to talk about those difficult years and days. It is easy to describe the unparalleled sacrifices of many, many Kosovo Albanians for the freedom of the homeland. 24-25 years ago it was not only difficult, but also dangerous. Remzi Ejupi was one of those who did not consider any sacrifice.
Blerina, his wife, a noble, intelligent and patriotic woman, has unabashedly supported Remziu, her husband, in his endless “actions” for the freedom of Kosovo. And she also deserves special respect and great gratitude. I began this article with the thought that Remzi Ejupi fully deserves the high title that President Meta granted him.
Moreover, he just as fully deserves to be called a hero, without words and without fuss! I knew him more than anyone in those difficult years, so I am more than convinced of what I am saying.
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