The End of the Captivity of the Kosovars
On June 13th, 1999, about 7015 Kosovo refugees from Kukes, Albania, were able to return to their homeland. Cap Anamur took care of these people who had to live in tents in the refugee camp in Gostil.
A report by Rupert Neudeck:
“Exactly three years ago, we told the 7015 Kosovo refugees in our camp in Gostil that they could pack up their tents and take everything given to them by Cap Anamur. With great enthusiasm, everyone set about packing. When German soldiers passed through the Albanian-Kosovar border town of Kukes on June 12th, some wanted to touch the heavy German tanks out of gratitude.
On the morning of June 13th we set off for the border to go to Kosovo, which I was not allowed to tell my family because the day before two German reporters from “Stern” had been murdered while they were on their way from Prishtina to Prizren – one day too early. Nevertheless, we were not dissuaded from driving to the border town of Morina. The Bundeswehr held us back briefly because they sent an armored car across the road to Prizren once again, only to tell us that the way was clear. We drove off via Zur to Prizren with our own employees in tears.
In Prizren there was still a mixed atmosphere. We visited the house of the doctor and father of Bujar Bukoshi (Dr. Bujar Bukoshi – former Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosova); we visited friends who gave us something to eat. We should not forget these days and weeks of the Babylonian captivity of the Kosovars, neither in Germany nor in Kosovo. I will not forget that 850,000 Kosovars returned to their destroyed home villages and were not deterred for an hour.
Today, the country of Kosova is in a state of great upheaval. Cap Anamur has spent the 58.2 million DM entrusted to us by German donors so effectively that people on every street corner are still telling us: Faliminderit sum! “Thank you!” Now the country has a government, a prime minister, an active speaker of parliament, a president named Ibrahim Rugova. Preparations are being made for the return of the refugees. The first economic projects are discussed. Things are moving in Kosovo. Cap Anamur is also so well remembered that we can imagine doing something again for the return of the refugees.