Only a few months ago, on June 12th, when we were marking the Kosovo Liberation Day, Prishtina became the capital of promotion of human rights, of the rights of survivors of sexual violence during the war, through the artistic installation “I think of You”, of the artist Alketa Xhafa-Mripa and producer Anna Di Lellio.
The green field of the Prishtina Stadium was that day covered by five thousand skirts and dresses, which while hanging, spoke strongly of inhuman acts committed upon the women of our country, and called for recognition and punishment of this war crime, of the support which all of us, institutions and citizens alike, must offer to the survivors by standing up for the, and by not allowing that this crime, this grave injustice, continue to weigh heavily upon their shoulders.
For many years, we found it hard and difficult to face this ominous consequence which war left behind, which touched upon the dignity of our girls, our sisters and our mothers, turning their bodies into a battlefield, utilized to install the sense of fear, of persecution, to induce people to flee, and to unveil a whole society of its human values.
By choosing silence as a mean of social, individual and institutional response, we became part of the injustice exercised upon them.
But today, we remain no longer silent, but we act as the voice of the survivors. We stand devoted, unraveled and uncompromised in guaranteeing of their rights for a peaceful and dignified life, in offering of an institutional and social protection through undertaking of steps for their full rehabilitation, re-integration and re-socialization.
The artistic installation which Alketa and Anna brought to us, with incessant support of my Office and members and partners of the National Council on Survivors of Sexual Violence, travelled to different corners of Kosovo, found solidarity of the ordinary citizens, of Women’s and Men’s and International NGO’s, of local and central officials, of the families of martyrs who sacrificed everything for this country, of women survivors of this crime themselves, and by traversing the boundaries of the country itself.
We turned into One and Inseparable, in our support for the survivors and in condemnation of this war crime, by asking in unison for much deserved justice for all the citizens of our country.
The view of dresses waving in the football stadium will remain in our memory for a long long time, as an installation which transmitted the grave truth of a heinous crime committed upon the citizens of our country. We will remember it also as an expression of unseen solidarity, which transcended the borders of our state in support of the rights of the survivors of sexual violence during the war.
I express my sincere gratitude to all the human rights activists’ of all walks of life, to the representatives of women’s organizations which made it their life’s mission the protection of rights of these women and men, to all of them who never ceased in their search of justice, who challenged stigmatization when no one else dared to do it.
I thank you for the support and relentless work in realization of this work of art, and for remaining vigilant on the role which us as institutions and a society are playing in attainment of our goal, guaranteeing of the rights of the survivors of sexual violence during the war.
Dear friends,
After this documentary, which through the traversing of realization of the “I think of you” installation, will convey various types of emotions and still open wounds left by this war crime which still weighs heavily upon our society, emotions of civic solidarity which recognizes the crime, I hope you will carry with you the force of the survivors and their hope, and above all, their right for a life in peace.
Without their peace, we cannot find peace as well.
Dear Friends, dear Heroes of ours,
I thank you for your strength to become part of this work of art, for your dedication and devotion provided, and the courage offered to us all.
I thank all the partners for the support in realization of this work of art and of this documentary film, in dedication to not cease working until the full realization of rights of survivors of sexual violence during the war.