SOME CHILDREN FROM DRAGODAN, PRISTINA WHO BECAME FRIENDS

This shows Hiyda (16) and Dren (10). I leant Hiyda my phone, to call his brother in London, whom he hadn't spoken to since he left his home in Dragodan, due to the Serbian MUP / Army. His brother, Muhamet had no idea as to what had happened to his family during the war, until that call. Since returning to England myself, I have spoken to and visited Muhamet. I have also been able to call Dren and his family, they are quite lucky, as they have a mobile phone. Obviously, at the moment, none of the normal telephones work, due to the war.

Avne (left), wearing an England top and Shaban (right), a French one, the picture says the rest.

Ridvan (10) and his sister. Ridvan was seperated from his family during the war. His family went to a Macedonian refugee camp, whilst Ridvan went into the mountains with his neighbours. The family has now all been re-united.

Sammi, Mexid, Ridvan, Shaban, Dren, Avne and Faton.

Me with Ridvan, Dren and Mexid.

The children used to spend a lot of time at the fence, intrigued by what was happening in their field. Before NATO took over the field, they used it for their cattle. The helicopter landing site used to be their football pitch, in fact, the goal posts were still their when I left.

Ridvan, Mexid and Dren.

Shaban, Ridvan, Sammi, Dren and Mexid, showing the presents they'd received, from Paul Harman and I for what they had done for us.  We used to give them our sweets, chocolate etc. At no time during our stay did these children beg for anything, (unlike those in Macedonia). They were just so grateful as to what NATO had done for them and their families. They were intrigued by all our aircraft and would always without fail, wave at all aircraft, whether they were coming or going. It was also ironic, that you could drive through Kosovo with the grilles down on the vehicles but as soon as you entered Macedonia, you were required to put the grilles up, as the locals threw stones at you! 

Dren drinking water. The temperature at this time of the year, was often over 40 C. Dren and his friends would take our bottled water to their houses daily, to put in the freezer and then bring it back at arranged staggered times, the following day, so that we had a continuous supply of cold water, instead of the warm water.

Ridavn with his father with Mexid and Dren.

Me with Avne, Hiyda, Shaban, Ridvan, Dren and Bissim.

Very happy Dren,

...and Shaban!

Since returning from Kosovo in August, I have been in regular contact with Dren and his family, via telephone and mail. I received the photo below, showing Dren and his family. It shows Front L-R Blerta, Dren and Drenusha, (Dren's twin sister) and in the rear, their parents. As you can imagine, times are very hard for the population at present. Dren's mother has just worked for 3 months, for less than the UK equivalent of £200!

Dren has had a recent lucky escape. He found a live round and threw it into a fire. The round exploded and the bullet hit him in the neck. He was very lucky to survive and has learnt his lesson the hard way. Even after that, he's still smiling! Take care, all of you!

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Last two photo's provided by Dren's family, thank you.

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