Silence and Sorrow: Jablanica Mourns for Veton, Rama's Ideal

The air in Jablanica is heavy with sorrow. Silence has fallen on the narrow streets of the village. The residents are mourning Veton, Ideal and Rama…

" These three boys have drowned us in pain. We have never had any problems with them," says Mehreme Ahmetaj from this village in Gjakova.

Veton Morina, 13 years old, Ideal Rama, 15 years old, and Ramë Mehmetaj, 15 years old, lost their lives on February 1st from the collapse of an old building in Jabllanicë – the southwestern part of Kosovo.

Police said the building collapsed under still unknown circumstances and that the minors were inside when the slab fell. The family members, overcome with grief, refuse to speak much.

"Rama really enjoyed football. So did Ideali," Rama's cousin, Berati, tells Radio Free Europe.

As he struggles to accept the cruel reality, he pauses for a few seconds and continues speaking again...

"Vetoni came from another neighborhood of the village, but the three of them were very close friends, they hung out together, they played together. They never caused any problems ," says Berati.

He assumes that the three now deceased boys were playing inside the building when it collapsed. He says that their families learned of their deaths 4-5 hours after the incident. He says that moment he cannot describe in words.

"Very, very difficult, not only for us family members, but for the entire village, and for all of Kosovo ," says Berat through tears.

The dilapidated building, which became the site of this tragedy, had been abandoned since the end of the war in Kosovo, in 1999. Until then, it had been a grocery store.

"Nobody in the village talked about it. It was surrounded by wire. It was on a side street, but there wasn't much movement around it ," says Bajrush Brahimaj, a resident of Jabllanicë.

Speaking to Radio Free Europe, he says that there was never any warning from the authorities about his safety, "it has been abandoned for decades," just like other buildings in the area.

"Fate willed it for these young men to suffer and it cost them so much ," says Bajrushi.

Bajrushi also says that the bodies of the three boys were found a few hours after the building collapsed. As darkness fell, he says that family members began contacting each other and other neighbors in the village to ask if they had seen the boys.

A friend of theirs said that he received a message on his phone from the three friends, who told him where they were and invited him to go too, but he did not go.

"... and when the family members saw the collapsed building, they called their children on the phone and the phones rang under their feet ," Bajrushi recounts.

Upon hearing about the incident, Bajrushi says he took his tractor and headed to the scene to help the police and firefighters remove the fallen rocks.

"Two of the boys appeared to be moving... they were trying to get away, while the other one was lower down, lying on the ground. It appears that the building collapsed very, very quickly ," says Bajrushi.

The three victims were buried on Monday in the cemetery of the village of Jabllanicë. People gathered for the funeral of the three minors who lost their lives in the collapse of an old uninhabited building. Ideali and Rama had also been students of Jeton Mrasor, who had taught Geography at the village school.

Now the principal of this school, Mrasori says that both of them, besides being excellent students, were also very cheerful and passionate about technology.

"The two were in the same class and on the same bench. At no point were they separated from each other... not even in death," concludes Mrasori.

Whose building was it that collapsed?

The Municipality of Gjakova confirms that the demolished building was private and built on private property.

"At this moment we cannot know the exact year of construction, but, according to our information, it was built many years before the 1999 war and served as a shop. The same building was burned during the war," the municipality's response to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty states.

It also states that, being privately owned, the municipality had no authority to take any action regarding the facility.

"Cases when the municipality dares to intervene in private property occur only when a request or complaint is made to the municipality by the legitimate owner," the response states, adding that, as for the case in question, there was no such request or complaint.

The State Prosecution Office briefly told Radio Free Europe that, in coordination with the Kosovo Police, it is taking all necessary actions regarding this case.

Bajrushi also says that the bodies of the three boys were found a few hours after the building collapsed. As darkness fell, he says that family members began contacting each other and other neighbors in the village to ask if they had seen the boys.

A friend of theirs said that he received a text message on his phone from the three friends, who told him where they were and invited him to go too, but he did not go.

"... and when the family members saw the collapsed building, they called their children on the phone and the phones rang under their feet ," Bajrushi recounts.

Upon hearing about the incident, Bajrushi says he took his tractor and headed to the scene, to help the police and firefighters remove the fallen rocks.

"Two of the boys appeared to be moving... they tried to get away, while the other one was lower down, lying on the ground. It appears that the building collapsed very, very quickly," says Bajrushi.

The three victims were buried on Monday in the cemetery of the village of Jabllanicë. Ideali and Rama had also been students of Jeton Mrasori, who taught Geography at the village school.

Now the principal of this school, Mrasori says that both of them, in addition to being excellent students, were also very cheerful and fond of technology.

"The two were in the same class and on the same bench. At no point were they separated from each other... not even in death," concludes Mrasori./ REL