Women's Advocate Recalls Ordeal at Hands of Serbs

KOSOVO, PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (UMNS) -- Another cup of tea might have cost Sevdije Ahmeti her life.

Ahmeti was wanted by the Serbs in connection with her human rights work and advocacy for Kosovar Albanian women.

As she was sitting down for a cup of tea, Serb soldiers arrived and Ahmeti ducked into the basement to hide. Her husband, who had returned from an errand to the bakery just ahead of the soldiers, spied her steaming cup and quickly broke off a piece of the bread he was carrying.

"He told them, 'She's not here. You can see I'm just sitting down to eat,'" giving her time to slip out of the basement unnoticed, Ahmeti said.

Ahmeti said she routinely made tea for two. On that day, for some reason, she made only one cup. "It was God who saved my life," she said.

Ahmeti, director of the Center for Protection of Women and Children in Pristina, met with a delegation from the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) to give a glimpse of what life was like for Kosovar Albanians during the Serbs' 18-month campaign of ethnic cleansing.

The delegation of four spouses of United Methodist bishops and a representative of the churchwide Board of Global Ministries Women's Division traveled to the Balkans Sept.18-28 to view UMCOR's work and help devise new strategies for church relief efforts around the world.

Members of the delegation included: Mitzie Dew, wife of Phoenix Area Bishop William W. Dew Jr.; Jane Ives, wife of West Virginia Area Bishop S. Clifton Ives ; Leigh Kammerer, husband of Charlotte (N.C.) Area Bishop Charlene Kammerer; Hannah Meadors, wife of Mississippi Area Bishop Marshall L. Meadors Jr.; and Claretta Nesbitt of the Women's Division. The group was led by Meadors and Judy Wollen, UMCOR's volunteer coordinator for the area, based in Armenia.

Following her narrow escape, Ahmeti hid in a cow barn on the edge of town for 10 days until she was finally captured.

Ahmeti said she was held with other women and tortured for 10 days by men wearing masks.

"It was very hard. Sometimes we would envy those who were dead," Ahmeti said. "Their pain was gone."

The center has identified two former "rape camps," where Albanian women were repeatedly raped by Serb soldiers and paramilitaries, Ahmeti said. The center is working with victims to help them return to society. "They need some connection to the world to see that they're not alone and that someone is thinking of them," Ahmeti said.

"Everyone thought Europe couldn't have this race hatred again, but it was so strong," Ahmeti said.

Albanians welcomed the NATO air strikes that forced the Serbs to end their 18-month campaign of ethnic cleansing, Ahmeti said. They looked forward to the sound of dogs barking because that meant the Serb radars were on and an air strike was under way, Ahmeti said. "The only happy hours were when we heard the NATO airplanes," she said.

The center hopes to provide health care and employment opportunities for women in the villages through a network of satellite offices, Ahmeti said.

Hearing Ahmeti's story raised goose bumps on Meadors' arms. "I feel like we've been on holy ground," Meadors said.

October 8, 1999

*DuBose is a photojournalist for United Methodist News Service.